‘The Battle of the 100’, the controversial South Korean survival game seen as the real-life ‘Round 6’

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The South Korean survival show seeking to find the “ultimate physique” has become the first of its kind to reach the top of the non-English speaking Netflix charts. Two competitors run to catch a ball that they must hold for three minutes on the program ‘A Batalha dos 100’ Divulgation/Netflix It all started with the search for the “perfect physique”. The Netflix series The Battle of the 100 is a huge hit with audiences around the world. The Korean survival show topped the world’s list of non-English language TV series for the week of February 6-12 and was in the Top 10 of 78 countries (second in popularity to only one other show, in English). Battle of the 100 is also the first South Korean reality show to rank #1 on Netflix. The show showcases 100 contestants at the peak of fitness in their specialties, competing for the title of “perfect physique”. The last remaining person receives a prize of 300 million won (the South Korean currency – about US$ 230 thousand, or R$ 1.2 million). The winner was announced in the last episode, on February 21st. While viewers have noted similarities to the Korean series Round 6, The Battle of 100 is a unique show unlike anything seen before: a simpler format of half-naked bodies fighting each other, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity. They may need to hang from a bar, steal a ball from another participant, or drag a two-ton boat across a large sand-covered studio. The challenges of ‘The Battle of the 100’ include strength and endurance, like moving a two-ton boat Disclosure / Netflix Fans describe the series as a “positive” survival program. “It’s more than just seeing genius boys and girls,” Elodie Wu, who followed the series in France, told the BBC. “I like certain values ​​she conveys about team spirit, great successes, and mental and physical resilience.” “Unlike Western reality shows, people don’t criticize other contestants. It’s competitive and fierce, but it’s still very positive,” says Wu. Below are six highlights of the series. 1. Its creator’s first reality show ‘The Battle of the 100′ is the first reality show by producer Jang Ho Gi Disclosure/Netflix The Battle of the 100 was created by Jang Ho Gi, producer of one of the main TV stations in South Korea . He has spent his entire career making documentaries – serious shows that tackle complex fraud and social wrongdoing. This was his first reality show. The green light for the production came in just two weeks and he managed to turn it into the most successful Korean reality show ever funded by Netflix. “The proposal was simple and promising,” said the Netflix contact who first read the proposal via email. 2. No subtitles in the original The creator’s experience in documentary production meant that A Batalha dos 100 maintained a very concentrated focus on the main action. Over 200 cameras capture every drop of sweat, every flex of muscles and tendons. Special cameras, some at high speed, are used to capture every fraction of a second of the participants’ facial expressions and body movements. It’s a very different approach to the successful reality shows produced so far in South Korea. They relied largely on captions, footnotes, and graphics. The show does not have a host, nor a celebrity panel – which was also intentional and is another characteristic element of the series. This is believed to be one of the success factors in attracting a global audience. The focus on the body with simple games was intuitive enough for foreign viewers to understand the program even without knowing the language. 3. Not broadcast in Korea Jang, the show’s creator, is still working for South Korea’s leading TV broadcaster, MBC, which is a co-producer of The Battle of the 100. But he told the story to Netflix, which financed it. fully the international hit series, broadcast only on the platform. Many experts claim that it would have been impossible to broadcast the program in Korea. As a public broadcaster, MBC would need to hide all tattoos from participants, following the practice of not disturbing some viewers. Tattoos are becoming more and more popular, especially among the younger generation, but they have been strongly associated with gangs or crime in the past. Korea is so conservative about them that, legally, only doctors can act as tattoo artists. Additionally, profanity frequently uttered during grueling challenges would need to be eliminated or omitted with beeps to meet broadcasting standards. The original words, translated into softer terms, would never have made it to Korean television. 4. Real Round 6 The winner of this trial in ‘The Battle of 100’ managed to hang for 15 minutes Disclosure / Netflix Many viewers will immediately notice the similarities between The Battle of 100 and a previous (fictional) hit Korean TV series: Round 6. In fact, the participants themselves commented that the program is “like Round 6”. The survival format, which takes the last participant to win the game, earning a large sum of money, is the central theme of both series. And the simplicity of the tests (children’s games in Round 6 and feats of strength in A Batalha dos 100) is another similarity between the two programs. Watch the trailer for ‘Round 6′ Jang recently mentioned at a press conference that his intention was to make the setting “surrealistic” while also dealing with real-life human beings. “As with Round 6, I expected the show to be a mix of reality and fantasy,” he says. The musical director of The Battle of the 100, Kim Sung-soo, also participated in the soundtrack of Round 6. 5. Diversity The program proposes to find the perfect physique, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity. And this is exactly the focus of the series. Participants’ height ranged from 1.50 to 2 meters and weight from 40 to 130 kg. The 2012 Olympic jumping champion Yang Hak-seon, who is just 1.60 m tall and weighs 51 kg, competed against burly professional fighters from various martial arts and former elite agents of the Korean navy. And 23 women, with different body sizes, also demonstrated their physical and mental strength. Few participants were from outside Korea. They were often referred to as “foreigners” on the show. This aspect may need to be reexamined if a sequel is to be produced for a wider audience. Jang revealed at a recent press conference that his intention was to cover all physical sizes of the world in the future, whether by continent or by cultural regions. 6. Controversies But some scenes caused controversy. In one, a male participant praised a female bodybuilder in personal combat and then pressed his knee into her opponent’s chest. The bodybuilder later declared, on her Instagram account: “it was a survival show and it was fair”. But she added that she would take legal action against malicious commenters who sexually harassed her or edited the images. As the show gained popularity around the world, so did the complaints and disputes about joint production deals. The content provider Ascendio stated, in a January report, that it participated in the production of A Batalha dos 100, which caused a sharp rise in the value of its shares. But MBC and co-producer Luyworks Media denied the claim. This case is likely to be resolved in court.

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