Chasing A Mirage: The Failure Of The Unit || Midnight Theories 🔮 

the idea of the unit was literally so amazing. it wasn't about "make the new nations gg". it was about giving idols a chance, who couldnt yet shine, due to any circumstances. it was a show truly amazing.

I loved the idea of The Unit, I just didn't know they were allowing rookies. They should've had a requirement that contestants had a minimum 3+ years of experience or above of something. I know I'd be absolutely HEATED if I'd been in a group two seconds away from disbanding and need the opportunity more, only to be upstaged by a rookie person who barely debuted. It's also lowkey messed up when certain people got by on looks and charm, as the expectations should've been a little higher since they're (mostly) experienced. I liked Uni.T and didn't know much about them, but they deserved better.

The Unit was honestly a better survival show because it gave idols, guys, and girls, who had been in stagnant groups a chance to revive their presence. And honestly, the amount of talent in that was RIDICULOUS Eunjin, Chan, Jun, really everyone was so excellent, it was clear that they hadn't just trained hard all those years, they had also honed their skills. The Unit just gave them a platform to consolidate all that. It's such a shame, I wish it had worked. I remember Rain gave someone a chance who was really enthusiastic and positive about becoming an idol even though his skills weren't developed yet and the fact that the show rewarded optimism and willingness is amazing given the shittiness of survival shows usually. And he improved a tonne! which is amazing!

You know who participated in The Unit? LABOUM! You know who is having a comeback soon? LABOUM!! This is a sign, for everyone to check out LABOUM's comeback with "Kiss Kiss"

The amount of talent in the unit surpasses even produce series. It's just a shame that they weren't as famous. Euijin of bigflo is one of kpops best dancers. Then rock hyeon and jeup as a vocalist is also very talented.

I remember when the Unit was announced, I was interested that the focus was suppose to be rebooting so many idols careers with a second chance. However, to see that it wasn’t completely in the case was very heartbreaking and I do understand why everyone was angry at the show. The producers clearly lost the point of it, and I’m disappointed that some of the judges chose personality and charm rather the determination some of the contestants had.

I actually enjoyed the unit. I wasn't bored at all, but maybe that's because I liked how it had less drama than other survival shows. For the most part, the participants seemed like they were enjoying themselves a lot. Anyway, I do agree that it should've stuck with its original concept than enlisting a lot of rookies and trainees. By doing so, the show alienated its target demographics.

still can't wrap my head around the fact that a thirteen year old trainee was allowed to be on the show with people who have been struggling in the industry for years. absolutely unfair.

I feel like the Unit was only launched after Nu'est successfully proved idols with skills that were mismanaged can regain the spotlight in Produce 101 Season 2. I'm a Nu'est fan so I'm definitely biased but no mentioning them at all?

Not only was the rookie groups participating a disadvantage to the senior idols it also opened up a lot of hate towards those rookie idols. My ult group is A.C.E and I’ve been a stan of them since their debut era in 2017 and this era of survival shows (2 members participated on the unit and the other 3 on mixnine) was frustrating for fans as well. It was the first time I saw them get a significant amount of negative comments, it left fans with uncertainty to their future as a group since at the time the company theyre from was much smaller and not nearly as stable as it is today, and it was just an overall mixed opinion amongst fans. They also had a comeback shortly before the unit started taping and if I remember correctly promotions for it only lasted 2-3 weeks.

Is really difficult at 2021 to find something that is strictly original,so for me,there is not plagiarism at all. Is not like mnet invented the survival shows.

Their music is a BOP why arent they popular when they still active!!?? ;(

I watched both The Unit and Mix9 both respectively and liked The Unit a little better . I feel like had they stuck with their original concept of rebooting already debuted idols then they probably would’ve faired better. I was definitely one of the ones who asked why trainees, actors who want to sing, and rookies were participating cause it definitely made no sense. And no shade to HyunA and Taemin but why were they even there?? After the auditions and appearances here and there they were barely on the show to mentor. These survival shows have really got to come up with something new

Funny enough, my fave idol to come out of The Unit is SOYA. She was eliminated in the first round and never actually got screen time... until the finale. Rain mentioned how one of the contestants decided to self produce and release an entire album in the time between when she was eliminated and the finale. That idol was SOYA. I immediately went looking for her, because how fucking cool is that? She's incredibly good too.

