New World (Netflix) is my absolute favourite! I wish there was more seasons.

The Zone: Survival Mission on Disney plus (in UK at least) is also well worth a watch.

Korea number 1 is another top tier offering (Netflix), as is The Hungry and the Hairy (Netflix).

Jinny’s Kitchen is my favorite. Who doesn’t love some of the best Korean actors serving up delicious Korean food at a pop-up restaurant?

Whenever possible season 1&2, backpacker chef 1&2, the genius paik 1&2, green beans red beans, unexpected business 1-3, street woman/man figther, stage fighter

Running Man is the best

Other k dating shows you could watch: Transit love top tier!! ; about 4-5 ex couples come to live in a house together to get to know each other. The catch is you have to pretend that you dont know your ex while they’re flirting and going on dates with the other girls

Sibling Romance (the creator of Transit love made this after leaving transit love) : they only have 1 season but you come on this show to live in your house with your sibling and yall have to pretend you’re strangers (same premise as transit love vut sibling edition)

Heart signal: just random ppl who live in the house togerher and try to fall in love (i believe this is the OG dating show it first started in China)

Love Catcher: people are either here for love or money

Change days (the sickest concept btw): couples (mind you they’re still together) who are having problems and on the verge of breaking up come on here to see if they want to stay or meet someone else. So your bf is going on dates with other girls then coming home to you and yall have to stay in the same house afterwards like everything is normal :///😭😭

Eden: i never finished this but other people like it

Crash Landing On You

But this question is best asked in r/KDRAMA or maybe r/kdramarecommends

The Glory. Fun fact the transwoman player in Squid game S2 is cast here as a bad boy.

Queen of tears.

Extraordinary Attorney Wio

In my opinion It's Okay to Not Be Okay. It has mystery thriller, romance, and a bit of comedy.

Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Alchemy of Souls, business Proposal, Love to Hate You, Her Private Life

“twenty five twenty one” hands down the BEST kdrama i’ve ever seen

It's an new addition on netflix right, I saw it was trending there. Is it good?

It's one of the best drama I have watched. Thanks for recommending. I have already watched it, but don't mind watching it again. Hehe:)

One of my favorites❤️

If you're new to Korean variety shows and looking for a guide to get started, here are some popular shows to check out:

1. Running Man

- Recommended Episode: 209 (Great for idol fans, although you may not know the idols if you're new to K-pop)

2. Knowing Bros

- Start with the Red Velvet episode

3. 2 Days 1 Night

- Season 4 is great for first-timer and easier to get into (Note: You may end up disliking some members from the previous seasons, even this one...)

4. Infinite Challenge

- Features famous Korean figures and unforgettable projects

5. New Journey to the West

- Produced by Na PD (Start with Season 4)

6. Earth Arcade

- A new variety show and a personal favorite

7. Game Caterers with Starship

- Specifically the episode with Starship as most Na PD shows follow a similar format

If you want a more structured path into the world of Korean variety shows, here are some recommended paths:

The Yoo Jae-Suk Path:

X-Man (Optional, unnecessary) -> Family Outing -> Infinite Challenge or Running Man -> Sixth Sense -> Hangout with Yoo or Yoo Quiz on the Block

The Na PD Path:

2 Days 1 Night Season 1 -> New Journey to the West -> Kang's Kitchen -> Game Caterers or Earth Arcade

The Jung Jong-Yeon Path (Game Show):

The Genius -> Society Game -> Great Escape -> Girls' High Mystery Class

Additionally, here are some other fun shows you might enjoy, although they may not be for everyone:

- I Live Alone

- Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast (A lot of people start with this one, idk why)

- My Little Old Boy

- All the Butlers

- Busted, The Zone (YJS Show)

- Return of Superman

- Dating Shows (Heart Signal)

- Idol-Specific Shows

Classics:

Family Outing S1 : It was when the industry started to realize the highlight really are the members/cast chemistry rather than the activities they were doing.

