I-Land (; stylised in all caps) is a South Korean reality competition series produced by Mnet and organized by Belift Lab, which at the time of airing was a joint venture between entertainment companies CJ ENM and Hybe.
Twenty-three male trainees participated in the show, of which seven were selected to debut as Enhypen in the show's finale on September 18, 2020. The winning contestants were Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Ni-Ki, Heeseung, Sunghoon, and Sunoo; the first six members were decided by global ranking, and the seventh by producer's choice.
A second season, I-Land 2, was expected to premiere in the first half of 2022 featuring female trainees; however, on July 15, 2022, it was announced that it would be postponed. Instead in 2023, HYBE partnered with JTBC to produce R U Next? featuring trainees who would debut in Illit signing with Belift Lab, becoming labelmates with Enhypen.
On July 24, 2023, Mnet announced the second season of I-Land titled I-Land 2: N/a, not in affiliation with Hybe or Belift Lab and featuring female trainees. The show started airing in April 2024, in collaboration and production from The Black Label founded by Teddy, with the final lineup debuting in WakeOne.
Promotion and broadcast On May 14, 2020, Mnet released the first teaser video for I-Land and introduced the participating producers and mentors. Beginning on June 1, the contestants were revealed.
The show premiered on June 26 on the cable channels Mnet, tvN Korea, Mnet Japan, and tvN Asia (Asia-Pacific). It aired in other countries via Mnet Smart, AbemaTV (Japan), Joox (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand); on the Mnet K-POP & Hybe Labels YouTube channels and Rakuten Viki (worldwide except certain regions). The first part of the show ended on July 31. The second part of the show aired from August 14 to September 18.
A special episode, titled "I-LAND Special: The New Beginning", aired on August 7, with Hwang Kwang-hee, Apink's Kim Nam-joo, Momoland's JooE, vocal coach Kim Sung-eun and DOOBU as hosts. In addition to recapping the events of the first half of the show, the hosts previewed the second part, including increased participation of global viewers, more performances, and specials appearances by BTS and Seventeen.
BTS and Tomorrow X Together appeared as guests on the final episode, broadcast live with an earlier time slot, at 8:00 p.m. KST.
Concept Twenty-two (twenty-three until episode 6) trainees are brought to a complex, called the I-Land, in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a lush green forest for 113 days. The trainees will live together in the three-floor complex with modern living spaces, gym, dance studios, item room (for storage), and individual practice rooms; however, only 12 contestants can stay at any one time. The others will be on the "Ground", a simple building with a dance studio and dining area, and will have to commute to and from the I-Land building every day at set times. The two living spaces are connected by a gate and stage, where their skills will be evaluated. A key part of the show's concept is that both the participants' and producers' votes play a heavy role, as they decide who stays in I-Land and who goes to the Ground. Although the I-Land only accommodates 12 trainees, the trainees may be dropped and demoted to the Ground and promptly be replaced by trainees from the Ground.
While the show primarily focuses on the trainees and producers votes, the audience can vote on who remains in the I-Land in the last part of part one of the show. Based on the results, any trainees in the Ground will be eliminated. From there, the I-Landers will compete among themselves in the second part of the series to determine who will debut in the final seven-member group. In the second part, only the producers and audience can vote. Thus, the show was originally supposed to focus on trainee and producer votes without much audience influence, but in part 2 of the show, the trainees did not vote at all, and global votes were introduced.
Actor Namkoong Min served as I-Land's official host, commentator and narrator. The contestants were evaluated by main producer Bang Si-hyuk, CEO of Big Hit Music, as well as South Korean singer Rain and rapper Zico, both of whom rose to prominence in K-pop and K-hip hop, respectively, in the early 21st century. Rain and Zico will also mentor the trainees.
A first in South Korean survival programs, Big Brother-style live cameras display multi-camera footage from inside the I-Land and Ground in a one-hour, video on demand segment called I-LAND Cam. New videos released every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday on the Weverse app and its website. In the last week of the show, I-LAND Cam streamed live in real-time, every day for one hour starting at 6PM KST; on the final day, for the final episode, I-LAND Cams streamed live starting at 5AM KST.
