Various dating game shows that are widely popular in today’s Korea have only focused on the romance between opposite sexes. However, a recent dating game show “Love Alarm(Korean: 좋아하면울리는; RR: Joh-ahamyeon ullineun)” has portrayed queer coding by including a participant who is assumed to be bisexual, which has sparked interest among LGBTQ+ viewers. Some argued that the broadcasting company is ‘queerbaiting’ by exploiting the same sex interest of the bisexual participant to get a good rating for the show and some rebutted saying regarding the choices made by the participant as ‘queerbaits’ is a flawed interpretation of bisexuality.
English Translation: 피웊
Translation review: 지니, Juyeon
Writer of the original text: 권태
Review and amendments to the original text: Miguel
(This article includes spoilers of the show)
For some time, Korean LGBTQ+ people have focused on a dating game show named “Love Alarm Clap! Clap! Clap!(Korean: 좋아하면 울리는 짝! 짝! 짝!).” The program portrays development of romantic relationship beween participants of the show using a mobile application of the same name “Love Alarm(Korean: 좋알람).” The show is based on the fictional concept of an online comic, that alerts the user when someone who has interest in the user approaches them. The program stood out from other Korean dating shows where the absolute majority of the shows only portrayed heterosexual relationships by allowing participants to choose same-sex partners. Furthermore, the show casted Hong Seokcheon, one of the most famous Korean LGBTQ+ celebrities, as one of the panelists and took steps that portray the identitiy that was not covered in existing dating shows. Recently in Korea, dating shows featuring homosexual relationships also have been made such as “His Man(Korean: 남의 연애)” that features male-only-participants.
The couples from the show that captured the attention of LGBTQ+ community are Jasmin and White Rose, both of whom identify as female. The program featured Jasmine, who has expressed her interest in both male and female paricipants and White Rose, who was gradually opening her heart to Jasmine’s enthusiastic courtship. One participant expressed their confusion towards Jasmine, questioning “But White Rose is a woman,” and the show also portrayed White Rose hesitating to Jasmin’s expression of affection. However, there were also moments where the same participant who questioned Jasmine then smiled at Jasmine’s partner choice later in the show and when White Rose, who accepted Jasmine's choice, went on a date with her. The scene when Hong Seokcheon teared up at such a moment also went viral. Some say that in the reality TV scene, the show gave a glimpse of the possibility that the dates between same sex partners can be heartwarming moments, something not to frown upon but something to smile about.
However, these two women did not end up with each other. Jasmine and White Rose picked the same male participant as their final choice. This moment infuriated some viewers with its supposed ‘queerbaiting,’ and came the prejudiced remarks about bisexual people.
‘Queerbaiting’ is a term used in media when queer coding is implemented to draw attention but the person of the subject is revealed to be not queer at all. The fact that this program differentiated itself from existing dating shows by highlighting that the participants can choose same sex partner and actively capturing the narrative of Jasmine and White Rose sparked controversy over whether the program was queerbaiting. A few expressed their confusion over the fact that Jasmine had shown her interest in both male and female participants but eventually chose a male participant i the end.
In response, other viewers pointed out that looking at Jasmine’s final choice only as queerbaiting comes from a flawed understanding of bisexuality. They argued that Jasmine expressed her interest in both male and female participants from the very start and her narrative showed that her interested gradually leaned toward the male participant as the show went on. And that the argument that ‘true’ love or ‘true diversity’ can only be reached if Jasmine ends up with White Rise is rather a superficial understanding of her character.
On the other hand, some complained that Jasmine’s choice was not a problem but the program itself queerbaited the viewers by the production team intentionally highlighting the relationship between Jasmine and White Rose. However, others also argued that it is only a general characteristic of dating game shows.
As “Love Alarm” has broken the trend of existing dating shows and grabbed that attention of LGBTQ+ people, various discussions over “Love Alarm” has been sparked in Korean society. We are curious to know your thoughts on “Love Alarm.” If you are interested, you can watch “Love Alarm” through the Korean streaming service “Wavve” or its clips from YouTube.
English Translation: 피웊
Translation review: 지니, Juyeon
Writer of the original text: 권태
Review and amendments to the original text: Miguel
References (available in Korean)