Roommates is one of the most lauded shows among international audiences, but there's a lack of interest in Korea. What's going on?

The reality show Roommates is failing in South Korea, simply not attracting the audiences. But variety shows, with their kitschy themes like fathers bonding with their children, like Dad Where Are You Going?, and competition shows, such as Running Man, are extremely popular. While those shows are popular with both international and Korean fans, there's something that makes them different from Roommates.

Roommates, for all intensive purposes, is a reality show rather than a variety show.

Ever since the first episode, Roommates has been criticized for being too scripted, too obviously an attempt and trying to make the participants act a certain way. In particular, fans took affront at the blatant attempt at making it a competition for the house inhabitants to start dating. Even though the show's writers apologized, there was still a drop in ratings, since the audience felt that everything was too fake.

But how is that any different from something like We Got Married, or hoping that two of the Running Man members will fall in love?

Because those are obviously forced relationships, that the producers like and perpetuate. And Korean fans are okay with that, because it's fun.

Korean fans are smart. Netizens are the bane of every content producer in the Korean entertainment industry. They know that We Got Married is supposed to be fake (the show doesn't try to hide that,) and that Song Ji Hyo and Gary's relationship on Running Man is just playing up to the chemistry between two of the cast members.

Variety shows are scripted, but everybody knows that and accepts that. It's when something pretends not to be scripted, like reality shows such as Roommates, that fans get upset. Laws of the Jungle has also fallen under attack for making it seem like the situation was one way, when in fact there was something very different going on.

Roommates and Laws of the Jungle have gained negative attention because of this, but nobody's really focused on the real reason- both of these shows are similar to popular American reality shows, Real World and Survivor. Korea is known for taking foreign content and making it its own, such as making manga into brilliant dramas, so it's a bit odd that reality-style shows are stumbling.

Korean fans like knowing that things are fake, and it's when they find out that something is a lie that they get disappointed. The same thing happens when an idol denies plastic surgery and then it turns out that they had work done.

There is a huge difference between reality and variety, and that's what is most likely making Korean fans lose interest in Roommates.

Reality shows, particularly American ones, show people extremes of life- partiers who get into catfights every five minutes, love in thirty days, etc. and try to make it seem real. But Korean variety shows give the audience a setting, and throw celebrities into it and say "here, you like this, so have fun watching."

If reality shows in Korea hope to succeed, they need to rethink how the stage is introduced to the audience. In order to be entertaining, parts of it need to be scripted, but if that's the case, make it blatantly obvious rather than trying to make everything that happens seem 100% natural.