Cast Storyteller: Namkoong Min
Producers: Bang Si-hyuk Rain (Part 1 only) Zico (Part 1 only) Directors: Pdogg Son Sung-deuk Wonderkid DOOBU Guests: Hwang Kwang-hee (special host) Apink's Kim Nam-joo (special host) Momoland's JooE (special host) Kim Sung-eun (special host, episode 9) BTS (episodes 7 and 12) Bae Yoon-jung (episode 7) Seventeen's The8, Jun, Hoshi, Dino (episode 10) Shin A-young (co-host, finale) Tomorrow X Together (episode 12) Seventeen (episode 12, via AbemaTV Japan's I-Land K-pop Special) Eliminated contestants (episode 12)
Contestants Originally, there were a total of 23 contestants who participated in I-Land; however, as the show progressed, one contestant (Kim Yoon-won) voluntarily dropped out in the fifth episode of Part 1 due to a worsening ankle injury.
Color key: Final members of Enhypen Eliminated in the final episode Eliminated in Part 2 of I-Land Eliminated in Part 1 of I-Land Left the show 23 contestantsYang Jung-won ()Jay ()Jake ()Ni-Ki ()Lee Hee-seung ()Park Sung-hoon ()Kim Sunoo ()K ()Daniel ()Taki ()Hanbin ()Lee Geon-u ()Nicholas ()EJ () Chu Ji-min ()Noh Sung-chul ()Kim Tae-yong ()Jung Jae-beom ()Lee Young-bin ()Jo Kyung-min ()Choi Jae-ho ()Choi Se-on ()Kim Yoon-won ()
Profile The ages of all contestants are presented in accordance with the international age system as of Episode 1 (June 26, 2020).
Stage name(Birth name) Hangul AgeNationality Prior I-LAND K 22 Japan Former marathon athlete; pre-debut Japan dance school and J-pop agency auditions Hanbin (Ngô Ngọc Hưng) 22 Vietnam Dance crew leader and founding member of C.A.C Choi Se-on 20 South Korea Former Yuehua Entertainment trainee; former Produce 101 Season 2 contestant under the name Choi Seung-hyuk Lee Geon-u 19 South Korea Former contestant on Dancing High Choi Jae-ho 19 South Korea Former n.CH Entertainment trainee and World Klass contestant Jung Jae-beom 19 South Korea Background in music composition Chu Ji-min 18 South KoreaSong-writing Lee Hee-seung 18 South Korea Former Big Hit trainee Lee Young-bin 18 South Korea Basketball player for seven years, former Starship trainee Jay (Jay Park) 18 South KoreaUnited States Former Big Hit trainee and SM Entertainment trainee Nicholas (Wang Yixiang) 17 Taiwan B-boy, Taipei global audition EJ (Byun Eui-joo) 17 South Korea Former Big Hit trainee; competitive fencer in middle school Jake (Jake Sim) 17 South KoreaAustralia Selected from Belift global auditions in Seoul Park Sung-hoon 17 South Korea Former national youth figure skater; former Big Hit trainee since 2018 Sunoo (Kim Seon-woo) 17 South Korea Selected from Belift 2019 auditions in Seoul, former Kakao and SM trainee Noh Sung-chul 16 South Korea Soccer player, former Big Hit trainee Yang Jung-won 16 South Korea Former Big Hit trainee since October 2018; former SM trainee; competitive Taekwondo athlete for four years Kim Tae-yong 15 South Korea Child actor for eight years, former Big Hit trainee Cho Kyung-min 15 South Korea Contemporary dancer and former Big Hit trainee Kim Yoon-won 15 South Korea Member of K-pop dance crew Matchpoint Crew, part of The J Production Taki 15 Japan Locking dance Ni-Ki (Nishimura Riki) 14 Japan Extensive dance background since childhood Daniel (Kim Dong-kyu) 14 South KoreaUnited States Selected from Belift 2019 auditions; former YG Entertainment trainee under the name Kim Dong-kyu
Missions
Part 1
Entry Test Trainees must perform a song either in the small groups in which they arrived or alone if they arrived as such. The contestants already present raise their hands to decide whether the new arrivals are worthy to be in the I-Land. If a trainee receives 12 or more votes, they are allowed to be on the I-Land; otherwise, they will be on the Ground. There is no limit to the number of times any one trainee could raise his hand. However, if more than 12 contestants were voted to the I-Land after the entry test is complete, they must choose one or more to be moved to the Ground until only 12 remain.
