We now have our Nineteen to Twenty final couples after the long weekly journey of 13 episodes that have mostly blessed us with angst-ridden cliffhangers. However, with the latest Korean reality TV season coming to its close, we’re also reminiscing how we haven’t had a tender-hearted format like this one for a reality title in a long while. Before the OTT platform digs its claws in the apocalyptic premise of its next reality show centred around the undead, let’s relive the fondness felt through this series and bid it our final farewell.
Also known as 19 to 20 (열아홉 스물) and Yeolahob Seumul, the Korean reality dating show is created by Kim Jae-won, Park Su-ji, and Kim Jung-hyun. The MCs of the show are Super Junior Kyuhyun aka Cho Kyu-hyun (Single’s Inferno), Kim Ji-eun (One Dollar Lawyer), AKMU’s Lee Suhyun, and Jeong Sewoon. The show initially included 8 participants, Moon Se-yeon, Lim Jung-yun, Jeong Seo-yeong, Choi Seo-hyeon, Oh Sang-won, No Hee-ji, Lee Ji-min and Choi Ye-rin, who were later joined by Jeong Ji-woo and Kim Pyeong-seok as well, making them a huge group of 10 young adults.
‘House 20’ gave the young birds many chances to tune their heartstrings with those of someone they truly admired. Lifting off the no-dating rule, the new beginning and transitioning step opened up a world of freedom and agency for these recently turned young adults still grappling with the idea of their newfound adulthood. Reaching the final step, however, wasn’t an easy path for any of them. Some hearts got made, while others had to break before they took off to live their respective lives again.
While two weeks isn’t a long a duration of time when looked at from a distance, it’s still enough for one to feel new emotions around strangers meant to be something more in our lives. The same scenario awaited the 10 teenagers who’ve now entered their early 20s. Complications, love triangles (or more), heartbreaks, heart-flutters, embracing and heartwarming moments met with them in ‘House 20′, just as much as they affected us, the audience, in the process. Yet having crossed over that bridge now, love finally found its way into these young adults’ lives. Here’s who ended up with whom in the final episode.
Nineteen to Twenty Final Couples
Resolving the Jung-yun, Ji-woo and Se-yeon Love Triangle
Ji-woo was one among the two new students who walked in late. Despite the delay, her entry created eventful commotion and changed the previously established dynamics shared by the old additions. Se-yeon who’d been keeping it close with Ye-rin so far, swiftly found himself swept off the feet. And while that complicated things a lot, he gradually tried his best to bond with Ji-woo. However, the newcomer had already reserved a soft spot for the quiet Jung-yun, who always kept his feelings and words wrapped up in his heart.
What she didn’t know at the time was that she was actually the first person who Jung-yun had also been ardently wanting to connect with. While the School 19 situation didn’t work too much in his favour and he kept his composure, moving to House 20 allowed him the space to open up more. Ji-woo struggled and pushed him to open his heart to her, but he just couldn’t, and ultimately Se-yeon moved closer to her. Finding all the comfort in his words, that she’d been seeking from Jung-yun, Ji-woo felt torn between choosing him and Se-yeon.
However, her true innate feelings won her over and she declined Se-yeon’s final idea of wanting to go on a ‘Dream Date’ with her. Her ‘Dream Date’ with Jung-yun finally helped her make up her mind and realise that she’d been waiting for Jung-yun to speak his mind to her all along. When he did do that, even if so softly and defined by his classic shy demeanour, she got pulled towards him even more, and in the end, Ji-woo and Jung-yun became the third official couple of the show.
What Became of Ji-min and Ye-rin?
After their minor fallout in Episode 10, Ji-min wanted Ye-rin to reciprocate her feelings for him just as much as he liked her, and setting up a small test for her to see if she would respond to his heart or not, he suggested that she use her ‘Dream Date’ opportunity to ask him out. While that particular episode left us feeling conflicted, the new ones opened up with hopeful joy. They resolved their issues and helped set their jealousies aside as they won the opportunity to enjoy their trip to Jeju.
Their perfectly crafted getaway turned into a romantic dream as they felt closer than ever on the island. By the end of the trip, standing by the beach, watching the waves rise and fall while waiting for the sunrise, Ji-min finally popped the question, and asked Ye-rin to be his girlfriend. Both of them melted into a puddle of emotions as butterflies in their stomachs played games, and ultimately Ye-rin said yes, as we’d all expected by this point in the show, but would have never seen it coming when we first started watching it. They were the first couple of the show.
Who Became the Second Couple of the Show?
Who else, but our very own most stable and secure pair of all – the accepted “mother and father” duo of the group – Hee-ji and Pyeong-seok. They were the only two people in the group who’d always backed each other up and stayed beside each other since the moment Pyeong-seok walked in late to join the lot. While he may have been the one to ask Hee-ji out on their first date, in the end, Hee-ji balanced the weight by asking Pyeong-seok to be her boyfriend. Though feeling defeated as he’d been hoping to ask her first, Pyeong-seok already had his swoon-worthy answer ready.
What Happened to Seo-hyeon, Sang-won and Seo-young?
All of them won their own versions of closure by the end. Seo-hyeon had been feeling pressured to respond to the direct and straightforward expressions made by Sang-won since the beginning. And while she’d wanted to get to know him initially, this abruptly paced approach caught her off guard and often made her feel uncomfortable. She’d been pushing back the moment of discussing things over with Sang-won, but the final episode helped her feel relieved when she told him that she didn’t feel the same way about him.
She also spoke her heart to Jung-yun, whom she’d started liking even without her knowing of it. Despite acknowledging that she was a bit too late to express her thoughts, she still confessed her feelings to him, and wished him well for his relationship with Ji-woo. Seo-yeong on the other hand, had tried time and again to express her feelings, first to Ji-min, and then Sang-won, but ultimately her unrequited feelings found solace in the company of friendship.
So our final Nineteen to Twenty couples were found in the following order: Ji-min and Ye-rin, followed by Hee-ji and Pyeong-seok, and lastly Ji-woo and Jung-yun.
Nineteen to Twenty Contestants
PS. Netflix’s post mentions each of their personal Instagram handles as well in case you wanted to get to know more about them.
The last three episodes are now available to watch on Netflix.
Read our review of the Nineteen to Twenty finale linked below.
Did your favourite pairs end up together? What did you think of the final episodes of the season? Let us know your thoughts on the series in the comments section below.
Also read: Nineteen to Twenty Episodes 11-13 Review: Bittersweet Farewell With a Promise to Stay Together