Netflix has been feeding us well with Korean reality TV series, with the likes of Physical 100, and Single’s Inferno dominating the streaming service’s top-watched charts each time a new season drops. If you’ve been craving a new K-reality series to binge, you’re in luck, as Netflix has recently released The Influencer, and it’s garnering tons of buzz.
Here’s why you should watch it.
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The Influencer is a reality TV show focused on, well, influencers. The series pits 77 South Korean influencers against each other to see who eventually becomes crowned the top influencer. Contestants compete via a series of tasks, ranging from content creation to some provocative “mind games”. Influencers are eliminated after each round.
People have been jokingly dubbing the show “Influencer Squid Game” because its contestants compete in challenges to ultimately win a prize pot of 300M Korean won, which works out to S$289,940.
These popular content creators have built their reputations across various social media platforms, from TikTok to YouTube, and even AfreecaTV – Korea’s version of Twitch. They also rep a wide range of entertainment niches. There are conventional mukbang-ers and beauty gurus, but also micro-influencers that create content around the likes of golf and fortune-telling.
We’re not going to flesh out all 77 names, but here are quick bios of the more popular members, and their channels, if you want to lurk.
1. RISABAE
If you’re dialled into Korean beauty, Risabae needs little introduction. She’s a popular beauty guru and makeup artist who has been in the YouTube space for eight years now. Currently, she has over 2.27M subscribers on her YouTube channel.
2. Jang Keun-suk
Named the “Prince of Asia”, Jang Keun-Suk isn’t just an influencer, but an actor, singer, and model too. He’s been in the entertainment business since he was 10 years old, but his claim to fame was really in the drama series, You’re Beautiful, which aired in 2009.
It’s odd to have an established celeb in a show about influencers, but Keun-suk claims he’s a noob in the social media space, and is using this to build his reputation on his YouTube channel. He currently has 650K followers on Instagram.
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3. Jin Yong-Jin
Jin Yong-Jin is a household name in the South Korean YouTube space, with 2.7M subscribers. He’s known for his YouTube mini-series, including the popular variety show, Money Game, which garnered 10M views on its debut episode.
4. Sia Jiwoo
Sia Jiawoo, AKA Park Ji-woo, has one of the most followers on The Influencer, with 27 million on TikTok, and 4 million on Instagram. Today, she’s known for her dancing, beauty, and lifestyle content, but Jiwoo also has a history as a solo K-pop singer.
5. Juice Seyeon
Juice Seyeon isn’t one of the bigger names on the list, but she’s still one to watch. The AfreecaTV broadcast jockey (BJ) is known for her provocative content, and has won over viewers and fellow contestants with her beauty and charm.
6. Gvan
The Influencer doesn’t shy away from queer representation, calling upon contestants like drag artist, Gvan, to compete. Gvan has 1.1 million followers on TikTok, where they’re known for their makeover videos.
7. PaniBottle
PaniBottle, whose real name is Park Jae-han, is a prominent travel YouTuber with 2.29M subscribers on the platform. He’s been making videos since 2015, and is known for his engaging travel content, where he makes an effort to visit sites off the beaten path.
8. Shin Euddeum
Shin Euddeum is best known for her YouTube channel, where she posts fitness and lifestyle videos. Though she started off with quick and easy fitness tutorials, she’s since branched out into vlog and challenge content on the platform. Aside from her YouTube fame, she’s also got almost 800K followers on Instagram.
9. Kejimin
Another famous TikToker to watch on The Influencer is Kejimin, with 11.8M followers on her channel. Her channel doesn’t have a theme per se, though she creates content around dance and TikTok challenges.
11. Jung Jiwoo
Jung Jiwoo might be the sister of BTS’ J-hope, but that’s not her only claim to fame. She’s a successful businesswoman in her own right, and runs a variety of fashion brands and platforms, including the recently defunct online mall, MEJIWOO. She currently has over 10.7M followers on her Instagram and is also active on YouTube.
12. OKING
Oking is a gaming influencer who live streams on his YouTube and Twitch channels. While he is known for his gaming content and outdoor Twitch streams, Oking also streams commentary videos on his Twitch channel. Currently, he has 1.57M subscribers on his YouTube channel.
At the time of writing, the full season of The Influencer has been released on Netflix, so it’s the perfect opportunity to binge watch.
If the concept of a reality TV show built around influencers sounds silly to you, we say give it a chance. The schemes and challenges are quite entertaining and more thought-provoking than you’d expect.
Watch The Influencer on Netflix.
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