196 minSeason 2 • Episode 11
LatestI-LAND (아이랜드) is a South Korean boy group reality survival show 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. It premiered on June 26, 2020 and broadcasted every Friday at 11 p.m. KST on Mnet. 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 titled I-Land 2: N/⍺, not in affiliation with Hybe or Belift Lab, featuring female trainees. The show started airing in April 2024, and is collaborating with The Black Label, with the final lineup debuting in WakeOne.
Production
The I-LAND building itself is a character.
Direction
Bang PD's cold evaluations vs. his actual soft spot.
Score
Original test songs that slap unreasonably hard.
Creator
Bang Si-hyuk
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
I-LAND aired mid-pandemic and became a global bonding experience for isolated K-pop fans, with live voting connecting international audiences to Korean broadcast in real-time.
The show's collapse-and-rebuild of trainee identities mirrors HYBE's actual idol training philosophy: 'erase yourself to become marketable,' which later sparked debates about exploitation in I-LAND 2.
KR
