9/10 is my rating. This is a 2002 South Korean reality dating show with 10, 57-68 minute episodes.

First I will provide a synopsis then review

Commentators/Hosts

Lee Da Hee- Model, singer, and actress
Cho Kyu-Hun - Actor and singer (idol). He is a member of Super Junior.
Hong Jin-Kyung - Model, comedian, singer and actress. She owns her own food company.
Jung Han-Hae - Rapper and singer.

Participants

Females

Lee Nadine (age 22) Neuroscience pre-med major at Harvard University
Shin Seoul-Ki (age 24) Piano major at Seoul University
Park Se-jeong (age 26) Model for brands such as BMW and Sony
Lee So-e (age 22) Acting major at Hanyang University
Choi Seo-Eun (age 28) Artist. Crowned as Miss Korea 2021.
Lim Min-su (age 26) model and CEO of online clothing boutique

Men

Choi Jong-woo (age 24) Barista of a family-owned cafe in Gangwon-do
Jo Yoong-Jae (age 31) Investment broker at Shinhan Investment Corp. Graduated with a Finance Management major from Hanyang University
Kim Han-bin (age 32) Chef/ restaurant owner. Won all kinds of prestigious culinary awards.
Shun Ding-woo (age 32) Plastic surgeon. Graduated from Yonsei University's College of Medicine
Kim Jin-young (age 28) YouTuber. Former ROKN UDT soldier
Kim Se-Jun (age 26) Tailor at Ascottage, founded by Season 1 participant Oh Jin-taek

They upped the attractiveness level for season 2. Super fit, muscular men and several of the women were models and/or had been in various pageants. From the 1st season to this season one thing I noticed overall is that many go for the person they are physically attracted to over someone they are slightly less attracted to but would be long term compatible with. They are all young and think about such things as people that age would.

*Spoilers
Lee Nadine is one of my favorite female participants. The fact that she speaks both Korean and English so well is impressive. Her drive and passion for medicine is extremely admirable. She is very forthright and honest which I enjoy. I think she is a great match with Kim Jin-young because they have so much in common. Neither seem to be overly demonstrative with affection. Both are very focused and driven in their pursuits. He enjoys thrill sports and she does too. She was in the army for a brief time and he was a soldier. I sense, in him, some recovery from the soldier life, perhaps some PTSD and I think she could best understand and help him with that. She is studying in the USA but he is interested in spending time in the USA. That being said he is highly attracted to Shin Seoul-Ki as are several of the other male participants. In their interactions I could tell they were both highly physically attracted to each other but could not hold a very long or substantive discussion with each other. He was able to talk to Nadine a lot as they had a lot of common interests and personality traits. I think she knew in the end he was not going to stay with her although his long pause with her made me wonder if he was considering it. I don't know if that was scripted and that was the reason she reacted the way she did or if she really had just moved on. If she moved on, I am proud of her because obviously she was not his first choice. If the show had run longer he might have become more interested in her because I think they were very compatible.

Shin Seol-ki seems very nice on the surface but it isn't a nice trait, to me, when you "string" people along. I thought she turned her attention to Choi Jong-woo as if she was seriously considering him when I really think she was focusing on him just to make Kim Jin-young jealous. Jong-woo was so kind and considerate of her noticing when she didn't feel well, bringing her medicine and just generally watching out and taking care of her. When they interacted they had a lot to talk about and she seemed attracted to him but not at the same level as Jin-young. I don't think he was interested in Seol-ki for competitive reasons or because the other male participants were interested in her, his interest seemed beyond her physical appearance and that he was also drawn to her for personal reasons. But, as young woman often do she would trample Jong-woo's feelings the minute Jin-young expressed interest. Physical attraction is fleeting, but a real connection with someone you also find attractive is rare. Although Seol-ki chose Jong-woo in the end I did not feel super good about them as a couple because I thought she put him through a lot emotionally out of her desire to be the center of attention.

