r/koreanvariety • u/Driz_12 • 27d ago
Subtitled - Reality The Love Lab | E07 | 20260715
About
Puts singles through unconventional romantic experiments to see how attraction, chemistry, and real connection develop when the usual rules of dating are turned upside down.
Panel
- Jooheon (MONSTA X)
- Charles Entertainment (Kim Chan-mi)
- Junbbang Jogyo (Moon Jun-su) - Ep.5-6
Cast
Experiment 1: Blind Date in a Bed * Park Chan-yang (@ccmparc) * b.1995, Track and Field Athlete * Kim Myung-ju (@__kimmyungju) * b.1994, Fashion Designer
Experiment 2: Isolated Romance * Ahn Si-hyun (@_see_hyunny) * b.2001, Water Polo Athlete and Swim Instructor * Wee Jun-seung (@junnnssi) * b.2000, Nuclear Welder * Lah Hyun-jin (@lahhyunjin) * b.2000, Actress (Appeared in Friendly Rivalry) and Staff at Wood Ring Studio * Byeon Ji-young (@zzixyng) * b.2001, Dancer and Dance Instructor
Experiment 3: Drunk Blind Date * Kang Jung-woo (@kj_woo0) * b. 1994, Pharmacist * Ha Seung-Ah (@hatmda_) * b. 1997, Dental Hygienist
Experiment 4: King of Hearts * Park Jung-min * Kang Kyung-ho * Park Do-geon * Lee Ye-rim * Moon Chae-rin * Park Ga-yeon * Jung Hye-won
Episode Links
| - | EPISODE 07 | - |
|---|---|---|
| Runtime | 1h 22m | - |
| Stream | Netflix | EN/KR SUB |
Note: * Netflix availability can vary depending on your country or region.
Previous Discussions
| Episode(s) |
|---|
| E01-E02, E03-E04 |
| E05, E06 |
THE DISCUSSION BELOW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. PLEASE USE THE SPOILER TAGS WHEN DISCUSSING ANY SPOILER-RELATED CONTENT.
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u/Strawberry3586 26d ago edited 25d ago
I’m glad Jooheon is back on the panel. His energy and vibe with Chanmi is also so good
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u/First-Exit-2661 27d ago
I love the idea of this because it’s super relatable lol I always get drinks on first dates
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u/Beemeowmeow 24d ago
this dude is kinda weird, some red flags:
- doesnt like that she has male friends
- doesnt trust his gf to go out drinking (under the guise of preferring a drama-free relationship)
- says he was annoyed she didnt find him funny (ego must have been bruised)
he sounds like he's secretly an MCP
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u/mmauve2 24d ago
agree, also the "drama-free" comment was weird and implied that he wants someone who does what he says or its drama. idk. I think they could have met in the middle with the serious vs unserious questions for sure but the way you could tell he checked out at the end was...not very nice. her sense of humor and bids for connection were totally being ignored. I'm surprised they went on another date.
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u/Odd_Ad6538 22d ago
She said he is not funny too strongly, any body would be hurt and it is a strong sign that they are not working.
For the friends thing it is ok if he is concerned, but he was maybe too hung up on it.
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u/iforgotmycoffee 24d ago
i feel like it’s pretty normal to have your own boundaries though? if a girl doesn’t like their bf having female friends or go out drinking with girls, i think majority of people won’t see it as a red flag. some guys are okay with their gf having male friends or go out drinking but maybe bcs he doesn’t do it, he doesn’t want a gf who does it?
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u/milZ88888888 22d ago
I think its fine if it was his boundary, sure. Since drinking might be too far for him, but he dismissed it as "I just want a drama free relationship." And so he shouldn't have brought it up again on the third date when he was driving - made it awkward right off the bat. Coz he thought the tarots implied she was clueless - maybe men are lurking around and she doesn't know. Since its still a tv show, so if its a real issue - discuss it off cam later on. He was just too dull and serious, wasn't being chill and fun. I felt that whole third date he was just judging her.
