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제 15 호 The Reason Why People Love Romance Reality Programs

  • 작성일 2022-08-29
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Kicker : ENTERTAINMENT


The Reason Why People Love

Romance Reality Programs



By Yun-Seo Jung, Cub-Reporter

yysj1230@naver.com


             ‘EXchange’, ‘Change Days’, ‘I Am Solo’,.. Have you heard or watched these programs? Recently, various romance reality shows have been aired with the great attention of the viewers such as ‘Exchange,’ ‘I Am Solo,’ ‘Change Days,’ and ‘His Man’. Romance reality programs are based on various subjects, including people who meet each other for the first time, couples who have broken up, couples who do not get along well with each other, and even LGBTQ – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning.


           There is a craze for dating reality programs, especially the most popular program is the EXchange series. On June 25th last year, ‘EXchange 1’ was first unveiled through the domestic OTT platform, ‘Tving.’ The program, which had been a hot topic even before it was aired due to the title of "Transfer," drew people's attention in that it was different from the existing romance reality programs. Unlike the previous love reality programs, which men and women who had no contact with each other met and were looking for love, ‘Exchange’ is distinguished that it is a story about broken up couples living with ex-girlfriends or ex-boyfriends called X and finding their own love. 

The view count of the full version of "EXchange 1" and "EXchange 2" released on YouTube

             And then, how popular is this program? Tving, which the main episode is released on, does not disclose the number of views of the original content. However, as of early August, the views of the official clip video had reached about 10 million for about three weeks since the release of ‘EXchange 2,’ showing its popularity. In addition, according to the analysis of the mentions of ‘Some Trend,’ a big data analysis center, the number of mentions of SNS on July 15, when ‘EXchange 2’ was first released, was about 30,000. In the case of other programs, about 2,000 cases of ‘His man,’ about 900 cases of ‘I AM SOLO’ and about 380 cases of ‘Change Days’ have been mentioned steadily. 


Why Are Dating Reality Programs So Popular?

             Then, why is love reality so popular? A psychology professor at a university said that it can explain the reason why the MZ generation likes to observe other people's love through a dating reality program with a normal crush phenomenon. Normal crush is a combination of normal, which means ‘normal,’ and crush, which means ‘falling in love.’ In direct translation, it means 'opposite to the ordinary.’ In other words, it refers to the tendency to pursue general and ordinary things rather than special and colorful things. The professor said that, “Realistic means that it is accessible,” adding "They really like the part that viewers of the program can observe and accessible around us, not the relationship of great celebrities."  And then, he linked the reason why the current popular programs have a unique setting unlike before, but it is popular with the honest characteristics of the MZ generation. He explained, "Every human being has a desire to be another me, and I think the MZ generation actively want to express this desire. I think it is the characteristic of the generation that expresses ‘the desire to change partners’ or ‘live in the same house with their X,’ without looking at others feelings.” Kim Heon-sik, a pop culture critic, analyzed that the reason why romance reality programs with unique settings are so popular is because the point that viewers consume the programs has changed. He said that the love can be completed only when dating or marrying in the past, but nowadays, even if not necessarily, it has changed to consume the men and women matching themselves, and now the focus is on consuming various situations and emotions that come from the meeting itself. 

             Therefore, it is considered that the reason why non-celebrity love reality shows, which appeared after a long time, have become so popular with viewers is because of differentiated concepts that reflect the changed times. Viewers cheered the appearance of romance reality programs that realistically reflected the changed generation, which soon led to tangible results such as engaging topics. 


The Desirable Attitude of Viewers Toward the Program

             The love reality shows are characteristic in that they have non-celebrities as casts, and they have approached viewers more realistically, but there are certainly problems that follow. Viewers who were just dissatisfied with the appearance of the cast acting with sincerity by immersing themselves in the program situation, did not stop watching, but made indiscriminate ridicule and excessive slander to them. They even visited their personal SNS and continued to send personal aggression DM (Direct Message) to criticize the cast. As the phenomenon became more serious, the production crew of one program wrote on SNS directly to stop the slander toward the cast members. It is also important for viewers to immerse themselves in the program and enjoy it, but it is a problematic behavior to be overly immersed and slander the cast. The burden of casts who participate in the program with honest emotions by revealing their personal information to many and unspecified persons will also be significant. Therefore, viewers who appreciate it should also have a desirable viewer’s attitude that does not indiscriminately criticize them.



             As the generation changes and the time changes, even programs with the same formats are changing accordingly. With the popularization of OTT platforms, the types of programs have diversified, and limitations are disappearing in various areas such as the type of cast, and the level of broadcasting. Therefore, I think viewers' attitudes toward non-celebrity casts should also become more desirable because programs that star non-celebrities are likely to spread in the future.



Sources:

https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/A2022011309540004837

https://some.co.kr/analysis/social/mention?keyword=%ED%99%98%EC%8A%B9%EC%97%B0%EC%95%A02&startDate=20220722&endDate=20220821&sources=blog%2cnews%2ctwitter&excludeRT=false

https://some.co.kr/analysis/social/mention?keyword=%EB%82%98%EB%8A%94%EC%86%94%EB%A1%9C&startDate=20220722&endDate=20220821&sources=blog%2cnews%2ctwitter&excludeRT=false