Single’s Inferno season 4 is impossible to discuss without mentioning Lee Si-an. The 25-year-old model immediately became a hot topic when her casting on the Netflix Korean reality show was announced, considering she already had international fans from her trainee days on idol survival shows like Idol School and Produce 48. From the moment she arrived in Inferno—looking angelic in a white dress as she traipsed along the deserted island—it was clear that she had main character energy. All she needed was the right admirers to choose from.
Speaking with Si-an over Zoom just over one week before the season 4 finale, I can understand why she quickly charmed the men of season 4. Her laugh is bubbly and her sincerity is captivating as she answers questions about her experience filming, which she describes as fun, if a bit emotionally exhausting. Throughout the season’s release, Si-an’s love quadrangle between herself and her three suitors—mature Kim Jeong-su, devoted Theo Jang, and rough-around-the-edges Yuk Jun-seo—has taken up a large chunk of airtime (which some viewers have criticized). But there’s no doubt why the cameras couldn’t stop rolling around Si-an and her romantic entanglements: She’s a natural star.
Most reality TV fans understand that a lot gets lost in the edit. Si-an can attest to that. She says “only maybe 30 percent” of her personality, “not even 50 percent,” made it onto the show. “Usually I’m very cheerful and I like to play around with people,” she tells Marie Claire. “Because I was in front of these great guys that I was interested in, I was a little bit shy and clumsy. I think it’s a pity I couldn’t show all of my personality.”
Si-an on her idol trainee past: “When I think about myself now and myself when I was 19, 20, they’re very different people. So I hope people root for me as the person I am now.”
(Image credit: Russ Studio)
Because of that, she admits to being concerned that viewers might not “relate to” her while she was in the thick of the season’s drama. Though Si-an remains sensitive to spoilers for episodes that haven’t been released at the time of our chat, including her final decision to leave Inferno with Jun-seo, she appreciates any understanding. Particularly, she’s grateful co-host Hong Jin-kyung made the “perfect analogy” to Si-an’s confusion in episode 7, which Hong compared to a hypothetical dilemma of actors Cha Eun-woo, Park Bo-gum, and Byeon Woo-seok all confessing that they like her one after the other. “I was very thankful to her for making people resonate with what kind of situation I was in and the feelings I was feeling,” Si-an says. “While watching, I thought, yeah, that could happen to me. It was right that I was feeling so confused.”
With all of season 4 out on Netflix now, Si-an chats with Marie Claire about the thought process behind her final pick, which cast members she’s been in contact with since filming ended, and what kind of reality show she’d like to appear on next.
Marie Claire: Was it exhausting filming the whole show within 10 days?
Lee Si-an: I actually had so much fun, so it wasn’t very exhausting for me. I enjoyed it more in the beginning, but later, when I had to make up my mind on my final choice, that was when things got really hard. It did become a little bit exhausting emotionally for me towards the end. I didn’t want to go home. I love the island.
Lee Si-an says in her Single’s Inferno season 4 intro that she wants a “fiery, passionate… whirlwind romance.”
(Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix)
MC: Your fashion sense really stood out. What styles do you usually gravitate to?
LS: In real life, I also tend to prefer long dresses or skirts over shorter ones. Since I’m quite tall, I like to wear things that show my silhouette. Instead of going for the very feminine looks, I like more Gen Z, hipster-style clothing.
MC: You won most of the physical challenges on Inferno. Are you a really competitive person?
LS: While I don’t really like working out, I think I become really competitive when it comes to games and challenges. Those games were actually some of the moments that I really hold dear to my heart. I was really passionate.
MC: You have a lot of global fans from your time on idol survival shows. How was participating in Single’s Inferno different from your previous experiences on TV?
LS: I was looking forward to coming on Single’s Inferno. I was on those idol survival shows six or seven years ago [when] I was only 19 or 20, so I actually didn’t think many people would remember me from those shows. I realized that there were a lot of hidden fans out there who knew who I was. I really loved finding that out, and I was very thankful that they were rooting for me. When I think about myself now and myself when I was 19, 20, they’re very different people. So I hope people root for me as the person I am now.
“It was the first time I was really following my instincts,” Lee Si-an says of season 4, “and I was somehow gravitating towards the guy who may not have been my type.”
(Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix)
MC: Were the guys on Inferno different from your usual type?
LS: I think I look like a cat, appearance-wise, so I like to go for the opposite in guys. Usually, I go for very puppy-like appearances—very cute-looking people. I like people who have a strong and kind heart, who are very caring, and who really look out for me. But when I was on the show, I got to date a lot of different guys, and it was so cool. It was the first time I was really following my instincts, and I was somehow gravitating towards the guy who may not have been my type. So that was a fun experience for me.
MC: Was there anything that happened during filming that you were surprised didn’t make it onto the show, or that you wish audiences could have seen?
LS: We filmed it half a year ago, so I don’t remember all the details, but I recall the beginning of episode eight when I’m waking up in bed with Jun-seo. All I remembered was sleeping in a crouched pose, but when I was watching it on TV, I could see his affection towards me, so it kind of made me swoon. It was different seeing it from a bird’s eye view.
MC: What was your thought process when you made your final decision of who to leave Inferno with?
LS: I tried hard not to overthink it, and I just thought when I’m with this person, does he make me swoon? I said at the start of the show that I wanted to go on this emotional rollercoaster with a guy, so I tried to decide who made me feel that way and who made me swoon the most. I tried my best to choose instinctively who I was drawn to, instead of thinking of the values I have or the type of person I want to be with. I just tried to follow my guts.
“I tried hard not to overthink it, and I just thought when I’m with this person, does he make me swoon?” Lee Si-an says of her thought process for her final pick.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix)
MC: Are you still in contact with your final pick? Did you end up dating after the show?
LS: Well, I’m in contact with all of the contestants. We regularly get together to have some good food together or have some booze. And we are also doing promos together. When we have promos, we come together, have this walk down memory lane, and talk about what happened when we were filming. So, yeah, we’ve been seeing one another a lot.
MC: Fans have also really liked the friendships this season, like you and Kim A-rin.
LS: What you saw on the show was just a fraction of the friendship that we built. I was very close with A-rin. I’m also very close with the other girls who weren’t my roomies, Min-seol and Hye-jin. They actually came over to my place once and we ate together and had so much fun. The three of us also get together pretty regularly.
MC: Is there anything that you wish you had known before filming that you realize now?
LS: It is a little bit of a pity that not 100 percent of my personality is shown on the show. Thinking back, maybe that is the reason why a lot of guys chose me—but I’m the more cheerful, more talkative, more expressive person in real life. After a lot of guys picked me and were vying for my attention, I became more cautious because I didn’t want to offend anyone. If I was acting overboard, that might have hurt someone or offended someone, so I think I became more cautious. So, one thing I [wished] that I did was [show more of] my full self on the show.
MC: With Singles Inferno over, what do you hope to do next?
LS: First of all, I want to do a lot of modeling gigs in all kinds of areas and different places. And if opportunity allows, I would love to be on other reality or unscripted shows. Because I’m a very competitive gamer, I would love to be on variety shows that have physical games because I think I would thrive at it. I also hope this would work as an opportunity for me to work overseas as well. I have a lot of ambitions.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.