Single's Inferno

The show's main concept takes the idea of survival shows and mixes it with the idea of fighting for their intended love interest.[7] Participants are left on an island, and the mission is to leave it. The location of the shoot is about an hour from Seoul, South Korea.[7]

Twelve singles are meant to find their love on this island through challenges and getting to know each other throughout the season.[8] Something unique to the show is its way of capturing awkward moments between participants and how friendship was formed in addition to love. Relationships and people take a deep dive into learning about one another, not just the shallow desires of physical relationships.[8]

In the show, couples are formed through free dates and dates in Paradise. In Singles Inferno, the deserted island the contestants reside on requires them to cook their own food, not use their electronics, and draw their own water. Any discussion of age and occupation is also not allowed. The only thing to do is to date and win games in order to have the opportunity to escape the island.[9] During the first episode, contestants are asked to write to a potential interest using a postcard. However, the chosen interest does not have to stay the same throughout the show. The games and free dates within the deserted island give contestants the time to make the decision of who they would like to go to Paradise with.[9]

Paradise is the direct opposite of Singles Inferno. It is a luxurious island where paired contestants can enjoy dates with room service and fun activities in their paid hotels. It is the ultimate goal for contestants, as it is also the place where people can ask about their interests' age and occupations. People can only go to Paradise if they choose a person that also chose to go with them.[9]

The final couple of matches are made in the last episode. The women are placed at different points on the island. If the male contestant is interested in a woman, he will walk up to her. If she accepts him and takes his hand, they both can leave Singles Inferno together as a match.[9]

It has been described as a Korean version of Bachelor in Paradise.[14] The first season was released on December 18, 2021. Its second season was released on December 13, 2022.[15] Single's Inferno has been ranked among Netflix's Global Top 10 list, becoming the first Korean reality show to reach the list.[16][17] It became popular in many regions, and the hashtag #singlesinferno was trending on social media throughout its run.[18] The third season was confirmed with changes in rules and location.[19][20]

There had been a handful of controversies during and after the show. While the show was popular as it was airing, some fans were irked by the amount of comments season one had on one contestant's, Shin Ji-Yeon, skin. In Korea, the beauty standard is to have "white skin." It is noticeable how often male and female contestants commented and complimented her white skin. Netizens criticized the way the show portrayed having "white skin" as something more desirable than not.[21]

After season one, female contestant Song Ji-a received backlash for wearing fake luxury items. Because her content is about her high maintenance lifestyle and because she regularly shared reviews about certain luxury products, fans were disappointed by her admittance that the rumors of her wearing fake items were partially true. She has since apologized on her social media and deleted posts that showed these fake items.[22][23]

Season two cast members, Jo Yoong-jae and Choi Seo-eun, were heavily criticized when the matched pair announced a fan meeting that would take place in February 2022. The tickets were ₩77 thousand, which netizens thought was highly priced. Many netizens thought the two were not celebrities and therefore should have treated a fan meeting as something more casual. A price of ₩77 thousand is usually what singers and actors priced their tickets for their fanmeets, and contestants from a dating show were not of the same caliber in many people's views. Them also announcing that they will be giving out autographs further irked netizens, as that would imply them to be celebrities rather than contestants on a show.

• Korean wave
• Love Is Blind: Japan

• Single's Inferno on Netflix
• Single's Inferno at IMDb 
• Single's Inferno at Rotten Tomatoes