I love trash TV. I live for trash TV. I have powered through seasons of 90 Day Fiancé, Love Is Blind, and Singles Inferno like it was my civic duty.

So when Netflix dropped My Korean Boyfriend, a reality show about five Brazilian women flying to South Korea to meet the Korean men they fell for online. I should’ve been seated, snacks ready, judgment fully unlocked.

Instead? I noped out the f out.

Not because it’s bad in a fun way. But because it’s bad in a secondhand embarrassment that crawls up your spine and makes you pause the TV to stare at the wall kind of way.

And according to Reddit, I’m not alone.

The Premise: K-Drama Dreams, Reality Check Pending

On paper, My Korean Boyfriend sounds like a Netflix algorithm dream:
Five Brazilian women travel to South Korea to finally meet their long-distance, online Korean boyfriends and see if their pixelated romances can survive real life, including language barriers, cultural differences, family pressure, and the fact that K-dramas are…fictional.

Think: K-drama aesthetic meets 90 Day Fiancé energy, with inner monologues and slow-motion stares thrown in for good measure.

In reality? Viewers quickly realized this isn’t a hot singles dating show. Most of these couples have already been talking, or straight up dating, for a year or more. Which makes what unfolds next deeply confusing.

The Cringe: When “So… Do You Have Allergies?” Is the Peak of Romance

Apparently, despite a year of online communication, some couples meet in person and immediately discover deal-breakers like:

• Cat allergies (when she owns multiple cats)
• Massive language gaps
• Financial instability
• Completely mismatched expectations
• And the shocking realization that typing hearts on WhatsApp is not the same as holding a conversation

One infamous first date reportedly went like this:

“You’re really nice.”
“Do you have any allergies?”
“Speaking of health, I care about health.”
“I’m quite a boring guy.”
“Right… yeah.” (x4)

The Guys: Realistic…But Reality TV Is Not a Documentary

Let’s address the elephant in room. Yes, the Korean men are mostly average-looking. And no, that’s not inherently a crime.

Plenty of viewers defended this choice, arguing that K-dramas and K-pop represent the top 1% of Korean beauty and showing regular people helps break unrealistic fantasies.

However, and this is where the show fumbles, average does not have to mean charisma vacuum. Reality TV lives and dies on personality, and many viewers felt these men were painfully stiff, awkward, or simply not built for televised dating.

Cultural differences absolutely play a role (Korean dating norms are more reserved, silence isn’t awkward, etc.), but this is still television. Producers filter contestants for a reason.

The Women: K-Drama Brainrot or Bad Editing?

If the men were criticized for being dull, the women caught heat for being… a lot.

Common complaints included:

• Unrealistic expectations fueled by K-dramas
• Little effort to learn Korean despite long-term relationships
• Complaining about “boring” conversations while asking zero questions
• Romanticizing toxicity (“I like guys who break my heart” — girl what??)

One woman shows up as a single mother, immediately ignoring glaring red flags from a financially unstable boyfriend who once left her stranded at the airport. Another refuses to use a translator device while simultaneously complaining about communication issues.

Fetishization or Just Messy Reality TV?

This is where the discourse gets spicy.

Some viewers, especially Koreans and Korean Americans, felt the show leaned dangerously close to fetishization, marketing Korean men as “oppa fantasies” rather than fully realized people. Others pushed back, saying fetishization goes both way and that not every cross-cultural relationship is creepy

The truth? The marketing does a lot of damage here. The show is framed like a K-drama fantasy, even when the actual content screams “logistical nightmare.” That disconnect makes everyone look worse than they probably are.

The Final Verdict: K-Drama Is a Genre, Not a Dating Strategy

Romance isn’t guaranteed because someone is Korean. Chemistry doesn’t magically appear because you met online. And love definitely doesn’t survive on Google Translate and vibes alone.

The show has also been renewed for a Season 2, which I sort of expected.

Some people genuinely enjoy the show. Some appreciate its realism. Some can’t stop watching because it’s a train wreck they’re emotionally invested in.

Me, personally, I’ll be sitting this out along with Season 2. Have you watched My Korean Boyfriend?