Your weekend survival-TV guide: Korean competition shows worth bingeing

From “Physical: Asia” to “Just Makeup” and the upcoming second season of “Culinary Class Wars,” Korea is in the middle of a survival competition boom. To help you ride the wave and line up your weekend binge, here’s a look at some of the country’s most popular survival shows, spanning everything from cerebral strategy and military endurance to K-pop stardom.

“The Genius” on Tving

Long hailed as Korea’s gold standard in brain-game competition shows, “The Genius” has built a fiercely loyal following in Korea, running four seasons and 48 episodes.

Each season gathers some 13 contestants, all with distinct skill sets, who battle through rounds of intricate strategy games. Their in-game currency, the garnet, carries a value of 1 million won apiece and the ultimate victor walks away with prize money equal to the garnets they’ve amassed.

Set inside a sealed environment, the series thrives on psychological warfare, shifting alliances and complex missions. Plot specifics and game mechanics are full of twists, and consequently, spoilers — but discovering its surprises firsthand is what makes this pioneering franchise such a must-watch.

“The Iron Squad” on Netflix, Tving, Watcha

Think of it as “Physical” reimagined with elite former soldiers. “The Iron Squad” brings together Korea’s most formidable ex-special forces operatives, including army and naval units and air force commandos, who compete in a series of demanding physical missions designed to determine the strongest squad in the nation.

The format pits four-member teams representing their respective military branches against one another, spotlighting endurance, tactical discipline and the grit forged through combat training. The series also turned figures like Yuk Joon-seo into breakout entertainment personalities, marking "The Iron Squad" as one of Channel A's most popular intellectual properties.

“I-Land” on Tving

A joint production between CJ ENM and Hybe, “I-Lland” arrived in 2020 as a next-gen K-pop survival audition series. It was also the first in Korean idol-audition history to introduce live global broadcasts and open international voting.

The program tracks the emotionally charged journey of trainees fighting for a debut spot. Elevated by lavish production value and the worldwide voting system that built an international fanbase, the show ultimately launched the career of Enhypen, one of today’s most popular fourth-generation idol groups.

Delve into the thrill of watching trainees push themselves to the brink in pursuit of their dreams, in a K-pop idol survival program that rose to global prominence and went on to be named a finalist in the International Emmy Awards’ non-scripted entertainment category in 2021.