# Heart Signal

Heart Signal (Korean: 하트시그널) is a South Korean dating reality television show distributed by Channel A. Season 1 of the show aired in 2017, followed by season 2 in 2018, season 3 in 2020 and season 4 in 2023. Based on the cast members of Heart Signal, a new program named Friends was also produced.

## Overview

The reality show follows eight people living together for one month as they get to know each other and go on dates. Every night, each cast member sends an anonymous text message to another cast member to show their romantic interest. However, they are not allowed to directly confess their love. Meanwhile, a panel of celebrities and experts watches the show, analyzing the cast members' actions and trying to predict who will text who.

## Panelists

Season 1
* Yoon Jong-shin
* Lee Sang-min
* Kim Eana
* Yang Jae-woong
* Shim So-young
* Shindong (Super Junior)
Season 2
* Yoon Jong-shin
* Lee Sang-min
* Kim Eana
* Yang Jae-woong
* ONE
* Soyou
Season 3
* Lee Sang-min
* Kim Eana
* Yang Jae-woong
* Han Hye-jin
* Yoon Shi-yoon
* P.O (Block B)
Season 4
* Yoon Jong-shin
* Lee Sang-min
* Kim Eana
* Kim Choong-gi
* Kang Seung-yoon (Winner) -> Kim Jin-woo (Winner)
* Mimi (Oh My Girl)

## Cast members

Season 1
| Name | Birth year | Occupation | Notes |
| Jang Cheon (장천) | 1985 | lawyer | |
| Kang Sung-wook (강성욱) | 1985 | musical actor | |
| Seo Joo-won (서주원) | 1994 | race car driver | |
| Yoon Hyeon-chan (윤현찬) | 1985 | chef and restaurant owner | Joined the show in episode 8 |
| Bae Yoon-kyung (배윤경) | 1993 | actress | |
| Kim Se-rin (김세린) | 1993 | marketer at Cirque du Soleil | |
| Seo Ji-hye (서지혜) | 1996 | student at Ewha Womans University | |
| Shin A-ra (신아라) | 1995 | first runner-up at Miss Korea 2016 | Joined the show in episode 4 |
Confession Result :
| Participants |||
| Kang Sung-wook | ↔ | Shin A-ra |
| Jang Cheon | ↔ | Bae Yoon-kyung |
| Seo Joo-won | → | Seo Ji-hye |
| Yoon Hyeon-chan | → | Shin A-ra |
| Kim Se-rin | → | Jang Cheon |
| Seo Ji-hye | → | Jang Cheon |
Season 2
| Name | Birth year | Occupation | Notes |
| Kim Do-gyun (김도균) | 1988 | Korean medicine doctor | |
| Jung Jae-ho (정재호) | 1990 | CEO of a startup company | |
| Lee Gyu-bin (이규빈) | 1993 | preparing to join the South Korean public service | |
| Kim Hyun-woo (김현우) | 1985 | chef and restaurant owner | Joined the show in episode 2 |
| Oh Young-joo (오영주) | 1991 | marketer at Microsoft | |
| Song Da-eun (송다은) | 1991 | aspiring actress | |
| Im Hyun-joo (임현주) | 1992 | work as an actress | student at Kookmin University |
| Kim Jang-mi (김장미) | 1989 | fashion boutique owner | Joined the show in episode 6 |
Confession Result :
| Participants |||
| Jung Jae-ho | ↔ | Song Da-eun |
| Kim Hyun-woo | ↔ | Im Hyun-joo |
| Kim Do-gyun | → | Im Hyun-joo |
| Lee Gyu-bin | → | Oh Young-joo |
| Oh Young-joo | → | Kim Hyun-woo |
| Kim Jang-mi | → | Kim Do-gyun |
Season 3
| Name | Birth year | Occupation | Notes |
| Cheon In-woo (천인우) | 1989 | engineering manager at a fintech company | |
| Jung Eui-dong (정의동) | 1992 | animal replica sculptor | |
| Im Han-gyeol (임한결) | 1989 | branding consultant for restaurants | |
| Kim Kang-yeol (김강열) | 1994 | online fashion boutique owner | Joined the show in episode 6 |
| Lee Ga-heun (이가흔) | 1996 | veterinary student | |
| Park Ji-hyun (박지현) | 1996 | student at Waseda University | |
| Seo Min-jae (서민재) | 1993 | auto mechanic | studied at Inha University and Hanyang University |
| Cheon An-na (천안나) | 1994 | secretary | Joined the show in episode 8 |
Confession Result :
| Participants |||
| Im Han-gyeol | ↔ | Seo Min-jae |
| Kim Kang-yeol | ↔ | Park Ji-hyun |
| Cheon In-woo | → | Park Ji-hyun |
| Jung Eui-dong | → | Cheon An-na |
| Lee Ga-heun | → | Jung Eui-dong |
| Cheon An-na | → | Kim Kang-yeol |
Season 4
| Name | Birth year | Occupation | Notes |
| Shin Min-gyu (신 민규) | 1993 | Strategy Consultant | |
| Han Gyeo-re (한 겨레) | 1989 | CEO of F&B Company | Winner of barista competition in South Korea and represented the country in international competitions |
| Yoo Ji-won (유 지원) | 1996 | Medical intern | |
| Lee Hu-shin (이 후신) | 1993 | Painter and model | Joined in Episode 3 |
| Lee Ju-mi (이 주미) | 1994 | Lawyer | |
| Kim Ji-young (김 지영) | 1995 | Brand officer at interior architecture company | Former Korean Air flight attendant |
| Kim Ji-min (김 지민) | 2000 | Student at Sungshin Women's University | |
| Yoo Yi-soo (유 이수) | 1998 | Casting agent and model | Joined in Episode 6 |
Male participants
  Female participants
  Heart Signal was not revealed   Choose each other
Heart Signals :
| Participants | Participants | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes |
| Participants | Participants | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| | Shin Min-gyu | Kim Ji-min | Kim Ji-min | Kim Ji-min | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-min | Kim Ji-min | Yoo Yi-soo | Lee Ju-mi | Yoo Yi-soo | Yoo Yi-soo | No votings held | Yoo Yi-soo | Yoo Yi-soo | No votings held | Yoo Yi-soo |
| | Lee Ju-mi | Shin Min-gyu | Han Gyeo-re | Shin Min-gyu | Han Gyeo-re | Shin Min-gyu | Han Gyeo-re | Han Gyeo-re | Han Gyeo-re | Han Gyeo-re | Han Gyeo-re | No votings held | Han Gyeo-re | Han Gyeo-re | No votings held | Han Gyeo-re |
| | Yoo Ji-won | Kim Ji-young | Lee Ju-mi | Lee Ju-mi | Lee Ju-mi | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | No votings held | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | No votings held | Kim Ji-young |
| | Kim Ji-young | Han Gyeo-re | Han Gyeo-re | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | Han Gyeo-re | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | No votings held | Lee Hu-shin | Shin Min-gyu | No votings held | Han Gyeo-re |
| | Han Gyeo-re | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Lee Ju-mi | Lee Ju-mi | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | No votings held | Lee Ju-mi | Kim Ji-young | No votings held | Kim Ji-young |
| | Kim Ji-min | Yoo Ji-won | Yoo Ji-won | Yoo Ji-won | Lee Hu-shin | Yoo Ji-won | Lee Hu-shin | Lee Hu-shin | Lee Hu-shin | Lee Hu-shin | Lee Hu-shin | No votings held | Lee Hu-shin | Lee Hu-shin | No votings held | Lee Hu-shin |
| | Lee Hu-shin | Not yet on the house | Not yet on the house | Lee Ju-mi | Kim Ji-min | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-min | Kim Ji-min | Kim Ji-min | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-young | No votings held | Kim Ji-young | Kim Ji-min | No votings held | Kim Ji-young |
| | Yoo Yi-soo | Not yet on the house | Not yet on the house | Not yet on the house | Not yet on the house | Not yet on the house | Lee Hu-shin | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | No votings held | Shin Min-gyu | Shin Min-gyu | No votings held | Shin Min-gyu |
Confession Result :
| Participants |||
| Han Gyeo-re | ↔ | Kim Ji-young |
| Shin Min-gyu | ↔ | Yoo Yi-soo |
| Yoo Ji-won | → | Kim Ji-young |
| Lee Hu-shin | → | Kim Ji-young |
| Lee Ju-mi | → | Han Gyeo-re |
| Kim Ji-min | → | Lee Hu-shin |

