Older, but not wiser in love, on season two of ‘Better Late than Single’

A year after first-time daters charmed Korea with their clumsy but honest attempts at love, “Better Late than Single” (2025–) returns Tuesday with older, more self-assured participants. This brought a greater sense of maturity, though not necessarily in love, with more avoidance, caution and second-guessing, according to the dating reality show’s producers and celebrity panelists.

“If season one was about [contestants] charging straight ahead, season two has more single people who are more wishy-washy,” producer Kim No-eun said at a press conference in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Wednesday.

“I can say with confidence that the female singles stand out this season,” Kim added, citing one woman who loved drinking but declared that she would cut back on alcohol, making the producer wonder, “Is this the power of love?”

“Better Late than Single” brings together people who have never been in romantic relationships, referred to as "motae solo"in Korea, with motae meaning "since birth." After receiving coaching on areas including their appearance and communication skills, the non-celebrity participants live together in a camp as they look for love.

The first season became one of Netflix Korea’s surprise dating show hits last year, entering Netflix’s global Top 10 TV non-English chart and ranking No. 2 in Korea, while also making Top 10 lists in other Asian countries.

The producers believe the first season’s appeal came from its cast members’ awkward but sincere approach to love — and from the sense that they were genuinely looking for romance, unlike contestants on some dating shows who are suspected of joining to build their public profiles.

“If other dating shows feel like watching someone else’s romance, our show makes viewers confront their own past,” producer Won Seung-jae said. “Whether it’s unintentionally attacking someone with a song or killing the mood with an overly sophisticated joke, these are things viewers have experienced themselves. They see themselves in the contestants, become more invested and end up playing dating coach from home.”

The crew sought to bring the same magic by choosing “sincere” participants from a pool of more than 17,000 applicants and adding devices throughout filming “more deliberately” to encourage interaction among the contestants, Kim said.

For people with no dating experience, however, those prompts may not have been enough.

“Two filming locations fell through,” she said. “People just didn’t sign up for things.”

Producer Won said the show introduced a “post office,” which allowed participants to send letters whenever they wanted to express their feelings.

“We thought it might help them open up more comfortably,” he said. “But some treated it like they were on a competitive game show. They held back and saved their letters, as if they were department store gift certificates. Some never used them until the very end.”

Actors Seo In-guk and Kang Han-na, singer Car, the Garden and comedian Lee Eun-ji return as the show’s four “some makers” — a term combining some, Korean slang for the stage just before romance begins, and “maker.” The four serve as mentors, in their own unique ways, to the contestants and as panelists who comment live on footage from the participants’ time at the camp.

According to Kim, Car, the Garden began the season by declaring that he would “embrace and protect” the contestants. Within 20 minutes, however, he delivered all the dating advice he had given over the course of the first season in one go, she said.

The singer offered a blunt assessment of the participants at Tuesday’s press conference.

“The defining trait of people who haven’t been in relationships is that they misunderstand things and say a lot of unnecessary things,” he said. “They battle to see who can say the most useless thing, and then they repeat it.”

Seo said viewers could look forward to Car, the Garden’s relationship advice.

“But people will have strong opinions about them, so only half will like them,” Seo said.

Lee recalled feeling frustrated by how often the participants simply waited.

“So I told them, ‘Here, you have to approach people first.’ Then some approached too much, which was a little startling. I also told them to take time to reset and have time for themselves — but then some took too much time alone,” she said.

One contestant the producers and panelists kept coming back to was the man who tried to relay his feelings through karaoke.

Seo had one piece of advice for anyone considering doing the same: Don’t.

“To everyone across the country who thinks they can sing, don’t mix confessions with songs,” Seo said. “The success rate is low.”

The advice came from experience from a professional singer who won the first season of the singing competition show “Super Star K” (2009-16), no less. Seo said he had once “attacked” someone with a confession through singing when he was younger — and failed. 

“Season one gave me a taste I couldn’t forget,” he said. “Watching the [season two] participants, I got that same strong flavor again.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]