My Korean Boyfriend: Netflix's Brazilian dating show questions whether K-drama love is real; sparks heated reactions in Korea

Yellow umbrellas. Slow-motion hand-holding. A kiss that arrives after sixteen episodes of longing. K-dramas have sold the world a very specific fantasy of Korean romance - but Netflix's newest docu-reality series asks a far riskier question: what happens when the fantasy meets reality? With My Korean Boyfriend, Netflix shifts from scripted swoon to unscripted truth.




Netflix has officially unveiled the trailer and premiere dates for My Korean Boyfriend, a Brazilian-produced docu-reality series that merges romance, travel, and cultural collision. The show rolls out in two parts, with the first batch of episodes arriving on January 1, followed by the second on January 8.




Unlike traditional dating shows, this one doesn’t begin with strangers meeting - it starts with relationships already in progress.




At the heart of the series are five Brazilian women, each already romantically involved with a Korean man. Their relationships vary in depth, distance, and expectations - but all are put to the same test when they travel to South Korea.

Set against the nonstop energy of Seoul, the couples face daily routines, communication barriers, family dynamics, and cultural differences that K-dramas rarely show.






Netflix describes My Korean Boyfriend as a hybrid of Single's Inferno and Love Is Blind: Brazil, combining emotional vulnerability with documentary-style realism. The series leans heavily into the question many international fans quietly ask: Is dating someone Korean actually like a K-drama - or nothing like it at all?

Each episode chips away at expectations, exposing how romance changes when language, customs, and societal norms collide.




Rather than confining contestants to a single location, the show lets the city itself apply pressure. From public transportation and work schedules to social etiquette and gender expectations, Seoul isn't just scenery - it's a stress test.

The women must decide whether love can survive not just long distance, but daily reality.






My Korean Boyfriend was filmed over 22 days in Seoul with a multicultural crew of more than 100 professionals from Brazil and South Korea. The production also worked closely with Korean cultural consultants to ensure accuracy, and received institutional support from the Consulate General of South Korea in São Paulo and the Seoul Film Commission.




While international curiosity is growing, the show has already sparked backlash in South Korea. Following the trailer's release, Korean online forums lit up with criticism, much of it aimed at the concept itself.

Some netizens mocked the premise, while others openly disapproved of the idea of Brazilian women dating Korean men - reactions that reveal deeper tensions around representation, dating stereotypes, and global perceptions of Korean romance.




"I heard it's not about finding a Korean boyfriend, but about going to see their own boyfriend they're already in a long-distance relationship with, and finding out whether life in Korea is really as dreamy as people imagine it to be…But that whole image is something that's been manufactured anyway. It's kind of sad."




My Korean Boyfriend doesn't promise fairy-tale endings. Instead, it positions itself as a reality check - one that challenges both international K-drama fantasies and local discomfort with globalized dating.

As the series prepares to debut, one thing is already clear: This isn't about umbrellas and perfect kisses - it's about whether love can survive when the script disappears.