The judges decisions in auditions were kinda questionable too especially when it came to bigger groups who auditioned together and got completely ignored if they didn’t stand out… they really paid them dust (100%,boyfriend, topp dogg)

I will always be so sad about 100% (baekpo). That audition was the last televised appearance of Minwoo (the leader) after passing away. And Rockhyun & Hyukjin are vocal kings. They all deserved better...

The only reason why I respected or just beared the show was that Hansol got a chance to finally debut thanks to it after leaving SM and SMROOKIES. Probably the last time he was truly somewhat fortunate and happy, despite UNB not finding much of success throughout their short existence.

The unit was such a refreshing idea full of potential, it's just the execution was unbelieveably poor. I hope this show itself will get rebooted somehow (ironic, ik) & run by different productions team.

UNI.T was my first group I stanned from a survival program . I miss all the members ❤

Luckily, the guys from MAS 0094 (now Onewe) managed to successfully re-debut on RBW and they are doing amazing, much better than many of the most popular "winners" and contestants at the time. They even remain the third most popular and best-selling band today. The achievements of these boys are incredible and they grow more and more; at least by the standards of a kband; with everything and the few opportunities that the media give bands.

I'm so sad the groups that came out of the unit never really saw success (obviously they weren't managed well). But i freakin loved the idea of this show! I loved watching all my favorite underrated kpop groups like Boys Republic and MyNamae back on stage and I rewatch this series all the time lol

This show was an emotional rollercoaster, but I was excited to see groups like boyfriend and bigstar get second chance. I hate that it didn't go anywhere and that UNB and UNI.T still flopped real hard

It’s really sad that most of the groups that really needed this show are now disbanded and half of groups the members didn’t even make it even though they deserved it. Even though bigstar did get a bit of screen time too they edited out jude’s individual skill in the auditions and gave him no screen time and he was eliminated in the first round…

Boyfriend and ToppDogg deserved better treatment. Like are u kidding, of course they're tired they waited LITERALLY all day

I usually hate survival shows but I loved watching The Unit. It was sad seeing people who 'made it' have to start over

The one thing that bothered me the most about the show was that they kept letting mint shoehorn her weak cartwheels into nearly every number she did 😂

I loved the concept of this show and honestly think it was one of the best survival shows, there was less drama and you could feel the contestants bond was really great, not to mention the talent was through the roof. I’ve never watched a survival show where almost everyone was this extremely talented and funny. When Hangyul (former x1) spoke about the unit and said he enjoyed it so much in comparison to produce x it made me realize that they were really treated well on this show. Its such a shame people didn’t take much note of the show but I really hope they make another season just maybe with groups that aren’t rookies this time. (Even though you would end up really liking everyone honestly boys republic, boyfriend and hotshot deserved more)

This show really needs a new season with some tweaks. The concept was amazing but the way they handled it was... sad. If they ever do this again, I'd love to see idols from 9Muses, Lovelyz, Pristin/Hinapia, Kara, ZE:A & Boyfriend

Two adults minding their business Knetz: "And I took that personally."

They have the best audition show concept. I even love this better than anything I watched like produce, mix9, idol school, or planet999. The thing is they betrayed them self by allowing trainees and rookies to participate

Lightsum’s leader was on the unit technically she was one of the best female dancers at the age of 14 … crazy

11:53 I wanna know how those people feel being blissfully unaware to inherently biased judgement when it comes to a mentor-contestant relationship.

I cant express how upset I was with the treatment of actual failed groups vs rookies on this show. I didn't even realize certain groups (speed, brave girls, etc) were participants until rewatching the show again in 2020! instead I was exposed to numerous rookie groups like good day and mvp... the intent of the show became so unfocused and didn't even promote the winning groups properly. still so upset about this til this day!