Color key I-Land Moved Out Ground
Entry Test (Episode 1)OrderSongOriginal ArtistTraineeVotesResults1"Lullaby"Got7Choi Se-on22/22 (100%)I-Land2"The 7th Sense"NCT UPark Sung-hoon21/22 (95.5%)I-LandJay19/22 (86.4%)I-Land3"Jopping"SuperMNicholas12/22 (54.5%)I-LandNi-Ki20/22 (90.9%)I-LandHanbin7/22 (31.8%)Ground4"Boss"NCT ULee Hee-seung20/22 (90.9%)I-Land5"Danger"TaeminK16/22 (72.7%)I-Land6"Any Song"ZicoDaniel17/22 (77.3%) I-LandEJ12/22 (54.5%)Moved Out7"Shoot Out"Monsta XNoh Sung-chul17/22 (77.3%)Moved OutJung Jae-beom8/22 (36.4%)GroundChu Ji-min7/22 (31.8%)Ground8"Chained Up"VIXXLee Geon-u19/22 (86.4%)I-LandCho Kyung-min11/22 (50.0%)GroundChoi Jae-ho6/22 (27.3%)Ground9"Monster"EXOTaki22/22 (100%)Moved Out10"All I Wanna Do (feat. Hoody & Loco)" (Korean version)Jay ParkKim Yoon-won9/22 (40.9%)GroundKim Tae-yong9/22 (40.9%)GroundYang Jung-won21/22 (95.5%)I-Land11"Crown"Tomorrow X TogetherKim Sunoo20/22 (90.9%)Moved OutLee Young-bin12/22 (54.5%)I-LandJake13/22 (59.1%)I-Land
Theme Song The trainees, who are only just getting to know each other, begin their first official mission with the theme "encounter". The I-Landers and Grounders must perform the show's theme song "Into The I-LAND" (original version by IU). There are 12 parts in the song, and each trainee chooses which part they want to perform. The I-Landers are evaluated individually by the producers and directors, and the entire group's average score determines the number of contestants who move out of the I-Land. The Grounders each submit a daily performance video to be reviewed by the producers and directors to determine who will replace the demoted I-Landers, although they do not actually perform on stage.
Lee Hee-seung is appointed as leader and assigned the part 1 position by the contestants but later gives up both to Ni-Ki. Rain evaluates their performance two days before their performance. The I-Landers receive an average score of 59 and therefore choose six contestants to be moved out of the I-Land.
Color key Contestant from the I-Land later moved to the Ground
Theme Song (Episode 2 & 3)PartTrainee1 (Center)Ni-Ki2Lee Geon-u3Yang Jung-won4K5Choi Se-on6Daniel7Park Sung-hoon8Jay9Nicholas10Lee Hee-seung11Jake12Lee Young-bin
Teamwork The trainees' second mission is designed to test and develop their teamwork. Both the I-Landers and the Grounders must perform a remix of "Fire" by BTS, and are given six days to prepare. The scoring system from the theme song mission will be used; however, the highest individual scoring I-Lander is given a dropout exemption card, which can be used on any of the I-Landers, including himself. If the card is used, the next dropout candidate will automatically be demoted to the Ground. If there are no dropouts from I-Land in this round, the Grounders will not be able to perform at all.