Single’s Inferno dating show on Netflix: What we know of the 12 contestants

Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, lit up this week when Choi Si-hun, a contestant on the popular Netflix dating show Single’s Inferno, publicly denied rumours on the social media platform that he works in a host bar frequented by wealthy female customers.

As the Korean reality-TV show continues to gain popularity worldwide — it is the second most watched Netflix programme in Hong Kong — and more background information on each of the 12 contestants is being revealed after each episode, viewers cannot help but begin to wonder who exactly these hot-looking young men and women are.

Here’s what we know:

Choi Si-hun

The 30-year-old chief executive of a fashion brand is probably the most controversial contestant in Single’s Inferno after old photos of him circulated on social media that suggest he works in a host bar.

His eager pursuit of fellow contestant Song Ji-a is being viewed as gold-digger behaviour.

He denied the host bar rumour on Weibo in both Korean and Chinese on Jan 3, saying he is definitely not a yazi (gigolo) and he has never done anything bad in his life. A Weibo user said: “It’s so hilarious!”

Song Ji-a

Song, 25, graduated from Hanyang University, where she majored in traditional Korean dancing, and is now a beauty content creator. In the show, she has been asked out by three male contestants, which makes her, to date, the most popular woman on Single’s Inferno.

Her maoxi (feline) style of make-up has become a beauty trend in China.

She describes herself as “cute and sexy”, and her confident and classy personality has made #SongJia a trending topic on Twitter. One Twitter user said: “Girls dont want a boyfriend, they just want Song Ji-a.”

Kim Hyeon-joong

Kim is a 28-year-old fitness trainer and model. His sculpted body is getting a lot of attention.

One Twitter user wrote: “Kim Hyeon-joong is hitting, he got the visual exactly!” Kim, Choi and Song form a love triangle in the show.

Besides Choi, he also faces a threat from his friend Cha Hyun-seung, who also showed interest in Song.

Shin Ji-yeon

Shin is 25 years old and studying neuroscience at the University of Toronto in Canada. Internet users are attracted by her because she has both looks and brains.

Other contestants praised Shin for her “pale skin”, which stirred up controversy over Korean’s standards of beauty on social media.

Moon Se-hoon

Moon’s age and occupation are still undisclosed because he has yet to score a date (the information is only released after contestants leave inferno for paradise, a luxury hotel, after they get paired off with another).

He keeps picking Shin, who continues to reject him. Even when two newcomers in episode five wanted a date with him, he continued to pick Shin.

On Jin-taek

The 30-year-old owner of a tailoring shop expressed interest in contestants Kang So-Yeon and Shin.

He had his first date with Kang and told her, “You are the only one I wanna come here [to paradise] with”, but the following day dated Shin. His perceived betrayal made many internet users angry.

One Twitter user said: “Jin-taek is getting on my ****ing nerves.”

Kang So-yeon

Kang, 34 years old and the owner of a boxing gym, is described as a da zuiba (someone who can’t keep others’ secrets) by a user on Bilibili, China’s answer to YouTube. She deliberately stirs up drama in the show.

For example, new contestant Cha Hyun-seung confides in Kang that he finds An Yea-Won funny and charming but asks her not to tell An.

Kang then blabs this to An — in front of Song Ji-a, who Cha had invited for a date earlier that day.

Kim Jun-sik and An Yea-won

Kim Jun-sik, the 28-year-old chief executive of a health products brand, and 27-year-old pilates instructor and model An Yea-won paired up after both failed to find a partner in the first round of matching.

That seems to have worked since, compared with other contestants, they don’t cause much drama — although they did take a bath together during their date in “paradise”, which some considered shocking.

Cha Hyun-seung, Seong Min-ji and Kim Su-min

The trio just joined the show in episode five, so there are very few details about them. However, if you are familiar with Korean show business then you will recognise Cha as a K-pop back-up dancer.

Single’s Inferno ends on Jan 8. The audience is expecting these new contestants will add more drama — and perhaps true romance — to the series’ finale.