Korea's hit love-matching program “EXchange” (2021-), which puts ex-lovers together to rekindle old flames or spark new ones, has returned for its fourth season. This time, the new season is said to be more real, fast-paced and unpredictable than any of its previous installments, according to the show’s producer and panel.

“As the seasons have progressed, the cast members seem to have become more in tune with the environment and the show’s overall concept,” said comedian Lee Yong-jin, a panel member who provides commentary during the show, at a news conference held at Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Wednesday.


“In season four, viewers can see the cast’s genuine, unguarded selves more than ever, as if they’re living here without paying much attention to the cameras. It feels incredibly natural, and at times, it seems that they've almost forgotten they’re being filmed.”

He also stressed that the new season is “the most absorbing season yet” for viewers.

“EXchange” is a dating reality show where broken-up couples gather to either mend their relationships or find someone new. The new season is produced by Kim In-ha, who was also behind the third installment of the franchise.

The franchise, first aired in 2021, garnered major attention with its shocking concept of exes living together and seeing their once-loved ones find a new love. This led to boosting streaming platform Tving’s paid subscribers. The previous third season saw a 50 percent increase in paid subscriber numbers contribution after its released, compared to season two.

The show also features a panel of commentators, consisting of comedian Lee, actor Kim Ye-won, Yura of Girl’s Day, and rapper Simon Dominic.

The panel members, who have all participated since the first season, said that the overall pace of the new season was faster and unfolded more unpredictably than any other season.

“I was honestly surprised by how fast-paced it was,” Yura said. “The story also unfolds in ways we didn’t quite expect. Since this is the fourth season, we were all a bit confident in guessing how the show might unfold, but everything played out differently than we expected.”

One of the entertaining factors of the program is guessing who is whose ex. However, Yura shared that there is a particular couple that no one will be able to guess — a point actor Kim also agreed with.

“There was a person who made me even yell,” she said, adding that only a small percentage of the viewers will be able to guess correctly. “The ex-couple pairing didn’t make any sense. It was a match that I could never have imagined.”

In the upcoming season, a new element is introduced: the Time Room, a device similar to the red thread mechanism from the previous season.

“In the previous season, we explored the cast’s thoughts through a thread, but this season, we wanted to express it through time,” producer Kim said. “In the Time Room, we represent the cast members’ initial feelings about whether to reunite with their ex or find new love.”

“We introduced the new mechanism to not limit their decision simply to a yes or no on whether to reunite or move on, but to show percentages instead.”

Comedian Lee also praised the cast, calling them the most attractive yet. Producer Kim also revealed that her team met with over 1,000 potential cast members before the show and feels like they DMed everybody all across the country.

“First, I want to apologize to the cast of previous seasons and say that the cast of season four is the most charming of them all,” Lee said.

The franchise’s soundtracks have also been very popular, including singer Woodz’s “Sun or Suck” (2021). Producer Kim said viewers should look forward to the new season’s soundtrack, teasing its tracklist.

“We put a lot of effort into our soundtrack lineup,” the producer said. “A wide range of artists participated, including Yura, Suzy, NCT’s Doyoung, Riize’s Sohee, BoyNextDoor and Monsta X’s Shownu.”

The fourth season will premiere on Tving on Wednesday.


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]