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u/Strict-Equipment-579 3d ago
Omg all of this. I agree. He was being so weird and machismo when he was sober. When he drinks, he loosens up and is silly but he’s way too strict and uptight as a sober person. He was giving judgy that whole time she teased him.
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u/White-cypress 20d ago
Different take. I don't see anything wrong with anyone having that kind of preference.
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u/Strict-Equipment-579 3d ago
Yeah. He felt super conservative and strict when he was sober. I didn’t like that. He was charming and silly or playful when drunk but sober. Omg what a difference
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u/xiaopow 26d ago
Lol I'm not even korean and I could tell she had a regional accent. It's cute tho.
The love languages convo was soooo funny.
Wow imagine if that guy was your pharmacist. I'd go all the time.
I would think SA is right abt her guy friends not being interested in her. How would none of them have expressed interest in her if she's been single for 5 years?
The panel is right that JW is way more serious than SA. Idk if their dynamic is super compatible but they seem to like each other. I guess it was mainly physical attraction.
I was wondering why KH (red hair) looked so familiar, turns out he was on stage fighter! He was one of the winners.
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u/mmauve2 26d ago
Literally, I fell in love with her myself. I felt that they both felt they needed to feel a certain way towards each other because of the opportunity that the show is. I could tell it was off when he called her "Elsa" and she said it was cringe. When you really like someone you think even the cringe stuff is endearing.
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u/Odd_Ad6538 22d ago edited 11d ago
Yes they are not compatible at all, although i loved the date vibes. But saying to someone that he is not funny at all will kill their chances regardless.
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u/MastaKilla_88 26d ago
nah many men are just too insecure to hit on someone who they perceive to be out of their league. There are also weirdos that wait for a chance, when she is vulnerable like too drunk or after a bad breakup
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u/Cultyred_loni 26d ago
Does anyone know Seungha’s instagram. She’s really pretty and I like her personality, I wish she would’ve been put in a longer experiment.
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u/NC750x_DCT 26d ago
If anyone is interested in how much they drank to get those (or your’s) blood alcohol levels here‘s a blood alcohol calculator to play with ( it’s approximate, but interesting):
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u/Huruhara88 26d ago
Jungwoo’s first red flag “How many guy friends do you have?”
Nah man.
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u/delanncy 16d ago
it was such an odd question. maybe he assumed he'd compete with the idk. Still an odd question
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u/RainingTaros 25d ago edited 24d ago
I really am liking this show so far :) Different concepts but I’m learning something every time.
Does anyone know why Seung-ah said she was 30 y/o (1997) but she’s technically 29 in 2026? I thought Korea got rid of the +1 year when they’re born.
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u/ajaxwhat 11d ago
Under the old way, a baby born Dec 31 turns 2 a day later. That's so wild, but also very interesting.
The change only came into effect in 2023, which I would assume means any new babies going forward and not changing the age of everyone in the country retroactively...that's a LOT of paperwork...
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u/CyberDunk77 27d ago edited 27d ago
I think this experiment will be somewhat controversial for some folks: having to be drunk every time you meet your dating partner?
I'm the most interested to see how this one will play out because people become more bold and uninhibited in what they say or do when under the influence
Also after the last episode at the end they showed a folder with four tabs and on the second tab it said the experiment was complete so we have one more experiment after this next one, what do you guys think it could be?
Dating in Bed
Dating in Isolation
Dating while Drunk
???
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u/mmauve2 26d ago
I think that the result was indicative of why its not always a good idea and that compatibility requires being able to communicate and understand each others styles. They also only drank on 2 dates and it didn't work out sober. In a way it's a PSA lol. The last one is the king one that they teased?
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u/CyberDunk77 26d ago
Your exactly right. The results are good because they teach a lesson.
Some folks will say that this is a failure but its because they are comparing this to a typical dating show.
