Kpop survival shows of 2023 are equally as bittersweet as those of any year that came before this year. They bring the heartache, but with talent galore. And while we all love to vehemently hate them, especially due to the impending elimination rounds that often cut short the dreams of many of our favourite Contestants midway, they also bring about the debut of some of our favourite groups ever. Be it Stray Kids, TWICE, MONSTA X, ENHYPEN, Kep1er, TREASURE, iKON, from_9, MOMOLAND or even SEVENTEEN, many grand names of K-pop music acts have found their way into the limelight upon the contestants’ first exposure into the biz through such audition or reality shows.

2023 has already been a good year in terms of making way for some new groups through the same format, and listed below are some of the shows that applauded their respective final champions. Curse this concept as much as you like, but we all know that once they start airing, there’s nothing that can stop us from slipping into the masochistic angst of watching hundreds of contestants stepping out to showcase their best skills, until the race cuts that number down and announce the remaining withstanders who could take the heat.

Kpop Survival Shows of 2023

1. Girls Reverse (소녀 리버스)

Created by Kakao Entertainment, the show set in the word of virtual reality aims at making a virtual 5-member girl group named Fe:verse. With 30 anonymous contestants (all from existing girl groups) onboard who’re not allowed to reveal their identities till they’re eliminated. The final episode aired in March 2023, and announced the lineup of member with the following virtual personae – Muneo (Kwon Eun-bi), Seoritae (Apink’s Oh Ha-young), Keuang (WJSN’s Lu-da), Lien (LOONA’s Hee-jin) and Kimserena (WJSN’s Soo-bin).

2. Peak Time

Yet another JTBC survival show airing from February 15 to April 19, 2023, was hosted by Lee Seung-gi. It allowed previously debuted K-pop boy groups to grace the stage again and perform for international audiences with the final goal of wanting to win the “Worldwide Idol” title. In the final battle, VANNER emerged as the ultimate champion and won the prize of 300 million KRW and an album release. Judges on the show included Jay Park, Super Junior’s Kyuhyun, Kim Sung-kyu, Lee Gi-kwang, Tiffany Young and others.

3. Boys Planet

Starting with 98 contestants, the Mnet audition show premiered in February and finally announced its winners in April. Under the guidance of the rotational “Star Masters” including Hwang Min-hyun, BTOB’s Minhyuk, Sunmi, SHINee’s Key, Jeon Somi, Kim Jae-hwan and others, the participants hailing from global countries (including South Korea) from parts of Asia, Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East, were split into two groups – K-Group (Korean) and G-Group (Global) and went through many rounds of evaluation and training, honing their singing, dancing and rapping skills.

In the end, the audience also contributed in consolidating the final lineup, which included 9 members who are together under the banner of WakeOne’s new boy group – ZEROBASEONE. The nonet included the following members – Zhang Hao, Sung Han-bin, Seok Matthew, Ricky, Park Gunwook, Kim Taerae, Kim Gyuvin, Kim Jiwoong and Han Yujin.

4. Fantasy Boys (소년판타지 )

The MBC reality competition went on from March to June 2023 and served as a sequel to My Teenage Girl. With all male contestants, the show finally announced lineup consisting of twelve members, who came together under the group name Fantasy Boys. The show was hosted by Changmin, and the finalists who won the show are Junwon, KSoul, Minseo, Hanbin, Hikari, Ling Qi, Hikaru, Wooseok, Sungmin, Hyeontae, Gyurae, and Kaedan, who are expected to debut later this year.

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5. Queendom Puzzle (퀸덤 퍼즐)

Mnet’s reality competition show first released in June 2023 spin-off series of Queendom. Keeping its concept apart from the predecessor, the new show doesn’t rile up a contest between girl groups, rather it allows members of the presently promoting girl groups and soloists to get together and compete against each other to finally debut as part of a supergroup. Having initially brought on 28 contestants, the show will eventually announce 7 finalists who will go on to debut as members of EL7Z U+P. Participating contestants come from groups like Lovelyz, AOA, WJSN, Weki Meki, H1-KEY, Cherry Bullet, Purple Kiss, Weeekly and more.

6. R U Next (알유넥스트)

Ultimately, all these audition shows hinge upon the concept of the finalists debuting as part of a new group. Organised by Belift Lab and JTBC, the survival program aims at creating the next global girl group. Girls’ Generation’s Choi Soo-young hosts the show which initially introduced us to 22 contestants. Special guests across several rounds have welcomed ENHYPEN’s Heeseung and Jungwon, SEVENTEEN’s Woozi, Jay Park and Baekho so far.

7. NCT Universe LASTART (엔시티 유니버스: 라스트아트)

SM Entertainment’s new reality survival competition premiered on July 27, 2023. The pre-debut reality show shares a glimpse of the newest and last unit of NCT – NCT Tokyo’s group formation process. Putting together a portmanteau with the words ‘Last’ and ‘Start’, LASTART is highlight the final culmination of the group’s “infinite expansion” concept with the upcoming sub-unit’s debut.

BoA and Super Junior’s Eunhyuk appear as artist directors who not only host the show but also the contestants. Special appearances of fellow SM artists include that of SHINee Taemin, NCT’s Johnny, Haechan, Ten, Taeyong and others. Sion and Yushi, two SMROOKIES have already been announced as the first tow members of the group, whereas the remaining of the lot will be chosen through this show.

8. SBS Universe Ticket (유니버스 티켓)

Having revealed the profiles of a total of 82 contestants, all girls born between the years of 1999 – 2011, the SBS Global Girl Group Audition show of the year is all set to kick off soon. Serving as a follow-up sequel to LOUD, the 2021 SBS reality survival show, leading to the debut of a boy group. Universe Ticket, however, will make room for 8 girl finalist trainees to come forth and debut as part of a K-pop girl group managed by F&F Entertainment. Reportedly, the series is set to begin broadcasting on the South Korean TV network in November 2023. The final premiere date hasn’t been officially announced yet.

Presently, the pre-voting process has commenced and will continue till August 9, 2023. Trainees of various nationalities will be participating in the show, including that of South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Myanmar, Vietnam, China, France, Philippines, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Italy.

9. Street Woman Fighter 2

The Korean dance survival competition will welcome all women constants as part of eight dancing crews, and is set to return on August 22, 2023. The participants of the show fall under the adult category, with all of the being above 23 years of age, unlike many new trainees debuting in K-pop groups nowadays. To be hosted by Kang Daniel, reprising his role from the previous season, the new Mnet sequel will welcome MONSTA X’s leader Shownu as a judge.

The first mission, being called the “K-Pop Death Match Mission”, has already been unveiled and requires the dancing crews (JAM REPUBLIC, TSUBAKILL, 1MILLION, DEEP N DAP, BEBE, MANNEQUEEN, Wolf’Lo, and LADYBOUNCE) to cover performances from the legendary “Big 4” companies (SM, JYPE, YG and HYBE).

Which of these Kpop competition shows 2023 edition are you hooked on to lately? Let us know your thoughts on this format of shows in the comments section below.

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