A South Korean reality dating show has gone viral after one woman contestant confessed her feelings to another woman contestant.
The show “Love Alarm Clap! Clap! Clap!” was based on a famous webtoon-based drama called “Love Alarm”, which has five billion views.
Like the plot in the webtoon, the reality TV show centers on a mobile app called “Love Alarm”, which tells contestants if someone within 10 meters is romantically attracted to them.
Using nicknames, the eight contestants are not allowed to reveal their personal information, including their real names and earn hearts twice a day if someone nearby rings their “love alarm”.
With the hearts, they can then purchase cards to perform certain activities such as going on a date, stealing another person’s date, holding another person’s hand for an hour and so on.
In the end, the contestant with the most hearts wins 10 million won.
On the 11th episode, a woman contestant with the nickname Jasmine, who had been dating male contestants, openly chose to go on a date with another woman contestant named White Rose, saying that she has liked her since the first episode.
“To be honest, this all started because I had feelings for ‘White Rose’. I think if I met with her to clear everything up and be honest about everything, it will be better for both Rose and me,” Jasmine said.
Jasmine’s choice surprised not only the contestants but the hosts, and soon sparked discussion on social media.
“My respect goes to Jasmine. Coming out on national TV and in a country (South Korea) where gender is an issue is already a huge leap; all the more when she admitted her feeling towards Rose,” a person wrote on Twitter.
Viewers praised Jasmine for how fearless she was when she confessed her feelings for White Rose.
In South Korea, the LGBTQ community still faces discrimination and inequality.
Same-sex marriage is illegal in South Korea and same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt children.