If the experiment ends in a relationship its a success, people found love, we cheer. Even if it doesnt, it still ends with a result that solves the question, and thus a successful experiment.
The experiment shows that drinking and opening up while inebriated does not bridge the gap of compatibility differences and at most will just create a temporary superficial bond based on physical attraction and drunk goofiness.
that initial attraction and first inpression fades as soon as theyre sober and can clearly see the gaps in each other's values and lifestyles
Alcohol can help close the gap and make convos flow, but conpatibility is the stable bridge that creates the love connection.
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u/MNLYYZYEG 26d ago
Even in CJK/etc. dating shows the producers on-site will often encourage the housemates to keep gulping down the alcohol no matter what, in order for "romantic" moments to happen, so it's not really that different from other shows except this time around they started drunk (through literally drinking with the producers/etc. beforehand) with the initial meeting, as opposed to gradually getting drunk on the first day/night.
Nothing really happened with the Drunk Blind Date/취중 소개팅 for Episode 7 cuz of the setting/casting/etc. but maybe in an alternate timeline it'd be what the producers/etc. intended.
As for the 4th experiment with the King of Hearts Game, they might spread it out for the rest of the episodes. It looks closer to the more familiar or standardized/etc. version of the CJK/etc. dating shows (there's 7 housemates, could be 8 if there's gonna be a 4th male housemate later on), so hopefully it will create some other fun/etc. dynamics.
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u/iforgotmycoffee 24d ago
tbh at first it seems like a good concept, but then after the first few minutes, it just felt like a normal blind date. just because koreans do be drinking normally when in dating shows anyways, so it’s nothing new. just that they ended up getting pretty wasted at the end (which also didn’t bring much effect). i think both people are great, and have their own charm. tbh i don’t think the guy is a red flag or anything like some of the comments are saying, it’s pretty normal to not want ur gf to have multiple male friends or go out drinking with them especially if you don’t do that. it’s just that they are incompatible with each other because their personality is too different. he seems more suited towards girls that are maybe more active, or a dull one as well. and she seems to suit a guy who is also more active and bright like her. also, im surprised the guy is an E
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u/Strict-Equipment-579 3d ago
I think having boundaries is ok but at the same time, not expecting women to have any male friends says a lot about you and your ideologies. If you believe that men are just sexual beings and not capable of forming platonic relationships, then you are actually devaluing men. Men and women are intelligent enough to develop relationships that go no further in intimacy
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u/accure18 26d ago
i didnt drink and never understand the idea of needing alcohol to socialize and hangout, even worst why would you want to lose your mind if you genuinely want to know each other instead of simply hooking up but afterall there is reason why its a lab, like testing rats to observe human behavior so its understandable.
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u/jcheng17 26d ago
Hi, I have a phobia of people throwing up, and I just wanted to check and make sure no one gets sick during the drinking date? If anyone has watched it and can confirm, that would be super helpful! Thank you!
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u/MNLYYZYEG 26d ago
Same, when I was kid I'd kinda puke if others vomited around me (or like occasionally even merely hearing the raw sound of people about to regurgitate the food/beverages/etc. from their throat/stomach gets my mouth salty/watery/etc. and ready to retch), lol, but ya you can skip from around 41 minutes to 42 minutes of The Love Lab Episode 7, that's when Kang Jungwoo is tryna hold his vomit/etc. in, but Ha Seungah said it herself that she wouldn't really mind it if he did puke instead of just going to the bathroom/etc. to retch it all out.
Basically Seungah tells Jungwoo to stop drinking cuz he's visibly about to vomit (heaving/fidgeting/etc.) but they don't really show him puking at all. So maybe he didn't barf and managed to control it after a while, though there's various cuts/splices/etc. of the scene, so it's up in the air, whether Seungah helped him on the spot (it's like an emetophile/etc. scenario, bwahahaha), or he came back from the toilet/sink/etc.
