Heart Signal


Heart Signal is a South Korean dating reality television show distributed by Channel A. Season 1 of the show aired in 2017, followed by season 2 in 2018, season 3 in 2020 and season 4 in 2023. Based on the cast members of Heart Signal, a new program named Friends was also produced.
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Overview

The reality show follows eight people living together for one month as they get to know each other and go on dates. Every night, each cast member sends an anonymous text message to another cast member to show their romantic interest. However, they are not allowed to directly confess their love. Meanwhile, a panel of celebrities and experts watches the show, analyzing the cast members' actions and trying to predict who will text who.

Panelists

Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4

Cast members

Season 1
NameBirth yearOccupationNotes
Jang Cheon 1985lawyer
Kang Sung-wook 1985musical actor
Seo Joo-won 1994race car driver
Yoon Hyeon-chan 1985chef and restaurant ownerJoined the show in episode 8
Bae Yoon-kyung 1993actress
Kim Se-rin 1993marketer at Cirque du Soleil
Seo Ji-hye 1996student at Ewha Womans University
Shin A-ra 1995first runner-up at Miss Korea 2016
Joined the show in episode 4

ParticipantsTotal of Signals Received
Jang Cheon27
Kang Sung-wook9
Seo Joo-won12
Yoon Hyeon-chan0
Bae Yoon-kyung21
Kim Se-rin2
Seo Ji-hye8
Shin A-ra13

Season 2
NameBirth yearOccupationNotes
Kim Do-gyun 1988Korean medicine doctor
Jung Jae-ho 1990CEO of a startup company
Lee Gyu-bin 1993preparing to join the South Korean public service
Kim Hyun-woo 1985chef and restaurant ownerJoined the show in episode 2
Oh Young-joo 1991marketer at Microsoft
Song Da-eun 1991aspiring actress
Im Hyun-joo 1992work as an actressstudent at Kookmin University
Kim Jang-mi 1989fashion boutique owner
Joined the show in episode 6

ParticipantsTotal of Signals Received
Kim Do-gyun17
Jung Jae-ho17
Lee Gyu-bin5
Kim Hyun-woo22
Oh Young-joo26
Song Da-eun18
Im Hyun-joo25
Kim Jang-mi3

Season 3
NameBirth yearOccupationNotes
Cheon In-woo 1989engineering manager at a fintech company
Jung Eui-dong 1992animal replica sculptor
Im Han-gyeol 1989branding consultant for restaurants
Kim Kang-yeol 1994online fashion boutique owner
Joined the show in episode 6
Lee Ga-heun 1996veterinary student at Konkuk University
Park Ji-hyun 1996student at Waseda University
Seo Min-jae 1993auto mechanicstudied Mechanical Engineering Inha University and Hanyang University
Cheon An-na 1994secretary
Joined the show in episode 8

ParticipantsTotal of Signals Received
Cheon In-woo14
Jung Eui-dong7
Im Han-gyeol17
Kim Kang-yeol11
Lee Ga-heun5
Park Ji-hyun28
Seo Min-jae11
Cheon An-na7

Season 4
NameBirth yearOccupationNotes
Shin Min-gyu 1993Strategy Consultant
Han Gyeo-re 1989CEO of F&B Company
Winner of barista competition in South Korea and represented the country in international competitions
Yoo Ji-won 1996Medical intern
Lee Hu-shin 1993Painter and model
Joined in Episode 3
Lee Ju-mi 1994Lawyer
Kim Ji-young 1995Brand officer at interior architecture company
Former Korean Air flight attendant
Kim Ji-min 2000Student at Sungshin Women's University
Yoo Yi-soo 1998Casting agent and model
Joined in Episode 6

Male participants

Female participants

Heart Signal was not revealed

Choose each other
ParticipantsTotal of Signals Received
Shin Min-gyu18
Han Gyeo-re14
Yoo Ji-won4
Lee Hu-shin11
Lee Ju-mi8
Kim Ji-young26
Kim Ji-min9
Yoo Yi-soo6

Aftermath

Seo Joo-won from Season 1 got married in 2018 to YouTuber Aori and got divorced in 2022.
Kim Do-gyun from Season 2 got married in 2022 to a non-celebrity who is a yoga instructor. Im Hyun-joo dated actor Kwak Si-yang between 2023 until November 2024. Lee Gyu-bin from Season 2 proposed in 2025 to model Ahn Sun-mi, and the couple announced their engagement.
Park Ji-hyun from Season 3 got married in 2023 to a non-celebrity who is a businessman.
Shin Min-gyu and Yoo Yi-soo from Season 4 dated between April 2023 until late 2024. Kim Ji-young from Season 4 announced her marriage to a non-celebrity and pregnancy on January 2026.

Controversies

Season 1
In 2019, Heart Signal cast member Kang Sung-wook was sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in August 2017. Fellow cast member Jang Cheon reportedly initially served as Kang's lawyer in the case but resigned after six days. Kang's sentence was reduced to 30 months in prison in 2020.
Season 2
Heart Signal 2 cast member Kim Hyun-woo was arrested for drunk driving in April 2018 while the show was airing.
Season 3
After the cast members of Heart Signal 3 were publicly announced, a woman accused cast member Lee Ga-heun of bullying classmates. Cast member Cheon An-na was also accused of bullying. The show's producers denied the allegations.
While the show was airing, another woman told the media that cast member Kim Kang-yeol had kicked her in the stomach at a nightclub in January 2017. Kim admitted to the incident and apologized on social media.
In May 2023, Yongsan Police Station in Seoul applied for an arrest warrant for Seo Min-jae on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. This suspicion was raised when Seo Min-jae made an SNS post revealing that she and her then boyfriend, Nam Tae-hyun, took methamphetamine in August 2022. In September 2022, the police finally collected the hair and urine of Seo Min-jae and Nam Tae-hyun, who were suspected of violating the Narcotics Control Act, and requested an appraisal from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation.
Season '''4'''