1 Night 2 Days S3 : 1N2D is a must for understanding K-variety shows. And S3 is the best season of them all.

Though the real classic for Koreans is X-Man, it's not actually objectively good and is just nicely nostalgic for Koreans. And back then the Korean industry haven't really made a style of its own, so X-Man feels much more like Japanese variety show (which was leading back then).

Other genres:

The Genius (all 4 seasons have totally different charms): It made its own genre of survival show and birthed several legends/legendary moments. Well crafted.

Abnormal Summit: Cable shows started to takeover and this show showed why. A bunch of foreigners interested in Korea talking about differences in culture. This show is a really good introduction to K-variety.

Finally:

All Na PD shows: from 1 Night 2 Days until Jinnie's Kitchen, Na PD went though the different changes in Korean Entertainment and reflected it in his work. He's not just essential but quintessential to K-variety. Amongst his show I'd pick an underrated one he dropped, The Human Condition. I'd say Na PD went from being maximalist to minimalist in his approach, and Human Condition was in between.

His maximalist approach was channeled through Kang Hodong, his in betweens by Lee Seunggi, and finally his minimalist approach by Lee Seojin. They were all great evolutions lol.

Alot. 2D1N original season to see how the godfather of outdoor variety started and how brutal it actually was. There's also Infinite Challenge similar to 2D1N but different. New Journey to The West is great as well. 3 Meals a day is a good show but much more laid back. There's Youn's Kitchen, Korean Hostel in Spain. The main denominator is PD Na(not for Infinite Challenge though). He has a youtube channel,Full Moon where he plays games with tv show and movie casts as well as k-pop groups and it's english subbed too. I live alone, How do you play are great shows.

If you're interested in Kpop then I would look up whichever Running Man episodes have idols that you are interested in and start with those episodes. The Running Man episodes don't have to be watched in order.

From there you'll probably be exposed to other guests that you are interested in and you can look up other variety shows they have been on. That's how I started... I would just look up actors that I liked and if they had been on Running Man and watched random episodes. I eventually got to Song Joong Ki and from there on started watching RM from the beginning.

On Netflix, I'll go with "Busted" (You should start with that. It got the korean type of editing but more open to international fans)

The "classic" that I still watch : Running man, 2 days 1 Night.
For those 2, I recommend to start with RM. If you can go from the first episode you'll see the developement of each cast members, there role in the show and how there relation develop along the years. Be warn : there is more than 650 episodes. But still recommend it.

Among the new show, Earth Arcade (2022) should be fun to watch. The Second Season will come at the end of the year I think.

If you want an order : "Busted" (Netflix) → Earth Arcade → Running Man

2 Days 1 Night, I want to recommend the third season but amongst the member there was (and still) a trash, and the new season, the beginning was really hard for them and us. I don't recommend to watch it, not now at least. Still classic tho.

The list is not big list but It should be a good starting point, in my opinion.
And there will be other people that will said there "essential".

I recently started Agents of Mystery and I’m super sucked in! They put a lot of work into this show with all the story building they do for the challenges. A team of young adults get sent to a location where they have to solve a mystery and escape before they run out of time. The first challenge is having to save 3 kidnapped women from a satanic cult in an abandoned warehouse. It’s so immersive that for a second I’ll almost believe they’re really solving this crime. Highly recommend it.

I've only watched the devil's plan...are the other 3 as good?

Physical 100 is just insane what they put the contestants though. Culinary class wars is just ruthless and cruel

Busted and zombieverse to hold you over

The one with old people dating was hilarious.

