We Got Married (Korean:우리 결혼했어요) was a South Korean reality variety show that aired on MBC from 2008 to 2017. The show paired up celebrities who pretended to be married couples and completed various challenges together. The show ran for four seasons and inspired several spin-offs, including a global edition of the show that featured non-Korean celebrities.

Pilot special

The show's pilot episode was aired on 6 February 2008 as a Korean New Year special. On the episode, four arranged celebrity couples had to prepare dinner with a fixed amount of money.

Couples

Season 1

With a new format and slightly different couples, newlyweds are given a mission to complete each week. As during the special pilot episode, interviewed participants provide a unique perspective on the ongoing relationship conflicts and developments. All of the recorded material is then played in front of the participants, MCs, and audience who add commentary or clarification.

Beginning with a Lunar New Year's Special in 2009 with three new couples, a new format is introduced into the show, first forecasted through the addition of Kangin and Lee Yoon-ji. Each couple is given a concept to portray; in Kangin and Lee Yoon-ji's case, a college couple living with a limited income.

Original couples

Additional couples

Season 2

As of May 2009, the producers announced another change in the format with all four couples departing, cutting down to just one couple and shortening the show to just 60 minutes. The show will now portray a more realistic side to what a marriage is, instead of "the painted image of marriage based on romance". For the first time, a real couple is cast in the show. Guest celebrities are invited to be show's commentators for each episode so that they can share their opinions on marriage on behalf of their age group. SG Wannabe's Kim Yong-jun and Hwang Jung-eum also do the interview room together dressed in wedding attire.

However, due to low ratings, the show returned to its old format with the addition of a make-believe couple actor Park Jae-jung and After School member Uee on 2 August 2009. For the Chuseok special, Brown Eyed Girls' Gain & 2AM's Jo Kwon and SG Wannabe's Lee Seok-hoon & host Kim Na-young appeared as two new couples. The episode achieved Season 2's highest rating, and Gain and Jo Kwon were announced to be a permanent couple.

Couple List (New Format)

Couple List (Old Format)

Season 3

Season three officially begins on 9 April, with two additional couples upon the departure of Yonghwa & Seohyun, as well as a new format. Park Hwi-sun and K.Will are added for Season 3 to the cast as MCs.

Couple List

Season 4

Couple List

Controversies

In late March 2010, MBC stopped broadcast of new episodes due to labour strikes, with repeats airing instead. This event, compounded with the ROKS Cheonan sinking incident, which caused cancellation of most variety shows at the time, resulted in a backlog of footage for the couples Jo Kwon & Gain and Yonghwa & Seohyun. This resulted in the contents of their latest episodes being of footage recorded some months previously, rather than the normal 1–2 weeks of the original.

During Lee Joon & Oh Yeon-seo's season 4 tenure (broadcasting from September 2012 through February 2013), Oh Yeon-seo was observed meeting in public with Lee Jang-woo, her male co-star from the drama series, Here Comes Mr. Oh.[unreliable source?] When pictures and videos were released in January 2013, media and WGM fans surmised Oh Yeon-seo and Lee Jang-woo, formerly of WGM (Season 3), were in a romantic relationship. Because Oh Yeon-seo and Lee Joon were in the midst of filming WGM at the time this news was released, the integrity of their virtual marriage was questioned by fans.[unreliable source?] The negative reaction was further exacerbated by Oh Yeon-seo's multiple declarations of romantic interest in Lee Joon (e.g. as her "ideal type" and wanting to meet with him outside of filming).[unreliable source?] This backlash and perceived broken trust resulted in fans voicing their desire for Oh Yeon-Seo to exit WGM.[unreliable source?] Shortly after the rumors of Oh Yeon-seo and Lee Jang-woo's relationship surfaced, Lee Joon publicly expressed his frustration about not having his voice heard, with online fans suggesting it was due to his overbearing workload and/or Oh Yeon-seo's alleged relationship with Lee Jang-woo.[unreliable source?] A few weeks later, Lee Joon and Oh Yeon-seo ended their tenure on WGM.[unreliable source?]

On March 20, 2015, two new pairings were announced, one of them being Henry Lau and Kim Ye-won. The couple went on to appear in a few episodes. On June 2, it was confirmed that the couple were to leave the show as a video involving actress Lee Tae-im and Kim Ye-won was leaked to the public. In the video, Lee was seen repeatedly cursing at and threatening Kim on the set of MBC's My Tutor Friend. This led to Lee facing severe backlash from the public. She then apologised to Kim and the latter accepted her apology. However, a full video was later revealed, showing Kim being rude to Lee first by not using honorifics, glaring at the senior actress during the outburst and cursing at her after she had left the scene. The public then turned their back towards Kim, cancelling her and calling her behaviour "victim-playing". After the announcement that the Ye-won–Henry couple will be leaving the show, Kim posted an apology on her Twitter. In it, she apologized to Henry, the We Got Married staff, the viewers, the fans and finally to actress Lee Tae-im.