## Aftermath

Seo Joo-won from Season 1 got married in 2018 to YouTuber Aori (Kim Min-young) and got divorced in 2022.
Kim Do-gyun from Season 2 got married in 2022 to a non-celebrity who is a yoga instructor. Im Hyun-joo is dating actor Kwak Si-yang.
Park Ji-hyun from Season 3 got married in 2023 to a non-celebrity who is a businessman.
Shin Min-gyu and Yoo Yi-soo from Season 4 dated between April 2023 until late 2024.

## Controversies

Season 1
In 2019, Heart Signal cast member Kang Sung-wook was sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in August 2017. Fellow cast member Jang Cheon reportedly initially served as Kang's lawyer in the case but resigned after six days. Kang's sentence was reduced to 30 months in prison in 2020.
Season 2
Heart Signal 2 cast member Kim Hyun-woo was arrested for drunk driving in April 2018 while the show was airing.
Season 3
After the cast members of Heart Signal 3 were publicly announced, a woman accused cast member Lee Ga-heun of bullying classmates. Cast member Cheon An-na was also accused of bullying. The show's producers denied the allegations.
While the show was airing, another woman told the media that cast member Kim Kang-yeol had kicked her in the stomach at a nightclub in January 2017. Kim admitted to the incident and apologized on social media.
In May 2023, Yongsan Police Station in Seoul applied for an arrest warrant for Seo Min-jae on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. This suspicion was raised when Seo Min-jae made an SNS post revealing that she and her then boyfriend, Nam Tae-hyun, took methamphetamine in August 2022. In September 2022, the police finally collected the hair and urine of Seo Min-jae and Nam Tae-hyun, who were suspected of violating the Narcotics Control Act, and requested an appraisal from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation (NFS).