Mnet‘s ‘Couple Palace 2’ has started a full-scale multi-faceted love line in the midst of a war of plotting.

The 5th episode of ‘Couple Palace 2’, which aired on the 5th, depicted the story of 33 single men and women who started the palace week training camp. In a situation where the choices were divided into ‘Couple Zone’, where the two of them prepare for marriage with their matched partner, and ‘Single Zone’, where they can find a new partner, a storm of emotions surfaced, causing excitement and dopamine.

The identities of the six couples who chose the Couple Zone were also revealed. The philosophy-loving ‘Confident Couple’ pharmacist Cho Young-seok and corporate employee Kim Soo-min, as well as the ‘Year-Older Couple’ fashion brand CEO Lim Si-yeon and L Company employee Kim Hyun-joong also expressed their excitement by entering the Couple Zone. Lim Si-yeon, who said she liked short men, and Kim Hyun-joong, who said he preferred younger women, eventually chose what they were attracted to rather than what was conditional and took a step closer to each other. Dentist Kim Ji-woong and elementary school teacher Kim Ha-yeon also chose the Couple Zone despite their 10-year age difference. From wedding photo shoots to financial planning dates, they began super-fast wedding preparations that are only possible at the ‘Couple Palace’.

In the Single Zone, tangled, multi-faceted relationships began in earnest. As the ‘Favorite Voting’ began, where new partners are selected excluding existing matches, Hwang Jae-geun, a Japanese corporate employee who joined the Single Zone as a catfish, instantly became the center of popularity. Many women, including beauty creator and office worker A (Choi Seo-hee), chose Hwang Jae-geun. Beauty model Yoo Hye-won, who had previously rejected Hwang Jae-geun’s feelings, also chose Hwang Jae-geun.

Yoo Hye-won confessed her honest feelings, saying, “I worried about it a thousand times. I didn‘t have the courage because I had my own story, so I was worried I would be a nuisance.” Hwang Jae-geun finally opened up to Yoo Hye-won and cleared up his misunderstanding. However, this was short-lived, as the male cast members were caught mentioning rumors surrounding Yoo Hye-won, raising attention to what changes Hwang Jae-geun will experience.

In particular, Yoo Hye-won told another female cast member, “I had a boyfriend I dated for 6 years, but I confessed to him. I met both sets of parents and we almost got married. But I had my own story, so we broke up.” She continued, “Those articles. (Other people) seem to know, but they can’t tell me. It was very uncomfortable. So”, he added that he couldn‘t act actively.

Meanwhile, in the single zone, the couple managers’ recommended blind date, ‘Kyeol.Man.Chu Date’, continued, forming another tense situation. The meeting between dermatologist Lee Sang-kyung and pharmacist Bae Joo-hee came true, and a love triangle began. Seo Jin-joo, who was Lee Sang-kyung‘s match, confessed to Bae Joo-hee that she was satisfied with the Kyeol.Man.Chu Date, saying, “I don’t want to lose (Lee Sang-kyung). I think I‘m going to get competitive”. Choi Jae-yeon also couldn’t hide her anxious expression. Bae Joo-hee, who is serious about marriage, confessed the realistic worries that arise between the two men Lee Sang-kyung and Choi Jae-yeon, making people curious about the direction of the love triangle.


Another tectonic shift was foreshadowed as the single zone party began. Some of the characters from the couple zone were summoned to the single zone through the ‘Secret Date’ invitation rule. The first guest was Im Si-yeon, who received an invitation from Lee Jung-won. Lee Jung-won asked her out on a date, saying, “(Im Si-yeon) said she liked short men, so she felt a sense of challenge,”, but the two were unable to communicate, and Im Si-yeon expressed her growing affection for Kim Hyun-joong after the single zone party.

The fierce battle of wits between the women surrounding dentist Kim Ji-woong made the viewers‘ palms sweat. Jeong Na-kyung, a faculty member at Y University, dragged Kim Ji-woong out of the couple zone and then actively plotted to make dopamine surge. He also joined the date, foreshadowing an unprecedented war, and attention is focused on how their relationship will develop in the future, as well as the direction of their complicated love lines.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter, projecthong@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.