Spin-offs

Pit-a-Pat Shake

MBC aired a new show based on We Got Married. The emphasis of the show was described as a shift from married life to the dating period. The head producer of Pit-a-Pat Shake was the original producer of We Got Married, when couples such as Seo In-young and Crown J as well as Shin Ae and Alex aired. The success of the earliest and most memorable couples gave people high hopes for the pilot. A Lunar Year Special was filmed and aired as the pilot episode.

The female idols in the spin-off Pit-a-Pat Shake were KARA's Seungyeon, After School's Lizzy, SISTAR's Hyolyn, and SECRET's Sunhwa. Super Junior's Sungmin was partnered with Hyolyn, MBLAQ's Lee Joon with Lizzy, actor Lee Tae-sung with Seungyeon, and comedian Park Heeson with Sunhwa.

Chinese version

The Chinese version of We Got Married paired Korean and Chinese celebrities. Two out of three pairings were international: T-ara's Hyomin and Super Junior's Kyuhyun. It was produced by MBC to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of South Korea's diplomatic ties with China. It aired as a Valentine's Day special in China on an entertainment channel of Shanghai Media Group and on MBC on 25 February but with only the Korean segments.

Couples

Global Edition

A global edition spin-off in which idol celebrities from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are paired.

Season 1

Release date: April 7, 2013 – July 14, 2013

Season 2

Release date: April 5, 2014 – July 12, 2014

We Are In Love

The licensed remake of We Got Married titled We Are In Love was broadcast starting on 19 April 2015. It has the same basic format, except that the couples are not 'married' but 'dating'. This change was made in order to present a more realistic story in which couples first must be in love to form the basis of marriage before getting married.

Couples

First season (2015)

Second season (2016)

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryRecipientResult
2008MBC Entertainment AwardsBest Brand AwardWe Got Married teamWon
Best WriterKang Je-sangWon
Best Couple AwardKim Hyun-joong and HwangboWon
2009MBC Entertainment AwardsBest Newcomer AwardKim Yong-junWon
Hwang Jung-eumWon
UeeWon
3rd Mnet 20's Choice AwardsHot Couple AwardKim Yong-jun and Hwang Jung-eumWon
2010MBC Entertainment AwardsBest Couple AwardJo Kwon and GainWon
Best Newcomer AwardWon
Popularity AwardJung Yong-hwa and SeohyunWon
Nichkhun and VictoriaWon
Bugs Music AwardsBest Variety Star (Bronze)Jo KwonWon
2011MBC Entertainment AwardsBest Newcomer AwardEunjungWon
Lee Jang-wooNominated
Excellence AwardPark So-hyunWon
Best MC AwardPark Mi-sunWon
2012MBC Entertainment AwardsPopularity AwardKang So-ra and LeeteukWon
Best Newcomer AwardHwang KwangheeWon
Yoon Se-ahWon
Best Couple AwardJulien Kang and Yoon Se-ahNominated
Hwang Kwanghee and Han Sun-hwaNominated
Lee Joon and Oh Yeon-seoNominated
2013MBC Entertainment AwardsBest Newcomer AwardJeong Yu-miWon
Star of the YearTaeminWon
Son Na-eunWon
YoonhanWon
Jung Joon-youngWon
Excellence AwardLee So-yeonWon
Best Couple AwardLee Tae-min and Son Na-eunNominated
2014MBC Entertainment AwardsBest Couple AwardHong Jong-hyun and YuraNominated
Namkoong Min and Hong Jin-youngNominated
Song Jae-rim and Kim So-eunWon
New Star AwardNamkoong MinWon
Hong Jong-hyunWon
Kim So-eunWon
Best Newcomer AwardNominated
Song Jae-rimWon
YuraWon
Excellence AwardHong Jin-youngWon
2015MBC Entertainment AwardsNew Star AwardKwak Si-yangWon
JoyWon
Park Cho-aWon
Popularity Award for Variety ShowOh Min-suk and Kang Ye-wonWon
Best Rookie AwardKwak Si-yangNominated
Oh Min-sukNominated
Yook Sung-jaeWon
Best Couple AwardKwak Si-yang and Kim So-yeonNominated
Oh Min-suk and Kang Ye-wonNominated
Yook Sung-jae and JoyWon
Top Excellence Award for Variety ShowKang Ye-wonNominated
Kim So-yeonWon
201616th MBC Entertainment AwardsProgram of the YearWe Got Married Season 4Nominated
Top Female Excellence Award in Variety ShowLee Guk-jooWon
Male Excellence Award in Variety ShowSleepyNominated
Female Excellence Award in Variety ShowPark Na-raeWon
Cao LuNominated
Male Rookie Award in Variety ShowYang Se-chanNominated
Female Rookie Award in Variety ShowKim Jin-kyungNominated
SolarNominated
Popularity AwardJo Se-ho and Cao LuWon
Best Couple AwardEric Nam and SolarWon
Choi Tae-joon and Yoon Bo-miNominated
Jo Se-ho and Cao LuNominated
Jota and Kim Jin-kyungNominated
Sleepy and Lee Guk-jooNominated
201717th MBC Entertainment AwardsTop Excellence Award, Variety CategoryLee Guk-jooNominated

External links