Made in Korea: what to know about the BBC’s newest reality TV show (2024)

The BBC is pushing the boat out for its latest reality TV show, Made in Korea.

Set in South Korea, it delves into the weird and wonderful genre of K-pop. It’s a musical style that has conquered the world in the last few years, featuring 13-piece bands, impeccable choreography and complex songs that range from amapiano to rap and back again.

Now, five boys from the UK are going to be following in the footsteps of Aespa, Seventeen, BTS and more and attempt to become a global sensation... all without knowing a word of Korean.

Created by some of the UK’s most experienced reality show producers, this is going to be a fascinating watch. Here’s what to know about the show.

The premise is simple, if a bit bonkers: what if five British lads were to form a K-pop band? After extensive auditions, the top five are then sent to Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, to train with SM Management, one of the top K-pop record labels in the whole country.

They represent a lot of massive artists, and they’ve been tasked with whipping the boys into shape over three months of training - which includes dance and vocal lessons - with weekly assessments by some of the company’s top execs, including the fearsome Hee Jun Yoon. The aim is to launch them as a boyband in their own right… but will they succeed?

The five boys taking part in the show are:

Blaise was born in Belgium but moved to the UK at 14. Now he’s 19 and has studied at the BRIT School in Croydon. All of his siblings are performers, while his dad runs a Youth Theatre and his mum loves acting. After leaving the BRIT School, he went on to study dance - a good move for a K-pop band, which involves a lot of it.

However, the standards set by SM were still tough. “In K-pop, the standards are so high which means a lot of feedback is needed so it was quite a shock at first,” he said about the experience.

He added: “A few of us took it personally, but throughout the experience, we got used to it and realised it was really coming from a place of love, and for the good of the band. Once we accepted that and realised it was constructive it got easier to accept. We had a very supportive team around us throughout.”

Dexter, a 22-year-old Londoner, grew up surrounded by music: his dad was a DJ and travelled the world for over twenty years for performances. He always dreamed of being in a pop band when he was younger, and attended the D&B Academy of Performing Arts, graduating in June 2023.

Shortly after, he auditioned for Made in Korea. He describes being in the band as “having four new brothers, I love them all and we all get along”.

James comes from Huddersfield. He’s 23 years old and grew up writing and producing his own songs, and along with his brother Lewis, created the SHARPTWINS TikTok account, which boasts around 5.5m followers and sees the pair dance along to music tracks.

“Me and my twin brother have always loved creating things and have been obsessed with making videos and dancing,” he said about his childhood. “I always struggled to focus in school, it just wasn't for me. My parents decided to put me and my brother into dance lessons and from then on I was obsessed! I was dancing all the time, and I found a way to channel my energy in the right direction.”

20-year-old Olly grew up in Sunderland and studied Musical Theatre at university. As a child, he attended the Durham Chorister School and was in the National Youth Choir of Great Britain

“I’ve been a fan of Western boybands and listened to a few but didn’t know a whole lot about K-pop before going into this,” he said of his K-pop knowledge.

“One thing I did know was how big it was, I knew how international it is and that it’s very much growing every single day. I was seeing a rise in K-pop artists in the charts, bands like Coldplay collaborating with BTS - which is massive. Actually, being in Korea made me realise just how big a deal it is,” he added.

Reese is 20 and grew up in Cirencester. His dad was a set designer and worked on the Harry Potter and James Bond films - being brought on set as a kid helped him develop a love for theatre and dance. He started his career working as a performer on cruise ships, before starting filming on Made in Korea.

“I think I'm the mischievous one!” he says of his role in the band. “I think I'm more a singer than a dancer, and I’d like to say I bring the whole team together, even if that means I'm the one who has to get all the lads out of bed and up to rehearsal on time!”

Yes, there is: we’ve popped it at the top of the page, and it promises tough times ahead for the new band.

The first episode of the show will be airing on Saturday, August 17 at 5.15pm. Not long to wait, in other words…