Loved: Extraordinary Attorney Woo, A Business Proposal, Mouse, The Glory, King the Land, My Demon, Goblin, Coffee Prince, Yumi’s Cells, Hospital Playlist, Our Unwritten Seoul, Doom at Your Service

Liked A Lot: Romance is a Bonus Book, CLOY, Crash Course in Romance, Her Private Life, Study Group, Undercover High School, Shooting Stars, Her Private Life, Mr. Queen, Hidden Love

Didn’t like: Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, Queen of Tears, Start Up, My ID is Gangnam Beauty, Cinderella and the 4 Knights, Love Alarm, Boys over Flowers, Hierarchy

Meh: Tastefully Yours, Beauty Inside, Hotel Del Luna, Little Women

Dropped: Too many, but Love Next Door and Forecasting Love and Weather stand out.

Top tier Loved: alchemy of souls s1, the one and only, iris, defendant, the king eternal monarch, the heirs, faith (maybe biased with the lee min ho dramas)

Loved: hometown cha cha cha, because this is my first life, school 2017, Cinderella and the four knights, legend of the blue Sea, bulgasal, hwarang

Liked: moorim school, Alice

Couldn't stop watching: when the phone rings, squid game, all of us are dead

Ones that I loved and not mentioned as often:

June watch of the month: Move to Heaven

Fun watch: Bad and Crazy

Movie w 2 talents: Be with You

I love Move to Heaven. I was surprised by how much I love racket boys. Obviously I'm a fan of Tang Jun Sang.

Enjoy matrimonial chaos too & the surprisingly good AoS s1!

Loved

• Healer
• Her Private Life
• Squid Game
• What's Wrong with Secretary Kim
• Hometown Cha Cha Cha
• Love to Hate You
• A Virtuous Business
• Crazy Love
• No Gain, No Love
• Business Proposal
• A Love So Beautiful
• The Trunk

Liked

• Mad for Each Other
• King the Land
• Forecasting Love and Weather
• The Secret Life of My Secretary
• Signal
• Because This Is My First Life
• So I Married an Anti-fan
• My Demon
• Love Next Door
• Spice Up Our Love
• Tomorrow with You

Average (as in my enjoyment, not as in quality)

• Suspicious Partner
• Clean with Passion for Now
• Crash Course in Romance
• Marry My Husband
• The Silent Sea

Didn't Like (but also didn't hate)

• She Would Never Know
• Witch's Romance
• Backstreet Rookie
• Gangnam B-Side
• Romance in the House
• Love Alarm (did hate this one 😂)

Dropped

• A Time Called You (too confusing, even after reading explanations online)
• Love with Flaws (I could not get past the ML - he was supposed to be the hotter one????)
• The Guest (only because I wasn't in the mood for it at the time)

NA PD collaborating for the first time with Netflix. Its an original Content (new show) scheduled to be released in fourth quarter.

Driver looks like more Beat Coin!

I was really disappointed when Beat coin ended, it was my favourite variety show so I’m happy they managed to find a way to come back :) I read that the running time would be 30 mins though, so I’m curious about how the episodes will be structured

Solitary Gourmet is absolutely fantastic, hope they manage to capture what makes the original so good.

Seems like these are Netflix Korea YT contents, the names aren't listed on the Netflix K Content slate

Kwon Ji Yong (권지용) Act III: Motte - Official Documentary - It follows G-Dragon on his last tour. Its a bit depressing for some, but I love the insight into the planning and execution of his tour, mixed with personal life, illness, etc.

seventeen's hit the road is their documentary that shows their struggles both as an artist and as a group. personally, i can't watch this again since this is vv traumatic 😭

9muses’ documentary is scarily honest

The 9muses documentary 💔

Go watch PeakTime. There's 24 groups vying to have a 2nd Debut. It explains the process, you see the grueling bits, the constant practices (vocal, dance), and heartbreak involved.

I think https://myasiantv.cc has a lot of reality and variety shows, it also has we got married dont know about the other one though.

Check out My K-Pop Show! It's a multifandom discovery website for K-pop boy group lovers.

It's perfect if you’re looking for new shows or want to explore entertaining content from different K-pop boy groups. You can easily sort and search shows by artist or genre. You can also browse through our curated lists of recommendations.

We update the website regularly, so bookmark us if you want to keep discovering new shows!