EXchange

The Best Korean Dating Reality TV Show Ever!

I don’t usually give shows 9.5 stars but I really enjoyed watching Transit Love / EXchange. Going into it I didn’t know what to expect and I was pleasantly shocked at the emotions this program brought out of me. The storytelling was amazing and you could feel how genuine the cast was as they expressed themselves. I loved how they were all anxious at first but eventually everyone became comfortable with each other as if they’d known each other all along. I went through so much and I feel like I got invested to the point where I became attached to certain cast members. My emotions went from 0 to 100 at times. You’re going to feel happy, sad, angry and confused while watching their stories unfold but remember these are real people and it’s their life and their decisions so there’s nothing you can really do. The last 3 episodes stressed me out the most but I was happy because one of the couples I was rooting for since the beginning came through. Yeah… couples you may be rooting for won’t work out but don’t worry too much because in the end everyone grew from the experience. I even felt like I learned so much from watching these ex couples talk about their breakups, find closure, love and more importantly friendship. You can tell that the producers really put effort into choosing the cast because they all seem to be very charming individuals. I hope the friendships and relationships formed there last for a very long time. I hope they make season 2 with a new cast so I can experience a show like this again!

Parts I didn’t like: The ending. It seemed too rushed (especially when the persons who brought in at the end only had a week to get to know everyone and make a decision) I didn’t like how everyone ended up confessing their feelings to each other. It would’ve been nice for them to meet each other individually as the car scenes made the environment and situation really tense / pressurizing. I also think next time around the producers should have challenges and actually pick the dates for persons so that everyone gets to go on a date with people they wouldn’t normally choose and get to know each other instead of picking the same persons all the time (at least in the first & second week) After that the contestants can be free to continue picking the person they feel a strong connection with and going on dates etc.

Other than that she show was definitely worth the watch. I don’t regret stumbling across this because it’s a show I feel like anyone can watch and easily like.

**I highly recommend it to persons who don’t know what to watch but want to watch more Korean dating reality shows like Single’s Inferno :) **

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This is the dating reality show I actively disliked the most.

This is the dating reality show I actively disliked the most.

The concept is cruel. What happens when you put a bunch of people in a house, who have to share it with their exes, and have to witness them flirting/being flirted with by strangers? Add the daily hours-long sessions of downing alcohol into the mixtures, and it's no wonder some contestants end up taking a break halfway through. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if people quit altogether.

What annoyed me the most was the sense of entitlement. For example, the show makes people text someone they are interested in, at the end of the day. The text is anonymous, but there's an additional message informing them if one of the texts belonged to their ex or not. What you see is people getting upset that their ex didn't text them... even when they didn't text their ex themselves. You're not dating them anymore, you don't own them (and never did). What's worse is when certain contestants start forcing unsolicited advice on their ex. Stop. It's none of your business, butt the hell out.

And that's not all. The staff criticize contestants who focus solely on one person. They harp on about how they're playing the concept of the show incorrectly, which supposedly is to get to know different people. Says who? If that was the intent of the PD team, then they should've followed the Love Catcher route of forcing pre-established couples for the dates. People have limited time and energy, even more so in this show format, and the social norm is to focus that on one person only. Get real.

Another point that lead to some burnout on my side is how some episodes go over 2 and a half hours long. Either split into more episodes, or learn to cut content adequately. It's inconsistent, there's episodes a little over 1 hour and some around the above mentioned length.

This is not to say that there weren't some nice and heartelt vulnerably emotional moments. However, I feel many of the content is implicitly toxic, and made me frustrated more often than not.

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