November 27, 2025
SEOUL – Korean variety shows pushing the human body to its breaking point are dominating screens, and viewers can’t seem to look away.
Netflix’s “Physical: Asia,” released Oct. 30, went straight to the platform’s top 10 series in Korea and was on Netflix’s global top 10 list for all three weeks of its run.
Building on the momentum of the hit franchise “Physical,” which launched in 2023 and 2024, the latest installment assembled athletes and superstar sports personalities from eight countries for a slate of endurance-focused missions testing speed, strength and stamina. Challenges have included some three-hour rope-hangs, endless heavy-pole pushes and hauling massive metal spheres — sequences that helped cement the show as one of Netflix Korea’s standout unscripted entries this year.
Riding that wave, tvN is rolling out its own contender with “I Am Boxer” fronted by Don Lee, the blockbuster fixture behind “The Outlaws” franchise and a professional boxing coach. The series positions itself as a boxing survival competition with a 300 million won ($205,000) cash prize, champion’s belt and luxury SUV on the line. The 90 contestants vary across age and profession to include actors, athletes, UFC fighters and ex-soldiers.
Producer Lee Won-woong, who previously steered Channel A’s breakout military-survival hit “The Iron Squad,” says the appeal of “I Am Boxer” lies in pure intensity.
“Writer Kang Suk-kyung and I have worked together on many survival programs since ‘The Iron Squad,’ but ‘I Am Boxer’ is, to put it simply, intense. It’s just two people fighting in the ring. We’ve filmed soldiers and done many physically demanding shoots before, but the energy inside the ring was something else. I think that energy will come through the screen,” Lee said during a Nov. 19 online press conference.
Kang echoed that sentiment, adding, “The very setup — the ring, three minutes, two men, going head-to-head — has such a natural rhythm that it gave me confidence we could create a stage that feels almost like watching a live show.”
“I Am Boxer,” which premiered on Nov. 21, debuted at No. 1 across cable and general programming networks in its Friday primetime slot, signaling another potential franchise in the making.
Korea’s appetite for intense physical competition shows has been building for years.
“The Iron Squad” has spawned multiple seasons and spinoffs from 2021 to 2024, while Netflix’s “Siren: Survive the Island,” which pitted teams of female police officers, firefighters and soldiers against one another, became a breakout sensation and won best series at the second Blue Dragon Series Awards.
Pop culture critic Kim Hern-sik says the genre’s staying power taps into something primal.
“Things like strength, speed and endurance are elements humans intuitively understand, so they trigger a kind of instinctive gratification. And the younger the audience, the stronger their focus on that. It’s partly because they feel like it’s something they could try themselves. It feels close to their own lives,” Kim said.
Kim adds that fairness is another key factor. “The more we move toward a knowledge-based, artificial intelligence-driven world, the greater the interest in the physical body seems to become. Images and videos can be edited and polished, but the body can’t be faked. I think that’s exactly what excites young people right now — things you can’t achieve overnight.”
According to producer Lee, physical-driven formats function as streamlined storytelling engines for creators.
“Even these shows that showcase the extremes of physical ability ultimately choose ‘physicality’ as a vehicle to build a story and deliver it effectively to viewers. As storytelling tools, elements like sports, action, strong characters, simple but powerful goals … triumph and exhilaration, and defeat and overcoming are incredibly efficient and compelling,” Lee told The Korea Herald.
He added that the genre continues to evolve. “Each program (focusing on testing physical limits) differs slightly in its directing style, structure and expression. I think it would be fun for viewers to notice those differences as they watch.”