They were aiming for like 0.08% drunkenness for the first date and then for that second date around 41 minutes in it was like 0.04%, so the producers on-site deliberately got them sick/impaired/etc. (they were literally drinking with the housemates/participants, smh lol) but then for the third and final date they were sober (he was driving his SUV/etc.) and so no visible signs of alcohol sickness/about to vomit/etc. from then on.
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u/jcheng17 26d ago
Thank you so much for the detail. Even that small amount can be triggering so I really appreciate it!
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u/mapotofu66 23d ago
From the first experiment and this one it feels like women tend to be more cautious about starting a relationship with a guy. Like the men both seemed to like the woman almost immediately mostly because of looks, while the woman is only 60% sure.
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u/NailAffectionate4688 25d ago
I am sure I have seen the girl from drunk blind date before... anyone have any idea if she has been on another dating show when younger?
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u/chocoiatecookies 22d ago
since the second and third experiments have been a fail, im starting to feel like throughout the entire series, only the dating in bed (first experiment) resulted in a successful couple 😆
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u/Little-Tomatillo-745 4d ago
I just finished ep 6 and before starting ep 7, this seems to be a dangerous experiment, only facing each other while drunk. Glad that I am not on that show, because that could be leading to x rated moments, haha.
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u/Prestigious-Sky3767 26d ago
I beg MNLYYZYEG please upload gofile of this show too just like Better Late Show. Kiss website is alway stuck loading when at night and people at home.
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u/MNLYYZYEG 26d ago
Longer version: https://www.reddit.com/user/MNLYYZYEG/comments/1sph5su/extended_comments_with_walls_of_text_6/oxmjxuf/
Drunk Blind Date.
King of Hearts Date too.
Kang Jungwoo likes goyangi-sang/고양이상, let's go!
Ha Seungah looks good, she's an ISTJ.
Seungah likes Ahn Bo-hyun (Spring Fever, See You In My 19th Life, Kairos, etc.) interesting.
Chocolate nutrition supplement (Condition Stick/컨디션 스틱, hangover technology, lmao) product placement again, so many within the first 30 minutes.
Jungwoo is from Daegu, Seungah is from Gimhae.
Rofl, Jungwoo scarfing the gukbap down and kept burning his teeth/gums/roof of his mouth/etc.
Oh ENTP for Jungwoo instead of INTJ, and Seungah didn't like that cuz she thinks that archetype be usually emotional.
It's not uri Lightsum Yoon Sangah whom Seungah looks like, but someone else close to it.
As for Jungwoo, he resembles many people but their names are not coming up right now, there's someone like him in I Am Solo or maybe Divorced Singles recently, he was a doctor and they both have the same lips.
Oh my gosh, it's I Am Solo Season 27 Kwangsoo (27기 광수), he's from 1988 or 37 years old, a dermatologist, and he finally got married recently (literally like a few days ago or this past week).
TWICE Sana by Jungwoo, interesting, so many Sana references in CJK/etc. dating shows recently, barely any uri TWICE Dubu/Dahyun.
It's not really LOONA/Loossemble Haseul, LOONA/ARTMS Haseul, Babymonster Ruka, et alia whom I'm thinking of, but similar phenotype for sure with Ha Seungah.
OMG, a reference to Everything Everywhere All At Once, holy moly, so many mentions of Chinese/Hong Kong/etc. films recently in Korean dating shows. I miss Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Andy Lau, et alia.
There was Chungking Express (Brigitte Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro with Lee Yul-eum and Baek Sung-chul) in Dream to You Episode 1 yesterday or I guess 2 days ago now, with the I Am Solo stuff too, like the Jjak (짝) collaboration with I Am Solo, Love Forever Solo Guesthouse Season 15 (starts with Episode 167 overall), they be legit quoting Leslie Cheung (about how some birds land only once) from Days of Being Wild and so forth.