Thats why the show Miss Back was better received because actual idols who needed and wanted a second chance were on the show from groups like wa$$up, Crayon Pop, the Ark, Stellar, 9Muses, and even T-ara. I liked watching the Unit but at the finale, it was painfully obvious that there were issues with voting. One of the best female vocalists who was in the top ranks didn’t debut (Semmi) and very popular contestants like Jiwon (I am not a fan but can obviously admit she was SO popular and should’ve debuted..now she’s in Cignature) and Somyi from DIA also didn’t debut while Hello Venus’ Yoonjo who was barely on screen or had any sort of following or votes ..made it into the final group. I remember thinking, who does she know personally on the directors/producers side of things that allowed her to debut in the final line-up because she wasn’t at all projected to be in the finale. She was even eliminated in the auditions and brought back. Nothing against her, she was very sweet but she just didn’t do as well as the other girls and she didn’t fit the concept of the group at all. There were also male contestants like Timateo and especially Kanto who I thought were obvious final team members yet were eliminated. I actually hope they do a second season but do it RIGHT but unfortunately…I doubt it’ll happen. Maybe another broadcaster can take on a similar project since there are now even more idols who deserve a second chance who were in underrated groups(all of CLC minus Yujin can be present or smaller groups like Nature, Fanatics, Saturday, Bvndit, and I’m missing many more). It’d be such a great show 🤗🤗

I don't know how this girl manages to read every single sentance with the same melody in it, it's exhausting to listen to despite the interesting topics covered ...

Unit is cool because the "old" idol can debut

The Unit should have been more strict like idols can only participate if they either : are in a kpop group older than 3 years that is struggling or are an ex-idols from a disbanded group

The senior participants deserved better, the debuted groups deserved better. My bias from A.C.E, Chan debuted in UNB. He is really one of the most talented all rounders i have known and he is really hardworking. Its really disheartening to see that all that effort didn't bear much fruit:(

I know the female idol who was supposed to be in the final group has to have been MATILDA Semmi. That was completely fixed that she wasn’t part of the final group. All of the frustrations said in this video is exactly what I was feeling while watching the show. Brave Girls were severely cut, it was so disappointing.

The idea of The Unit was solid "rebooting our favorite Idols, and giving them a second chance" however it was executed a bit poorly. But The Unit genuinely really wanted to help these Idols, their was no evil editing or favoritism, and the Judges genuinely wanted to help and were very nice to the contestants, and gave them sound advice. Also the more popular Contestants were not super young, it broke the mold that the Contestants that viewers wanted to see succeed were generally in their Mid-20s and already debuted for years. This was my favorite Survival Show around that time. While UNB and UNI.T didnt get the popularity they were hoping for, they did got their second chance, and were treated well. All the Contestants got paid for their time, no one came away looking like a total scumbag, and plenty of the Contestants later claimed the Show was a positive experience. If they cleaned up some things, a "The Unit Season 2" if made, could be a bigger success. Who knows which beloved former and low key Idols would shockingly show up next time? PS. I understand that this show was supposed to be for older established idols, but if Koreans hated these rookies and actors, why did they keep voting for them to stay each Round, and not eliminate them right away? Their actions made no sense

im guessing im the only person who didnt find the show boring, id rather heartwarming friendships be put to the front than fake scripted fights. the episode where the boys opened up to each other was super heartwarming and honestly so many of my favorite stages happened on this show. (whos ur mama is iconic)

Holy shit I was just thinking about how much of a fail this show was earlier today because Girls Planet released their "Shine" song which was the same as a song released during The Unit... crazy how not only the final group failed but everyone else on The Unit (except for Brave Girls) is likely disbanded or inactive in the industry now :(

Another group that disbanded after The Unit was Good Day, who was ironically a rookie group at the time; the members ended up splitting and redebuting as Cignature and Redsquare, but Sunn (who was known by the stage name Viva while on The Unit) has already left Cignature, too.

