''Fantasy Boys'' () is a 2023 South Korean

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

program created by MBC. It aired on MBC TV from March 30 to June 8, 2023, every Thursday at 22:00 ( KST). The finale was broadcast live and announced the twelve final members to formed the final group, Fantasy Boys. The show serves as a sequel to ''

My Teenage Girl ''My Teenage Girl'' () was a South Korean reality competition series created by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (abbreviated as MBC). It was intended to form a seven-member girl group with the potential to chart on '' Billboard''. The contestan ...

'', this time featuring all male contestants.

Concept and format

In June 2022, the production company, Phunky Studios, held meetings with 53 entertainment agencies to discuss the production of a male version of ''

''. A month later, it was announced that over 1,000 trainees from all over the world, including Japan, China, the United States, Australia, and Thailand, had applied for the privately held global auditions Any boys aged 14 and over, regardless of nationality, were eligible to audition. Further contestants were originally scheduled to be recruited through public auditions from November 18 to December 16, 2022, but the recruitment period was later extended to December 31. The show's goal is to create a global

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...

boy group composed of trainees from all around the world. Aside from regular promotions, the new boy group will also participate in webtoon character, game, digital content, and

NFT A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the ...

(Non-Fungible Token) projects.

Promotion and broadcast

In November 2022, the program's title was confirmed as ''Fantasy Boys'' and multiple teaser videos were released between November 18 and December 2, 2022. On February 20, 2023, profile photos and videos for the 55 contestants were released through the official website and social media accounts. The music video for the theme song "FANTASY" was released on the 27th. On March 6, Phunky Studio announced that in addition to the music video, a special performance video for "FANTASY" would be released. Filming for the video took place at a large-scale set at a gym in Gyeonggi Province from March 6–7. On March 1, an offline high-touch meeting entitled 'Hi! Fantasy' was held prior to the show's premiere at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center. Over 5,000 fans from around the globe applied for the event. On March 17, it was announced that the broadcast of the first episode of ''Fantasy Boys'' would be postponed from March 23 to March 30 because a global

OTT platform An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a Media (communications), media service offered Direct-to-consumer, directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses Cable television, cable, broadcast television, broadcast, and satellite television platf ...

had agreed to simultaneously broadcast the program worldwide. ''Fantasy Boys'' is being simulcast through MBC TV and

Naver NOW Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to i ...

in South Korea, Abema in Japan, and iQIYI in 12 more countries, namely Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

Cast

* Host:

Changmin Shim Chang-min (; born February 18, 1988), also known by his stage name Max Changmin () or simply as Max, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Changmin was scou ...

* Main Producers (also known as Mentors): ** Jang Woo-young ** Jeon So-yeon **

Jin-young Jin-young (), also spelled Jin-yeong or Jean-young, is a unisex Korean given name. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 48 hanja with the reading "jin" and 41 hanja with the reading " young" o ...

** Kang Seung-yoon * Rap Teachers: ** Hanhae ** Kebee * Vocal Teachers: **

Jang Jin-young Jang Jin-young (; June 14, 1972 – September 1, 2009) was a South Korean actress. Following Jang's time as a model and participation in the 1992 Miss Korea beauty contest, she began her acting career on television, in the drama ''Angel in My ...

** Park Su-min ** Jeong Woong-min * Dance Teachers: ** Yoo Kwang-yeol ** Lee Kwang-taek * Guest: ** Choi Min-ho (Special host; Episodes 5–6)

Contestants

The English spelling of the Korean and Chinese contestants' names are presented in Eastern order according to the official website, while the Japanese contestants' names are presented in Western order. The Korean names of the non-Korean contestants are listed along with their names in their native languages. ;Color Key

Ranking

Top 12

;Color key

Producer Pick

The main producer for each semester chooses a contestant to send through to the next round.

Discography

Extended plays

Single albums

Singles

Ratings

Aftermath

* Fantasy Boys to debut on September 21, 2023. ** Yu Jun-won (1st) left the debut lineup on August 23, 2023, following several disagreements Junwon and his parents had with PocketDol Studio regarding his contract. * Some contestants returned to their original groups: ** Moon Hyun-bin (13th) returned to

Ciipher Ciipher ( ko, 싸이퍼) is a South Korean boy band created by South Korean singer Rain under R.A.I.N. Company. The group consists of Tan, Hwi, Hyunbin, Keita, Tag, Dohwan and Won. The group debuted on March 15, 2021, with the extended play (EP) ...

. * Some contestants left their companies or joined new ones: ** Kang Dae-hyeon transferred from Urbans Works Ent to DSP Media and subsequently to RBW, expecting to debut in RBW's new boy group in October 2023. ** Kim Kyu-hyun left Redstart ENM. ** Seo Sang-woo left One Cool Jacso Entertainment. * Some contestants will debut or debuted in new boy groups or released music as solo artists: ** Park Hyeong-geun, Kang Dae-hyeon and Hwang Jae-min will debut in RBW's new boy group this October (2023). * Some contestants will participate in upcoming survival shows: ** Park Min-geun and Jung Goo-hyun will participate as contestants in

MBC M MBC M (formerly MBC Music) () is a South Korean specialty television channel owned by MBC Plus Media. The cable channel primarily broadcasts programming related to music. The channel opened on February 1, 2012, with a new music program ''Show ...

's show "Fan Pick".

Notes

References

External links

*
''Fantasy Boys''
at

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

''Fantasy Boys''
at

{{in lang, ko, en Fantasy Boys MBC TV original programming 2023 South Korean television series debuts K-pop television series Korean-language television shows Music competitions in South Korea South Korean reality television series 2023 South Korean television series endings