K-Pop survival shows became popular within the third generation of K-Pop idol debuts. The success of shows like the Produce franchise created a flurry of these new types of shows—ones that viewers can’t seem to get enough of. These days, new survival reality shows are a dime a dozen, with many of today’s most popular artists gaining fame as a result of being on such shows, such as BIGBANG, TWICE, Chungha, and Stray Kids. Though reality survival shows were popularized in the mid-2010s, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t exist before then. This month we’ll take a look at the history of K-Pop survival reality shows and how they’ve affected the K-Pop fan experience. 

Because of the sheer number of these shows, rather than looking at them in chronological order, we’ll look at these shows in three different categories. First, we’ll look at survival shows that occur within an agency, with a clear goal to find members for a group concept that has already been developed by the company. Second, we’ll look at intercompany competition shows such as Produce 101. Lastly, we’ll take a look at survival reality shows for established artists with subject matters adjacent to idol activities. 

Agency Survival Reality Shows

Even before the turning point that was Produce 101 in 2016, survival reality shows that covered the formation of one group with a single agency’s trainees were already popular. In 2006, six male YG Entertainment trainees took part in the show Big Bang Documentary to find the five members that would make up the group. The show consisted of the members taking part in mini-competitions to test their dancing, rapping, and singing skills, as well as making time for the viewers to get to know them. BIGBANG’s documentary proved to be a good move, as the group went on to break barriers within the music industry and they’re role models for many of today’s most popular artists.  

Another second generation group that had an internal agency competition show was the DSP Media girl group KARA with the 2014 show KARA Project. After the departure of Nicole and Jiyoung, seven female DSP trainees competed to claim a spot in the group—including current KARD member Somin. In the case of KARA Project, the show was released after KARA’s peak and did not really materialize for the group. 

Also in 2014, the Mnet competition show NO.MERCY began. The show featured 13 male Starship Entertainment trainees competing to debut in a then-unnamed boy group. Senior artists from the label acted as mentors to the trainees as they competed in a series of challenges that resulted in eliminations during episodes. The show ended with six winning trainees eventually debuting as the group we know today as MONSTA X. The show also spawned the legendary moment when a new trainee—now known as I.M— was added into the mix midway through the show, who would then go on to debut with the group.

The following year, JYP Entertainment partnered with Mnet to develop the girl group-making show SIXTEEN—though this was not J.Y. Park’s first foray into survival shows as he had been a judge on the survival reality show K-Pop Star since 2011. JYP’s veteran boy groups 2PM and 2AM were also part of a boy group trainee documentary called Hot Blood Men. SIXTEEN pitted 16 female JYP trainees to vie for a spot in the company’s new girl group TWICE. The trainees were separated into two groups: Majors and Minors. Majors were a lineup of seven girls set to debut, while Minors were nine girls looking to replace girls in the Major category. Each week this lineup would change depending on each girl’s ranking, and came with advantages and disadvantages such as practice facilities and quality of housing. The show ended with the formation of a nine-member group, with two members being added by J.Y. Park himself and fan voting. TWICE is now one of the biggest girl groups in K-Pop with a following that exceeds Korea, while other participants of the show have also found success in their own right, debuting as solo artists or in other groups.

Of the original “Big 3” companies, YG and JYP have much more of an affinity for intra-agency reality shows than SM Entertainment, who so far has participated in none directly. To show this, let’s look at the shows WIN: Who Is Next, Mix & Match, and Stray Kids. Fans of the YG boy groups WINNER and iKON would already know this, but the groups originated from shows that themselves were linked to each other. WIN: Who Is Next premiered in 2013 with two set teams of male trainees, Team A and Team B, competing against each other to debut. The groups were judged by their senior YG label artists, and fan voting ultimately decided which team would go on to debut. Team A, the winner of the series, debuted as the aptly named WINNER. Members of Team B would go on to star in the 2014 show Mix & Match, with three new trainees vying for a spot in iKON. Both groups have found success, and contestants eliminated from Mix & Match would debut in other ways as well. 

In 2017, JYP Entertainment returned with the boy group project show Stray Kids in conjunction with Mnet. The group of nine trainees were a close-knit group of friends tasked with giving their all in order to debut together. The concept differed from previous intra-agency shows in that the trainees were not competing with each other, but competing to prove to the agency that they deserved to debut together. Two members of the group were eliminated but later brought back to debut as a nine-piece band. Though Stray Kids is a relatively new group compared to other artists mentioned on this list, they have been able to develop their own fan base both in and outside of Korea, and are continuing to successfully make a name for themselves. 

Interagency Competition Shows

While intra-agency shows have been around for a long time, it wasn’t until recently that shows featuring trainees from a host of different agencies became a thing. Previously, agencies wanted to keep their trainees private until their debut. However, in 2016 the South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M launched the girl group-forming show Produce 101. The concept of the show was to bring together 101 of the country’s female trainees and have them compete for one of 11 spots in a super girl group, determined purely by fan voting. This group would be active for a contractually agreed upon amount of time under CJ E&M before returning to their own agencies. The final group became known as I.O.I, and was hugely popular during their one year contract, and they still have a loyal fandom to this day. 