my one thing about the Unit that made it my preferred survival show was that it did give these idols another chance in the form of just having people learn and connect with them. I came to the Unit to watch Taemin truthfully and through the show I grew to love a lot of the idols and still support them now even if their original group is no longer active such as Jungsang (redebuted as Woonyul), Raehwan (redebuted as From20), all IMFACT members, A.C.E, MAS (redebuted as Onewe), 100% (redebuted as Fave1) etc. I found while I was annoyed at contestants like Lee Jung Ha who didn't deserve his spotlight on the show, I was excited to see the side of these groups like MyName, Boys Republic, Bigstar who just weren't previously given lots of chances to showcase their skills after the progress became stagnant. I'm aware of many fans who grew to love idols who didn't win on the Unit or even get close to top 9 but did leave a good impression on viewers who continued to follow them in the years after

I would very much like a season 2 with pristin & gugudan

This show is the definition of "Maybe The Real Treasure Was the Friends We Made Along the Way". 🥴

The Unit surely had its problems, but it was still a great show. There was little to no drama at all - contestants lifted each other up and had fun, unlike Produce where trainees are constantly competitive and there's tons of drama. UNI.T and UNB were both incredible groups and I'm still sad that they never got the recognition they so deserved.

The Unit is my first survival show (along with Mix9) and my fav Korean survival show overall. The editing at first is more intense with unnecessary dramas (like Hyunjoo-Hyosun, Lim Junhyeok, Casper, etc), but after second stage it's more heartwarming with more of the friendships and less dramas. Their friendships are their biggest strength in the show, even when the rating is low. But I still hate MBK for giving up on them.

Also I just really want a kind hearted version of this show. No humiliations, no pushing the contestants to exhaustion, no evil editing... Just everyone gets a faire shot, and if they get eliminated it's with good reasons and kindness and encouragements.

I had such high hopes for Boyfriend and Boys Republic, when I heard they were one the show. But it felt like they never got a good edit or a proper chance. I hated the way the show jerked me around with my hope for Suwoong (Boys Republic) in the last episode, and Donghyun's decline in ranks only to be replaced by rookies and the like felt totally against what the show presented itself as-.-

Off topic but I'm yet to see an idol as deeply humble as Taemin. The man's an angel

I loved The Unit when it was airing. I still regularly watch the Who’s your mama, Juliet, Heartbeat, Crazy, Jackpot, Her and You’re rhe best performances regularly

I feel like I could write a book on why The Unit failed and it's so sad because I was so excited when it was announced and it could have been really successful. Lots of people say it was simply because people don't care about the older contestants. While that may have been a factor, I think there are other much more egregious wrongs 1. The whole thing felt like a vanity project for Rain. He was acting like he was so generous to help these contestants out. It came across like he was trying to make himself look good and not trying to genuinely uplift the other contestants. And considering how he never talked about the show after it's finale, not even an instagram post telling people to check out Uni.T or UNB's debut, is more evidence of that. 2. Allowing rookies to participate made no sense. This show was advertised to give unlucky veterans in the industry a second chance. Then you have rookies not even 3 months old participating. When they recruited people they NEEDED to add some clause that said "must have debuted at least 2 years ago." 3. Allowing TRAINEES and MODELS to participate was 10 times worse and literally made no sense. This is not the show for them they literally haven't even started their career yet. And lots of those contestants (Lee Junga, Lee Juhyeon, Lee Borim, Ji Hansol) got way more screentime than the talented industry veterans, just to add insult to injury. I guess they were trying to do a Kim Sohye storyline, but not for this show please 4. The first episode was a DISASTER and I think turned so many people off. Veterans in the industry got zero stars while Lee Junga, a model who admitted himself he had zero talent, passed to the next round because of his "charm." 5. This "charm" obsession remained an issue throughout the whole series. I thought we were supposed to be judging talent. Why are they putting so much emphasis on visuals? 6. The co-ed choice was a mistake. It would have been interesting if we got to see the girls and the boys interacting or even doing stages together, but they never did and the contestants couldn't even make eye contact with people of the opposite gender. Therefore it felt like they were cramming two different shows, two different contests, into one. 7. The show itself was pretty boring. It felt like just another Produce 101. Forced drama, annoying editing, etc. It got better as the series progressed, but it was too little too late and people moved on. 8. Han Seoin who literally won the vocal contest in the first round never got any screentime and was gone for the first elimination, so clearly the producers have lost sight of what this show was supposed to be about. 9. Mix 9 ruined this show as well. It was basically the exact same concept but done by YG. Therefore lots of contestants who could have auditioned for The Unit, decided to take a gamble with YG instead. Also, the audience for this survival show was split because it's a big commitment to watch both shows at the same time, so people chose one or the other. 10. Not a lot of people no this but years after the show ended, they announced that there was an error in the finale and two male contestants and one female contestant who made the final lineup that did not actually earn that position. I'm 100% sure Semmi was the female contestant. Donghyun and Timoteo were probably the guys. And that's just not right. Was this actually a "mistake" or was there rigging? Also, did this mistake happen throughout the whole series? Just very sad that they screwed it up so bad.

