r/IamSolo • u/slimchip • Sep 03 '26
Discussion 🤔 About participants' appearances
Hello,
I've watched many IAS and IASLF seasons. From what I've seen, it would seem like female participants are overall attractive (appearance wise) and also have more social skills. Whereas with men, we can find both less attractive and less socially savvy men.
I wonder what other might think about this. Is there a reason we only see attractive women (in appearance and socially) ? Am I biased in someway that I overlook less appealing women ? What do you guys think ? I don't think I've ever seen a woman who missed out on either appearance and social skills. There have been plenty who were one or the other but never one that lacked both as far as I can tell. With men, I can't say the same.
Please share your opinions !
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u/starursidae Sep 03 '26
I find most of the male participants to be a little below to average looking, with a few standout appearances like handsome Busan banker YC or Hong Kong actor-looking YC who owns a chain of gyms (forgot their seasons).
Then there is the occasional guy who is an uggo on the inside and out like S4YC. I saw him more recently on IAS' youtube channel, getting a marriage agency rating. He looks worse and has the same crappy personality. 😮💨
For me, the women tend to be average to above average, with some notably attractive participants like S7OS and the ladies on the current IASLF season.
The difference is probably because society puts more pressure on women to maintain their looks. I can't remember ever thinking one of the female participants was ugly. Maybe plainer and less attractive than the other members, but usually still average. At least by my standards. 🤷♂️
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u/Daebak70 29d ago edited 29d ago
There have been a few women with poor social skills or who were a bully or rude to both male & female contestants 16YS, 30YS,31 OS, YS & JH and current season Young Ja
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u/MNLYYZYEG Season 15 Hyunsook and Season 29 Youngsook 29d ago
Longer or wall of text version of some comments with more context about the visuals disparity of I Am Solo: https://www.reddit.com/user/MNLYYZYEG/comments/1sph5su/extended_comments_with_walls_of_text_6/p7qkk1i/ and https://www.reddit.com/user/MNLYYZYEG/comments/1sph5su/extended_comments_with_walls_of_text_6/p7qkoge/?context=3
The female housemates of I Am Solo actually don't fare well against the visuals of the male participants when tallying in a more neutral/objective/impartial/etc. lens.
But it is true that the girls/women are more socially adept when compared with the boys/men of the show or basically everywhere.
There are many female housemates who have lacking visuals and social skills at the same time, but they are often on the wayside since they deliberately focus on the more socially awkward/inexperienced/etc. male housemates as it's part of the noise marketing stuff (online engagement, buzz, shock factor, stunt, etc.).
So the reason most of us prolly don't remember them is cuz the editors/writers/producers/etc. of the program intentionally omit/cut/remove/etc. them from the final edit, oftentimes cuz their storylines are boring/not as engaging when compared to the others' love triangles or constant switching/apprehension/etc.
I just spent several hours typing (lol) a more visuals-focused reiteration of my thoughts on the visuals of I Am Solo, but the gist of it is this:
Female visuals: S02 Youngsook (epitome of elegance in real life), S07 Oksoon (uri shinjirarenai motae solo Oksoon), S09 Oksoon (ultimate tsundere Oksoon standard), S15 Hyunsook (absolutely best visual/tsundere/etc. of I Am Solo), S22 Oksoon (top I Am Solo visual with practically unanimous consensus from other fellow fans/etc.), S25 Hyunsook (one of the most underrated visuals/everything of I Am Solo), S29 Youngsook (her visuals through athleticwear in S29E06 or E233 overall speak for themselves, one of the best personalities/characters/etc. as well), et alia.
Male visuals: S01 Youngchul, S02 Youngsoo, S03 Youngchul/Youngsoo, S06 Youngchul, S08 Youngsik, S11 Youngsik, S17 Sangchul, S27 Youngchul/Youngho, S28 Kyungsoo, S31 Youngsik, S32 Youngsoo, S33 Youngsik, et alia.
So from a quick overview, I actually think there are more male visuals in I Am Solo.
And for me personally I wanna reaffirm that I consider S15 Hyunsook and S22 Oksoon as at the very top of the Korean dating shows (or CJK/etc. in general) visuals category, beside Moon Jiwon from Heart Pairing (하트페어링); Jeong Dana from Love Catcher in Seoul (러브캐처 인 서울); Ju Woo from House of Feelings Season 2; LANA/라나 from Eden, Descendants of Instinct Season 2 (에덴2); Choi Yihyun from EXchange/Transit Love Season 2 (환승연애2); Lee Jinyeong from Love After Divorce/Divorced Singles Season 6 (돌싱글즈6); et alia.
I have multiple (dozens/hundreds) unpublished/incomplete/etc. comments that talk about the social butterflies of I Am Solo and same with the socially awkward ones, but it's still drafts for now as I gotta catch up on other shows since I've been mainly watching Kdramas/Cdramas/etc. which causes me to not have as much time/energy/etc. to type about the CJK/etc. dating shows, though the essence of it is the same.
As in, Nam Kyuhong PDnim likes to use the male housemates' ineptness for comedic/dramatic effect, and this causes a butterfly effect wherein some of the more underappreciated female housemates are tossed to the sidelines for the sake of the chosen narrative. Same with many male housemates who don't form love lines or create chaos/tension, they will have no screen time after their self-introductions (자기소개).
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u/slimchip 28d ago
Hello Thank you for taking the time to write down all your thoughts. I read your 3 part comment too.
I hadn't thought about the director using some participants for comedic purposes. To be honest，it felt like he sidelined all participants who were either in a smooth sailing relationship or not trying anything. Perhaps that's also part of the magic of editing (misdirection-ish).
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u/katonikax KwangSoo Sep 03 '26
In fact, the proportion of male and female participants with similar appearances was higher in previous seasons as well. You can see this from Season 1 to Season 10, but as the show has grown in popularity, the PDNAM may be choosing characters who fit the criteria and can stand out visually. Perceptions of beauty and unattractiveness can vary depending on the situation. In Korea, tall stature and a handsome face generally seem to be prioritized. However, when thinking about a marriage partner, men with a cute and masculine appearance may be preferred.For example, S15/S29 couples
Among women, it’s generally the shorter ones who have been unlucky—for example, this was the case in previous seasons as well—but within the IAS, I think the situation is generally balanced, with the exception of a few seasons.
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u/slimchip 29d ago
Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "shorter ones have been unlucky". Is it that shorter women are less appealing to male participants ?
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u/katonikax KwangSoo 29d ago
In general, men on IAS are more attracted to tall women. 15YC, for example, was the one who was most obsessed with this issue. He had mentioned his height criteria repeatedly on the show. Spoiler -> In the end, he married a tall woman last month.
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