The group acted as a good starting point for its members, as many of them are now successful in their own right—Chungha, SOMI, Sejeong, and Weki Meki’s Yoojung and Doyeon were all members of I.O.I. The show gained a global following that spawned a franchise to include Chinese and Japanese versions of the show that are still airing. This show was a turning point for Korean reality shows; after Produce 101, not only did the franchise flourish, but so did other reality survival shows like The Unit and Idol School. 

There were also shows that did not involve agency trainees, but were stepping stones for the artists we know today. As mentioned previously, the show K-Pop Star ran for a whopping six years. On K-Pop Star, contestants from all walks of life applied and competed to be shown to judges from the original Big 3 companies: SM, JYP, and YG. The winner was able to have their choice in signing with one of the companies and received other prizes. There was also a voting component to the show, after a certain point viewers were able to cast their votes and contestants who received the lowest scores were booted off the show. Artists that have come out of the K-Pop Star franchise include LEE HI, AKMU, Jamie, KARD’s BM, and WINNER’s Seunghoon. Other similar shows include Star Audition: The Great Birth, and Superstar K, which first featured artists such as BTS’s Jungkook, WINNER’s Seungyoon, Seo Inguk, and Huh Gak. 

Idol-Adjacent Reality Survival Shows

This last category of reality survival shows exists as its own category both inside and outside the idol industry, with shows that include idols or are only for idols, arguably counting on idol involvement for exposure. These shows are in one category because they will often include artists who have already debuted or act as promotional activity for soon-to-debut artists.

Most recently, the show Queendom and its sequels Road to Kingdom and Kingdom: Legendary War are the newest type of reality survival shows to be developed. Queendom premiered on Mnet in 2019, following six female K-Pop artists and artist groups battling to find the true “queen.” Each group or artist released singles at the same time, and the group with the most votes won the round. The show included veteran artists such as MAMAMOO, AOA, and Park Bom, as well as junior artists such as (G)I-DLE, Lovelyz, and Oh My Girl. After weeks of performance-based competition, MAMAMOO was crowned the winner of the show. 

Following the success of Queendom, Mnet developed the Kingdom series, first with Road to Kingdom and then Kingdom: Legendary War. Road to Kingdom began airing in 2020, giving seven largely unknown boy groups with great potential the chance to compete for a spot in the upcoming reality show Kingdom, which would feature more established senior male artists. After winning Road to Kingdom, The Boyz went on to join groups BTOB, iKON, SF9, ATEEZ, and Stray Kids in Kingdom: Legendary War. Though there are elements of the show that are similar to Queendom, these two shows have their own unique characteristics. For one, unlike Queendom, Kingdom won’t have a crowned winner. Thus, the show is more focused on the performance factor and showing different sides of each group. 

There are also shows that idols participate in that are not necessarily crafted for idols. Nevertheless, these shows benefit from the viewership that idols are able to bring them. These include dance shows such as Dancing High and Hit the Stage, as well as rap competition shows Show Me the Money, High School Rapper, and Unpretty Rapstar. In these types of shows, an idol’s passion and talent for performance—whether it be through dance or rap—is often called into question to be verified. In the case of Dancing High and Hit the Stage, idols are viewed positively, seen as talented artists with high performance capability. Idols who have been featured on these shows include SHINee’s Taemin, NCT’s Jisung and Ten, GOT7’s Yugyeom, TWICE’s Momo, and SISTAR’s Bora. 

The best known idol rap competition show is Show Me the Money, whose first season aired in 2012. There have been several idol contestants on the show, including Season 3 winner Bobby of iKON, Season 4 runner-up MINO from WINNER, SEVENTEEN’s Vernon, and MONSTA X’s JOOHONEY, and most recently Stray Kids’ Changbin. Unlike dance competition shows, idols who participate in these shows are tasked with proving their talent and genuine passion for rap to a section of the music industry that questions their artistry. Although these shows aren’t built around idols’ appearances, the viewership their fans bring is good PR for both the TV stations and the idols themselves. Other similar rapping shows include High School Rapper, which famously featured NCT’s Mark. A spin-off of SMtM called Unpretty Rapstar featured female idol rappers such as Wonder Girls’ Yubin, AOA’s Jimin, and most notably (G)I-DLE’s Soyeon, who is a producer in her own right. 

Reality shows are a newer phenomenon, but they hold an important position in the K-Pop industry. They allow artists and trainees to gain a wider following by appealing to either the general population of viewers who are partial, or even just open, to supporting K-Pop artists. Before reality shows, idols and trainees did not have many ways to appeal to and build connections with potential fans. Even in earlier iterations of the survival reality show model, fans were only given the opportunity to have a look at their idol’s journey. Now, with the advent of social media and voting techniques, the current model of reality shows allows fans to feel a sense of participation in the development of the relationships they have with their chosen artists. They can also feel a sense of actual achievement beyond just music shows, as voting for their favorites on a reality show may mean they get to see them in a group of their choosing.