my fave idol show! i would love it brought back but implementing ONLY debuted groups with at least 1-2 years of promo. sometimes groups can only get one chance to be successful from their company, think Pristin, they really only did 1 year of work but would totally deserve to get another chance!

God i remembered topp dogg and boyfriend.. I was boufriend's fan when i was a teen.. And topp dogg during my early adulthood... I was toppdogg's fan.. Listening to their songs daily.. And was disappointed to know they disbanded when i found them

I actually watched the whole of The Unit a few months ago. (When it was originally shown, I just watched clips.) I thought it was quite an interesting show with much less intense drama compared to other survival shows. For that reason, I thought the participants more interesting to follow and I got a better insight into what it's like to have your group not succeed or disband quickly. It was often quite poignant for that reason. One thing I didn't understand was why they had boys and girls in one season when there should have been two.

Imagine being not been able to taste success during your career, joined a survival show for your last chance of success and instead got another failure.... dang 😭😭

Honestly, I would really love to see a "reboot" of The Unit. The idea was impeccable, it was just the process and promotion that made the group less well known. KBS also did a great job handling the show. They barely even had any of the "evil editing" so prominent in survival shows nowdays. If done correctly, I could see the show being popular as you see the "underdogs" rise up again. I mean just look at SWF, all the girls have become household names now when they were barely known 4-5 months ago.

a 7 month contract is shitty

This is absolutely gonna be heartbreaking or eye opening.

The Unit was freakin entertaining and had the best songs of any audition program I have ever watched

Another issue was creating whole new boy groups and girl groups instead of literally revamping the pre-existing ones. What was the point of letting failed groups audition together when they were going to be split up anyways? They should have had already pre-existing groups competing together for a chance to re-debut. Have several well-known producers, choreographers, mv directors, stylist, and makeup artist be on the show as judges/mentors who pick several groups to be on their team that they mentor. Aside from the usual survival show performances have them get exposure and compete through photoshoots, festival and music show performances, and digital singles. The final boy group and girl group re-debut with a revamped image, sound, and style they created on the show with the help of those well-known behind the scenes creatives.

No idol survival show comes close to the amount of talent showcased on The Unit. The fact that it failed is honestly one of the biggest losses to the industry.

For me , the unit and mix9 were so good, the idea is just so unique but the fact that both of them didn't have any vote manipulation is just enought UNB was a great lineup but sadly underrated,

12:06 I'm glad there's still some people with common sense left bc some fans are too possessive of idols who do not and will probably never know them

The concern for rookie groups participating on the show is completely valid. It's one of the reasons why I found it weird that a member of Fromis_9 participated on produce 48. Coming straight from another survival show and with Fromis_9 only having been a group for less than a year it seemed like, it's like they didn't even really give the group a chance to succeed before trying to re-debut. Of course no one knows if it was her decision to go onto the show or if the company decided that one of the members needed to go in order to promote the group more, I just know that if I was a contestant on Idol school and saw that a member of the winning group went to go compete on another survival show right after, I would be pissed lmao

I loved The Unit. I’ve rewatched it 3-4 times and still cry every elimination round and during the final lineup announcement. I absolutely loved UNB. I miss them to this day 🥺 at least I still get to see them post pics with each other once in a while. The participants of The Unit deserved better. It’s sad how the show didn’t do well, there wasn’t much evil editing and the participants seemed to really enjoy themselves :(

I liked the video but how come Nu'est wasn't even mentioned?? When this show was first announced, I saw many people speculating it was inspired by Nu'est successfully rebooting their career and saving themselves from disbandment through P101, that should've at least been mentioned in the end along with Exid and Brave Girls since P101 really changed their career completely... And since they rebooted themselves through a survival show I thought they would've been a good example?