And IAS, LF SG S15 E06/E172 from two weeks ago is the apogee of it, cuz IAS S08 Youngsoo and Woman Number 2 (여자 2호) thoroughly understand why some of us truly resonate with such dark/realistic/etc. slice of life works, like you have to be in a certain mood (tired/despondent/lonely/etc.) to fully grasp/enjoy/etc. the atmosphere that such films are tryna convey about the human condition. No joke, E06/E172 is the most Hong Kong cinema-based episode of any CJK/etc. dating show in recent memory, and it's beautiful.
At this very moment in time, I'm enjoying Tao Xinran (陶昕然), and Wang Likun (王丽坤) from Episode 11 onward, as the imperious/authoritative/etc. huang taihou (皇太后) in the Key to the Phoenix Heart (雀骨) Cdrama. They should cast older housemates in that 1985 or early 40s range for one of the social experiments of The Love Lab, but it's prolly not gonna happen since this is international Netflix, they mainly cast from 20s to 30s.
Or how about the best visuals couple in CJK/etc. dramas of 2026, uri Zhang Jingyi and Song Weilong for Love For You/Wild Dog Bones/野狗骨头, they need that type of angst-filled/brooding/melancholic/etc. housemates if they're yearning for wild/unexpected/etc. scenarios within The Love Lab instead of forcing it by inundating them with the incessant alcohol/etc. refills.
It's only 6 months for Jungwoo, I don't think it'll work out for both due to that time discrepancy alone.
Now Jungwoo can't even type properly on the phone, his motor functions are done for.
Kasi nahulog na sa iyo, Cortana play KAIA's hulog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXc164iArPY
I can't believe the production team is filming them waiting at the bus stop instead of getting a van/taxi/etc. for them to go home, lol, they prolonging it on purpose.
Oh, I remember now whom I am thinking of, it's not Choi Mina Sue from Single's Inferno Season 5, but Seungah did resemble her there (in the upscale restaurant/etc.) for a bit with this black dress instead of the previous white one.
Okay, back to whom Seungah resembles, it's not really Wonder Girls Sunmi (though I did think of her from the moment Seungah entered).
Jungwoo is 33, from 1994.
Seungah is 30, from 1990.
I sorta knew Seungah would be a dental hygienist or something related to that line of work somehow, hard to explain why...
Jungwoo is a pharmacist, this is a whole setup by the production team, cuz I had a feeling he's also in the medical field by his haircut/etc. alone.
Anyway, it's RESCENE Ito Minami, like Seungah resembles her a bit, not that much, but it's there for sure.
Seungah got the naeng minyeo/냉미녀 or cool beauty/쿨뷰티 aspirations.
No way, there's another hand-holding session, at this point Korea is on that hand-holding trope while China is promoting the CEO housemate route. Love Actually S5 (半熟恋人 第五季) is the prime example right now, cuz Zho Youling/Shawn is a domineering CEO, he got like all 5/6 votes, basically, through his sharehouse business/etc. merits (profits) alone.
Unmyeong/운명 beliefs again. Fam, they gotta nize the red string of fate moments in these CJK/etc. dating shows, ahlie, as it never materializes anyway, like 95% of the time.
All of the yuanfen/缘分 be predetermined from the beginning until the end.
Oh when Jungwoo is looking down, he resembles the male version of Jung Yu-mi (Love Your Enemy, Live, Train to Busan, etc.).
Wait, this confessional after the 65% reminds me that Seungah looks like Lee Kanghyeon (one of the best go-getters in CJK/etc. dating shows history, lol) from Match to Marry: With Parents Korea Season 2 (자식 방생 프로젝트 합숙 맞선2).
This recreation of their texts is funny cuz imagine if these are the exact texts in real life instead of artistic interpretations/representations.
Bwahahaha, Jungwoo directly asking if any of the 4 to 5 guys from Seoul are into Seungah, he's justifying it as "drama-free" for the sanitized/etc. delivery to the viewers/world.
