Romance has completely vanished from “Solo Land.”
SBS Plus and ENA’s real dating show ‘I Am Solo’ Season 31 is currently embroiled in its worst controversy yet. From bullying allegations among participants and suspicions of biased editing by the production team to various unconfirmed rumors, the drama has reached a breaking point, leaving viewers feeling exhausted and furious.
The biggest point of contention is the blatant exclusion and mockery of a specific participant. According to the broadcast and unreleased footage, Ok-sun sparked outrage with crossing-the-line remarks toward a depressed Sun-ja, asking things like, “Who died?” and “It feels like a funeral home.”
The conflict became even more apparent around a running race for a super date ticket. In the episode aired on the 13th, Ok-sun, Young-sook, and Jeong-hee were criticized for seemingly isolating Sun-ja. Even though Sun-ja took first place, Ok-sun praised Young-sook at the lodging, saying, “In our hearts, Young-sook is number one.” Young-sook then made a false claim, saying, “I think my leg got caught on someone’s leg and I fell,” which Sun-ja overheard from behind a door, leading her to burst into tears.
Adding to the stress, Kyung-soo made a selfish request to Sun-ja, asking her to use her super date ticket for Young-sook. This caused Sun-ja extreme stress, eventually leading to severe stomach cramps that required an ambulance. Despite the emergency, Young-sook mocked the situation, asking, “Should I wail too?” while Jeong-hee ignored the suffering Sun-ja. As scenes of the male participants laughing and drinking were aired side-by-side, viewers slammed the cast for “losing their humanity,” with one netizen comparing the atmosphere to the drama ‘The Glory’.
Public anger shifted toward the production team for seemingly protecting the alleged perpetrators. The crew suddenly deleted an unreleased ‘Village Chief Entertainment’ YouTube clip containing Ok-sun’s inappropriate remarks and re-uploaded a preview with Ok-sun’s scenes edited out, adding a caption asking viewers to “refrain from excessive criticism toward the participants.”
In the main broadcast on the 13th, Ok-sun’s screen time was significantly reduced, leading to criticism that the production is minimizing the bullying through editing while only highlighting the victim’s suffering. Some viewers are even moving to file complaints with the Korea Communications Standards Commission over the biased editing.
Outside the show, wild speculations and unconfirmed rumors are spreading uncontrollably. Before the show even aired, rumors circulated that Ok-sun and Season 31’s Young-ho became a final couple and are marrying in September due to a premarital pregnancy. This led angry netizens to ‘review-bomb’ the dental clinic operated by Young-ho, forcing him to quietly close the review section.
Furthermore, on an anonymous community for employees, a shocking claim emerged that Ok-sun demanded her scenes be edited out, citing pregnancy and a nervous breakdown, and allegedly threatened self-harm when the request was initially denied. While the authenticity of this post remains unverified, it is spreading rapidly across communities as if it were a fact, fueled by the current public outrage.
As the fallout grows, the parties involved are reacting differently. Ok-sun has set her social media accounts to private and remains silent. On the other hand, Jeong-hee posted an apology stating, “I felt ashamed of myself while watching and have reflected deeply. I have sincerely apologized to the person involved, and we are on good terms,” but then suddenly deleted the post. She later explained in another post, “I deleted it because I was cautious about every word. I will think more deeply and post a formal message later.”
Despite achieving record-high viewership ratings, ‘I Am Solo’ now faces the heavy task of addressing the neglect of participant protection and the display of provocative violence. All eyes are on how the show will handle this crisis.