Lee So-e was sweet, but her near obsession with Jo Yoong-jae was over the top. He made it very clear he was only interested her as a friend even before he became romantically interested in Choi Seo-eun. It was particularly frustrating when she debated asking Yoong-jae to Paradise on a sort of forced date after she said she was okay with them just being friends. I was so relieved when she did not follow through with that. I understand the whole being a fool for love mentality but that rarely works. When you have pride in yourself others respect you more. She would have stood a better chance with Yoong-jae moving on and making him feel competitive with other men. I was glad when Kim Se-jun liked So-e and took her to Paradise. He was so sweet to her about his interest and feelings but I felt like she shined him on a bit because she was sill hung up on Yoong-jae. I wanted to sit her down and have her watch the movie "He is Just Not That into You" because that was so much the case in this situation. Even if you manage to turn someone's interest toward you after being firmly friend zoned you wind up being the one that loves the most and that is a lonely position to be in.

I loved Kim Han-bin. His positive attitude was infectious. He was so sweet in all of his interactions with the female participants I was completely baffled they were not more interested in him. He did an amazing job in the wrestling ring for a man who was physically less muscular and a little smaller than the others. And he was having so much fun in that match. I was sorry when they ganged up and got him out.

The physical challenges are a lot of fun to watch. It is surprising who does well and who does not because you cannot always predict up front who will win. I thought for sure Jin-young would win, hands down, the wrestling match. As a former special forces I was sure the other men stood little chance unless they ganged up on him. I was pleasantly surprised how well all the men did holding off, sometimes even multiple other men, trying to get them out of the ring. And Jong-woo's absolute determination to be the winner was an amazing thing to watch. Those matches are so exciting.

Lim Min-su was another one that needed to watch "He's just Not That into You." She took a liking to Jin-young and invited him to Paradise even after she had been rebuffed. He was pretty clear, without being completely cruel, that he was not interested in her like that. With a man like Jin-young becoming clingy is only going to drive him even farther away. He prefers the hunt and the woman that attracts a lot of attention and is harder to get. She is such a beautiful girl and seemed nice enough, she should have moved on and considered maybe Shun Ding-woo or Kim Han-bin. But she got laser focused on Jin-young and did not allow herself to get to know the others at all.

Park Se-joung was a complete surprise. I thought she would be a favorite of the male participants because she reminded me of several female idols. She also seemed very nice and there were several times when the male participants had one on one conversations with her just as they wandered about Inferno. The female participants got along with her well. I think, with her, it was just timing. Had she won some of the competitions and the men gotten to know her better, she likely would have had more interest directed at her.

The commentator/hosts are one of my favorite parts of the show. Cho Kyu-hun is so sensitive and beyond cute when he expresses empathy for the participants. He has such a great read on motivations and very wise insights on what people are doing and what they should do. Lee Da-hee is very intuitive and her reactions to what is happening are very compelling. I love her fashion sense too, just seeing what she is wearing next is part of the fun. Hong Jin-kyung is funny as one would expect from a comedian. She brings such a fresh perspective to the group and I love it when she points things out. Jung Han-hae is quiet a lot of times, but he is introspective, so when he comments about things he usually has another perspective. As a group it feels like watching those show with a group of super fun people, like you are sharing a 4th wall with them. Some of the reviewers expressed negative views about the hosts but I think it makes the show. I don't think it would be nearly as enjoyable without the hosts.

After watching 2 seasons the things I think would improve an already great show. I think it is a mistake to let anyone go to Paradise with the same person twice. As a viewer those dates are boring. They already know each other, we already know about them, and with only 9 days it makes it even less likely they get to know other people. I think the show could run longer than nine days because some are just starting to think about someone else and the show ends. Nine days is not enough time to become interested in someone, get rejected, and move on to someone else. I also enjoy, as much as the time on Paradise, the time spent on Inferno and a longer run would allow more time for the singles to get to know each other on Inferno. I hope they do reunion shows because viewers, based on online traffic, are really interested in what the participants do after the show.

#SinglesInferno2
#LeeDaHee
#ChoKyuHun
#HongJinKyung
#JungHanHae
#LeeNadine
#ShinSeoulKi
#ParkSejeong
#LeeSoE
#ChoiSeoEun
#LimMinSu
#ChoiJongWoo
#JoYoongJae
#KimHanbin
#ShunDingwoo
#KimJinyoung
#KimSeJun