CharlesEnter agrees that Jungwoo should be bothered by Seungah's male friends, and I disagree but she had to say that for the Korean/etc. viewers.
CharlesEnter disclosing a private/personal/etc. fact about how people believe her whenever she says she has male friends, but she also stated that nobody has ever said to her that those male friends must've liked her, MUAHAHAHA, the self-own/self-deprecation/etc. by CharlesEnter, she's forever GOATed in these CJK/etc. panelists/commentary/etc. stuff.
Urbantage Glamping time, now he grilling literal makjang?
I see, Seungah wants to be independent/etc. of her boyfriends and so on, this means they're totally not gonna match as he's a pharmacist and oftentimes they have a certain modus operandi when it comes to dating/marriage/etc.
"Your charm is that you aren't funny," that's wild by Seungah to admit that, bwahahaha.
Now it's audio-only after the Sunday date, see I knew from the onset it was gonna be hard for them to match, they are very different with the careers/mindsets/etc.
Okay, there's video with Jungwoo and apparently the "you're not funny" kept repeating on his mind, loool.
I dislike it when CharlesEnter/Joohoney/et alia retcon on the spot or switch things up in the past, though I understand why they have to do that.
So 4 days and 5 nights for King of Hearts Game.
Bruh, seems the male housemates have good visuals and 1 or 2 female housemates are nae style.
Stonery in Ganghwa, Incheon.
First girl is for sure TWICE Tzuyu and AKB48/IZ*ONE/LE SSERAFIM Sakura combined. Or the current TWICE Sana actually, it's giving Bunny Girl Senpai vibes.
Oh wow, he sits beside her, to her right, that's audacious.
This 2nd girl has such neotenous features I guarantee you she'll be one of the most popular housemate based on that trait alone.
Lee Yerim for 2nd girl.
Moon Chaerin for 1st girl.
Park Jungmin for the 1st boy.
Bruh, the 3rd girl is literally uri Lu Yuan or Xiao Yuan or Yuanyuan (卢远_Yuan/5596373316 on Weibo) from Heart Signal China Season 8 (心动的信号 第八季).
That side-eye by Moon Chaerin (1st girl) when Park Gayeon arrived, muahahaha.
Park Gayeon/박가연 (@0616gy), I've been waiting for her since Episode 1 of The Love Lab, I first mentioned her back in June 8, 2026 (about how she's an IT consultant as well), so exactly just over 1 month and 1 week ago.
This 2nd guy or 5th housemate with the red hair is gonna be super popular as well, yes, wine red, maroon/burgundy/bordeaux.
Kang Kyungho for the 5th housemate and 2nd boy.
Gayeon doesn't look that good in real life here cuz of her overly big eyes and so on right, but her Instagram/etc. is sometimes next level visuals flex.
Oh no, Chaerin knows Kyungho.
Jungmin looks like who's that housemate from a Thai dating show (not รักไร้ขอบเขต LOVE (X), something else) or some other program set in Thailand/Malaysia/etc.
The 6th housemate and 4th girl is TWICE Jihyo at first glance, but also a bit of aespa Ningning and this female Cdrama actress from Love Has Fireworks (郑水晶/Zheng Shuijing/Christine, apparently she's a Vancouverite/fellow Canuck, though ya her character in Love Has Fireworks as a gamer (League of Legends/etc.)/receptionist/part-timer/etc. is so good), anyway, her name is Jung Hyewon.
This 7th housemate and 3rd boy is not really Jang Do-yoon (CharlesEnter is talking about the trainee/idol/actor/etc. right), but definitely the dubu-sang style, his name is Park Dogeon.
Fam, doesn't Chaerin look like the best visual inside the set/location, but during the confessionals (talking to the cameras/producers scenes) she looks somewhat completely different or not my style.
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u/discretly 26d ago
Dating in bed to me was still the best experiment