I actually LOVED the unit. I felt like it wasn't as evil edited as other shows and I knew almost all the contestants from before (specially the girls) so I was already a fan since I heard they were going to be in the show. The performances were amazing, the talent was amazing... I think this is the only survival show that I could understand and really feel like it was for the better (the mentors were there to really help the idols and not to make them feel worse)... This is the best kind of survival show that I've seen in Korea. It didn't go like it was expected but had a very good idea

If there is somehow a another Unit or a show similar to it, I'd really love VROMANCE there. Their contact is expiring in 2023 and in the five years since their debut, they've only released 3 mini albums. Some of the fault lies on the fact that the members got enlisted almost one by one, but hey, we are gonna blame RBW on this one. Sure some of the members got enlisted, but that doesn't excuse them for not promoting the group even though the members that hadn't enlisted yet were making OSTs and music still. EVEN TODAY that company has yet to do ANYTHING the members are STILL making OSTs, making appearance on shows, taking part in musicals, etc BUT THERE IS NO ANNOUNCEMENT WHAT SO EVER, NOT EVEN ON TWITTER. ONE OF THE MEMBERS EVEN GOT MARRIED AND I ONLY KNEW BECAUSE OF TWITTER, like wtffff

Every time I think about this show, I remember that one time the guys covered Butterfly. Heedo wrote in a verse that I don't exactly remember, but it was about feeling like you're on the edge of a cliff but you have to keep moving forward to reach your dream. Then he said "mom, dad, are you listening?" It was honestly heartbreaking. Especially on retrospect, knowing what all they were going through to fight for a second chance... that just kind of flopped. Don't get me wrong, I loved the two debut groups. They just didn't exactly get the exposure that we all hoped and anticipated for. I have fond memories of this show, but just general feelings of disappointment.

Overall, I really enjoyed how they handled and edited The Unit for the most part. They really focused a lot on working together as a team and why it's important to work that way when you're in a group. Yes there was some "dramatic" editing because it's still a reality show at the end of the day, but they also showed a lot of heartwarming moments and of the contestants having fun and helping each other out. It was just a shame that they end group wasn't very well promoted and their promotion time was very short.

Broooo thank you for making this video. I always thought Uni.t fell very short and no one really talked about it.

Its really ironic that the unit is a show that supposed to give a second chance to old idol to shine, and yet the group was a flop 😭

If it's true that kbs pressing agencies to join the show, it's possible they entered any entertainers, no matter models trainees rookies on the show so that they won't get penalities

Also, I am now totally jealous of Chaejin. My secret bias on The UNI+ was Jo Hyun A…

Rumors say Rain is cursed, first J tune Camp, then The Unit.... I hope it's just that, a rumor or a mere coincidence...

Thanks for this retrospective. I agree with a surprising amount of what you had to say. - At that time, I jumped into both shows with both feet, but walked away for different reasons. MixNine was brutal to watch for a girl group fan like myself, as it was so blatantly biased against the girls. UNI+ was so supportive to the contestants that I greatly preferred it. However, I reached a point where all of the contestants I supported became eliminated, and I didn’t feel a draw to keep watching.

The Unit is one of the only shows I actually liked and followed. It was the only show with an interesting and sane goal. Revive groups career is more interesting than debut again another group. And i liked it bc I recognized familiar faces so I was really rooting for them for real bc I knew some of them were extremely talented, and deserved a better career. That's what the judges claimed on the first ep, this show was made to help existing groups on the verge on disbandment to get a new chance. Then the first audition happened.. I was confused with many contestants. I saw trainees, groups that debuted just few months ago, rookies whose groups was already a bit popular, actors .... It was a MESS And what confused and angered me is when the judges+ audience let them enter the show !!???? I mean why ? Wasn't it a rebooting project for existing groups who need it? So I really couldn't help it but there was contestants that I didn't like from the beginning...it's not their fault ofc..I just didn't understand why they decided to join that show and why they were accepted... After watching each EPs I understood that some of the rookies grps came from very small agencies with very little money and they had no chance of succeeding without a boost like a survival show. But some them really had nothing to do with this show. The peak of my anger was when some of them made it into the final groups. The show really lost its meaning and that's sad. But one thing I know is that the final groups were extremely talented and produced great songs (especially UNB). So yea I was really disappointed on the very too short promotion time for the winning groups.. in fact they promoted actively for only 5months. But I have a great memory of them . I wish they reunite someday

