“Heart Signal 4” Kim Ji Young Sparks Heated Discussions After The First Episode — All Because She Said She Can’t Eat Flour

The fourth season of Channel A‘s Heart Signal officially released its first episode on May 17—and there already seems to be a lot of discussion about one of its participants.

When the cast list for Heart Signal 4 was first released, participant Kim Ji Young immediately became a hot topic for her actress-like visuals. Before the show even started, there were rumors that Kim Ji Young had applied for the dating show when she was in a relationship with a doctor. The production staff had to step in and explain on her behalf with an official statement denying the rumor.

Following the first broadcast of Heart Signal 4 on May 17, Kim Ji Young continued to be a topic of conversation; on the show, Kim Ji Young said that she could not eat flour because it gives her rash-like reactions—however, netizens claimed that this is not true.

Some netizens pointed out that Kim Ji Young had made past statements such as, “I am a bread lover” and “My favorite food is hamburgers.” She listed her favorite burger brands and posted pictures of her eating coffee and bread at a cafe. Therefore, netizens claimed she was lying to package and create an image for herself on the reality show. A netizen even stated that “fakeness is the poison of reality television.”

Others defended the current freelance model, stating that her getting rash-like reactions to flour does not mean that she can’t eat foods with flour in them. Netizen A, who claimed to be Kim Ji Young’s acquaintance, told their version of the truth.

It’s true that Kim Ji Young gets rash-like reactions when she eats flour, but she loves flour to the extent that she endures it and eats food with flour in them.

— Netizen A

Other netizens also defended Kim Ji Young, saying that “verifying every single thing she says is pointless” and asking, “Can’t someone with a flour allergy eat hamburgers?” Most of the reactions were about how it’s ridiculous to make such a big deal about a single remark from a participant.

Meanwhile, the Heart Signal series has been surrounded by controversies in the past regarding participants’ personal lives. Therefore, Channel A’s production team took extra careful measures when casting for the fourth season—even having participants show 12 years’ worth of school records.