The recent South Korean reality show Physical: 100 was a huge success, becoming Netflix’s most popular non-English show only a few weeks after its premiere. A unique survival show, Physical: 100 grouped together 100 contestants at peak physical condition, aiming to reward the most athletically capable with a large cash prize of 300 million won. The large pool of contestants competed against each other in a tournament-style competition that tested different facets of their strength. Every athlete was commendable (and capable of physical feats this author could only dream of), but only one could reign supreme.
Out of all 100 competitors, Woo Jin-Yong came out on top. Here’s an introduction to the Physical: 100 winner and the controversy surrounding his victory.
Who is Woo Jin-yong?
Woo Jin-yong, the champion of Physical: 100, was born in 1986 and was working as a PE teacher before entering the competition. Woo graduated from Chung-Ang University with a bachelors in Physical Education before returning to the university’s graduate school for his masters in the same subject. Not much is known about his life before college, but multiple sources state Woo first began snowboarding in 1998, igniting the spark that would eventually lead to his love for the sport.
In 2007, he temporarily moved to Canada and, after his time abroad, reignited his passion for snowboarding. He began a career as a professional snowboarder soon after. He would go on to become the first national snowboarding athlete from South Korea and although he hoped to compete at the Olympic level, the sport’s low level of domestic popularity led him to abandon the pursuit in 2017. Ever the fitness lover, he opened his own CrossFit gym, after finding similarities between snowboarding and CrossFit.
Despite leaving the professional snowboarding world, Woo still has Olympic ambitions. In an interview with W Korea, he talks about his dream of going to the 2026 Italian Olympics — not as a player, but as a coach for the national team. In order to fulfill this dream, he continues to coach promising snowboarders in addition to his work as a CrossFit instructor.
Unfortunately, what should be a time of celebration for Woo has become embroiled in controversy.
Physical: 100 controversy, explained
While Woo was officially named the winner of Physical: 100, some Korean netizens think his victory was a result of manipulation. The final competition pit the two finalists against each other to see which athlete could unravel a giant rope from a spool the fastest. While the show presented the fight as one round, reports alleged the televised fight was actually the culmination of three rounds and Woo’s victory was a result of tampering (per Koreaboo). Netflix responded to the allegations, saying they had confirmed with the production company “that there were no technical issues with either of the game equipment.” Additionally, Netflix indicated finalist Jung Hae-min did not ask for a rematch, implying the fight was fair.
Things became more complicated when Jung directly contradicted Netflix’s rebuttal. In an exclusive interview with Ilyo News, he confirmed they had filmed two previous matches before the televised fight and worse, Jung had been winning in both matches. The professional cyclist claimed that about halfway through the first round, Woo complained the spools were making too much noise and production called off the match to fix the problem. The crew then oiled the machines and from Jung’s perspective, this “lowered the difficulty and made [the game] easy.”
Soon into the second round, Jung felt sure he had cinched the victory when the production team called out for him to stop. The crew told Jung there was a problem with the audio and the previous round was unusable. They then asked the two finalists if they could move to another location to finish the match and although Jung had reservations, he finally agreed when he felt the show would not continue without his agreement. He claims he was told the crew would shorten his rope by as much as he had been ahead in the previous match so Jung reluctantly agreed, despite feeling he had used up all his strength in the previous match. “My head was filled with the thought, ‘Shouldn’t I be allowed to win?'” Jung told Ilyo News.
After a short rest, the third round began. This time, Jung felt he couldn’t make the rope budge and he ultimately lost the competition. When the filming ended, Jung claims he confronted the production team, telling them they need to show the first rounds and the circumstances leading to his loss “like a real reality show.” The Physical: 100 crew didn’t take kindly to Jung’s outburst and told him he shouldn’t concern himself with how the show is edited.
Jung stressed he didn’t come forth with his story because he wanted the prize money or to be the champion. “It’s my hope that no one attacks Woo Jin-yong. We fought our best for the competition, and now that the show is over, I think it’s time to do our best to understand and forgive each other.” Jung says he only wishes for the production team to be honest and share the footage.
Although the controversy was a pretty big news story in Korea, nothing ever came of Jung’s comments and Woo was able to maintain his title. Both finalists worked hard in the competition and we wish them well with their future endeavors. It’s unfortunate the first season of Physical: 100 has ended on a slightly sour note, but hopefully, all the drama is building up anticipation for a second season.
What has Woo Jin-yong done since Physical: 100?
Since winning the competition, Woo has kept busy. He occasionally shares his workouts on his Instagram for followers to emulate — good luck to anyone brave enough to try — and has shared photos of himself with other prominent members of the fitness community. Aside from his main job as owner of a CrossFit gym, Woo recently ran a 10km marathon earlier this summer (while drinking a delicious sponsored Powerade) and participated in the Ice Bucket challenge. When not working out, Woo moonlights as an ambassador for athleisure company Sung 1975 and has been photographed with other celebrities and fitness influencers associated with the brand.