For a Kpop survival show, The Unit has the best stages of all time (from the song choice up until the choreo and distribution). Its just sad that many people tend to like more other shows because of the contestant and the management name. If only their rating back then got higher every airing then the management wouldn't mess up and have second thoughts about manipulating the show cause there are more fans that will backlash the management if so.

The Uni+ was so ahead of its time! I wish it got more recognition and possibly another season! I wish UNI.T and UNB could’ve promoted longer too!!

The mix of rookies and non-idols was a bit off concept but I stopped having an issue with it as the show went on as quite a number of them were really really likable or talented. I think the judges did say during one of the auditions that talent was one thing but being able to captivate or charm the audience was important for an idol as well, so I didn't have too many issues in general with their choices during the auditions. It wasn't the most successful or best-executed survival show by far but.... The unit is my favourite one because: - the background as mentioned, is the desperation for success, and as a viewer, watching the contestants share about their struggles throughout the show really made me feel for them and their personal stories - the minimal evil editing! KBS really tried at first but the contestants were really just so mutually supportive that I think they just couldn't keep it up anymore and after a while it was just a show of support, encouragement and camaraderie. It made me happy to watch! - the contestants themselves were just such gems. perhaps many were older and nearing the end of their idol careers etc but the vibe between the contestants felt different from the other shows featuring mostly rookies. There seemed to be many genuine friendships. People who knew each other from before the show, those who met on the show and all. Even today, many years later, many of these contestants are still in touch and some even started working on music and stuff together after leaving their original groups! E.g. Raewan (bigstar) and Ungjae (Imfact) are doing music and stuff together, Junhyeok (Day6) and Bjoo (Topp Dogg) also making music together etc. That's just.....so sweet to see.

To this day this is the only show like this that I watched all the way through. I was so so invested in UNB's success - unfortunate it didn't pan out the way it could have, but a great show and great groups all around.

Basically a show that drew various fan groups together to watch a show that their favorite group was going to be on was genius and got high ratings. What fell apart, was the slow chipping away of their audience with each group being eliminated and losing fangroup after fangroup without developing a reason for the different fangroups to be attracted to the contestants left and hence continue watching the show that eliminated their fav group. But a good point was why was this used as an opportunity for not yet debuted rookie groups to just generate early PR for their companies? Perhaps with a smaller cadre of contestants some could have been retained after elimination to contribute somehow to the remaining ones and so still have some participation. Or perhaps allow the eliminated groups some addition performance or non performance screentime to help their cases. Like personal group interviews on their experiences, hardships, and successes that would please their fans and perhaps help develope new fans.

I love the show so much I rewatched many times!!! No drama just warmth ❤ the reason why i even watched this show is bc i like the unique idea of rebooting!

From someone who casually watched this show during the time of its airing all this information is eye opening! You did fabulously as always!

the idea of it was great but it was executed poorly, if they stuck to its original plan then they probably would’ve been way more successful

I LOVED The Unit. I started watching simply because U-KISS Jun was in it and I've been a fan of U-KISS since their debut. I found so many great groups through the Unit! Boys Republic (RIP), MYNAME, IMFACT... And I get the criticism about rookies and trainees being accepted, but honestly... Lee Jungha was my favourite. I would die for that boy! And it's been FOUR YEARS, but: Donghyun was robbed!!!

one thing that annoys me most about the situation is that the mismanagement of the 'reboot' aspect and viewer dissatisfaction is that it greatly reduces the liklihood of a show like this airing again. Most broadcasting stations will use the unit as an example to not air a 'reboot' type survival show again, which further reduces the opportunities for older idols to jumpstart their career. conspiracy theory, but what if they included lots of rookies, trainees, and non-idols to fill out the applicants to make it look like the show was popular? and then a lack of clarity regarding who to accept leading to so many of these applicants to get i?

