Korean Reality Shows With the Most Weeks in Netflix’s Global Top 10

Culinary Class Wars, Season 1 — 6 weeks

A cooking contest for 100 chefs. Twenty well-known “White Spoon” chefs competed under their own names against 80 lesser-known “Black Spoon” challengers who used nicknames. The judges were restaurant owner Paik Jong-won and Anh Sung-jae, head chef of the Seoul restaurant Mosu.^[4] The show reached No. 1 in its first week, September 16–22, 2024, and stayed there for three weeks in a row. Netflix says no Korean unscripted show had done that before. Its biggest week, September 30 – October 6, brought 44.3 million hours of viewing.^[2][4]

Black Spoon chef Kwon Seong-joon, known on the show as “Napoli Matfia”, won the ₩300 million prize. In May 2025 the series won the top television award at the Baeksang Arts Awards, the first entertainment show ever to do so.^[4][5]

Physical: 100, Season 1 — 6 weeks

One hundred people picked for their physiques, from athletes and Olympians to a former Navy SEAL, faced tests of strength and stamina for ₩300 million. Created by producer Jang Ho-gi, its nine episodes were released between January 24 and February 21, 2023.^[6][8] It entered the chart at No. 7, rose to No. 2, then spent two weeks at No. 1 (February 6–19). The second of those weeks drew 45.42 million hours, the second-highest single week on this list.^[2] Netflix says it was the first Korean reality show to top the non-English TV chart.^[7] The winner was Woo Jin-yong, a CrossFit coach and former snowboard cross athlete.^[6]

Culinary Class Wars, Season 2 — 5 weeks

The second season arrived on December 16, 2025 with a new group of White Spoon chefs and two masked “Hidden White Spoons”: chefs knocked out in Season 1 who came back for another try.^[9] It opened at No. 1 with 5.5 million views in the week of December 15–21, the same week the Korean film The Great Flood led the non-English film chart, and kept No. 1 the following week.^[2][10] Its third week, December 29 – January 4, brought 46.1 million hours, the biggest single week of any season here, even though it had slipped to No. 3. The title went to Choi Kang-rok, one of the two returning chefs.^[2][11]

Single’s Inferno, Season 3 — 5 weeks

In Single’s Inferno, young singles live on a bare island called “Inferno” and can only leave it as a pair. Two people who choose each other win a night at “Paradise”, a luxury hotel.^[12][13] Season 3 started on December 12, 2023 with 11 episodes.^[13] It entered the chart at No. 4 and stayed on it for five weeks straight, through its final episode. Its viewing grew every week, from 11.9 million hours in the first week to 24.5 million in the last (January 8–14, 2024). Netflix says it reached the Top 10 in 31 countries.^[2][12]

Single’s Inferno, Season 5 — 4 weeks

Season 5 began on January 20, 2026, the first time a Korean reality show on Netflix had reached a fifth season.^[14] It sat at No. 2 for its first three weeks, the best position the series has had, and its 45.1 million hours in the week of February 2–8 is the most for any Single’s Inferno week.^[2] A reunion special followed on February 14 and charted for two weeks on its own (#16 on this list). Netflix has since renewed the show for a sixth season, which it says no other unscripted title in Korea has reached.^[13][15]

Physical: Asia, Season 1 — 4 weeks

Physical: Asia turned the Physical: 100 format into a contest between countries. Forty-eight athletes competed in teams from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, Türkiye, Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines, among them boxer Manny Pacquiao and former UFC champion Robert Whittaker. Producer Jang Ho-gi said the set was as big as five soccer fields and used 1,200 tons of sand.^[16] It premiered on October 28, 2025 and entered the chart at No. 3 with 5.2 million views. Its most-watched week by hours, 32.5 million, was its fourth and last week on the chart.^[2]

Single’s Inferno, Season 2 — 4 weeks

The second season premiered on December 13, 2022 with 10 episodes.^[13] It joined the chart at No. 10 and reached its best spot, No. 5, in its fourth week (January 9–15, 2023). Across those four weeks it drew 65.08 million hours, which Netflix noted was more than Season 1.^[2][12]

Physical: 100, Season 2 — 3 weeks

Called “Underground”, the second season premiered on March 19, 2024 and moved the contest into a huge mock mine, with challenge areas about the size of three soccer fields.^[17] It went straight in at No. 1 with 6.1 million views in the week of March 18–24, the most views in one week for any season on this list (Netflix only began publishing views in mid-2023). Netflix says it made the Top 10 in 87 countries.^[2][7]

Single’s Inferno, Season 1 — 3 weeks

The first season came out on December 18, 2021 with eight episodes. Its studio panel was Hong Jin-kyung, Lee Da-hee, Super Junior’s Kyuhyun and rapper Hanhae.^[13] Netflix says it was the first Korean unscripted show to make the global non-English TV Top 10.^[12] It took until its third week to get there, entering at No. 8 for December 27, 2021 – January 2, 2022, then spent two weeks at No. 4, with 25.8 million hours in the week of January 3–9.^[2]

Single’s Inferno, Season 4 — 3 weeks

Season 4 made Single’s Inferno the first unscripted Netflix show from Korea to be renewed for a fourth season.^[12] It premiered on January 14, 2025 with 12 episodes.^[13] Its first week on the chart brought 23.1 million hours, which Netflix called the series’ strongest start, and it reached its best spot, No. 5, the next week (January 20–26).^[2][14]