The evil edition eated most of the best participants from the show, It still hurts that Cha Yoonji (I) left bcos of that, she was an amazing idol, amazing voice and dancing skills yet never got the opportunitty to show it, the Red Velvet performance was saved for HER, still the evil editing destroyed her, and she not only left the show but also the kpop scene.

I watched this show on RU-vid No lie, I enjoyed seeing everyone’s potential

Ahhhh I wish I saw this video sooner. I was a big fan of the unit and had hype for it before it aired, knowing a few of the contestants. concept of the unit is one of the best concepts for a kpop related show to date, however it was executed very poorly. Along with t what the video mentions, I also think it’s important to note their success, or lack there of, after the show. The companies managing the groups just weren’t providing enough content to keep them ahead of any competition. The lack of content such as little to no variety shows really set them back in popularity, and made it hard to be a fan of these groups. I do want to mention those angry at hansol debuting despite being a rookie, I think it’s entirely uncalled for. Hansol was an ex sm trainee set to debut in nct, however that never happened, as he was getting older and still hadn’t debut. In many ways, this was his last chance for fame and his group after the unit did quite poorly. I really wish this show was more successful and I honestly hope a show with a similar concept is produced in the future, I know I would watch just to see members fulfill their hopes and dreams.

The unit was the only survival show I watched. I really liked it's idea but I wished some of the contestants had more screen time

From the guys, i rarely see any of them active nowadays. Jun moved to acting. Euijin and Feeldog got silent. Jeup and Lee Geon didn’t sing in shows. Kanto didn’t rap. It’s so devastating. The only active ones are Hangyul and those from Domyeong’s group, forgot their name (same company as Mamamoo). For the girls, most are silent as well. Joohyun is the only active one but Lightsum is also struggling. Eunji and Yujeong’s fame had finally faded sadly. Laboum didn’t peaked, while Euna Kim decided to get married. Eunjin who ranked first, didn’t get fame at all. Every guys and girls are struggling. The good news is we get to know them more intimately. My top guys were Jun, Kanto, Jeup, Jungha (Beatwin), Hangyul, Hojung, Sungjun, Lee Geon and Junhyeok. Only two of them made it for my favorites but i get to know Chan’s vocal skills and he is remarkable. For the girls Yoonjo, Jiwon (Spica), Suji, Yujeong (Brave Girls), Chahee, Joohyun, Ahreum, Soya, Jinye and Haein (Laboum), Woohee, Serri, Eun-E, Yebin, Euijin, Hayoon (Trot Queen), and Hyeyeon. I know the girls more and most made it it. Sadly, the shouldn’t do another season. It won’t make it unless MNet’s producing it.

I didn't watch neither show but I thought the Unit was a really good idea. However, they lost their purpose as soon as they allowed idols/groups who had recently debuted but weren't popular.

I am honestly in love with your videos!! And also I'm so thankful to you that you made a video on this. I loved this show so much and followed the groups too but it was so sad how little popularity and reach they got

Honestly i think The Unit would be great success if Mnet produced it They might be a snake but the winner groups will actually reboot and live the life of success that they've wanted

This was an amazing video! I think (by watching the other videos about survival programs from this channel) that one of the main problems with this type of shows always seems to be the abundance of idols; you can't possibly try to fit 100+ people on a 3-month show and expect everyone to get a fair amount of screen time to show their abilities and connect with an audience, and like, i get that there are thousands of idols waiting for a chance like this, but i think putting 20-30 girls and 20-30 boys would be a reasonable amount.

I remember Koreans criticized Uni.T for not having any rapper member, but Koreans themselves literally voted for their idol. This program did not have international votes.

Controversies aside, at least The Unit really gave second chances to the participants and actually debuted groups. Even you can see the girls of UNI.T still have close relationships among each other long after they were disbanding.