The 'Physical: 100' Cast: Your Guide

Netflix is going all in on its original Korean reality shows this year, beginning with a survival competition show that gives major Squid Game vibes. Physical: 100 pits 100 athletes, special forces soldiers, fitness influencers, and other strong people against each other to see who has the "most perfect physique." The ultra-fit men and women are put through various challenges that test not just strength and size, but also speed, agility, and mental cunning, all for the chance of winning 300 million won (about $245,000 USD).

While the show has a large number of contestants to keep up with, some fan favorites rose to the top immediately, including Olympians, famous YouTubers, and even a cast member or two with connections to Single's Inferno. 

Finalists

Jo Jin-hyeong

Jo is a car dealer who previously won the reality competition Strongest Man in 2019. He also had a guest cameo on the drama Welcome to Waikiki 2, and he shares his daily life and motorcycle-riding hobby on Instagram. He became a finalist after winning Quest 4's Punishment of Atlas challenge, where he held a 50-kg (or 110-lb) rock above his head for over two hours.

During the finale dinner, he reveals that he was the smallest of his friends in middle school, and began working out with them. He's been working out for over 20 years, and he entered the show because he believes he could still get stronger.

Jung Hae-min

Jung is a competitive cyclist who has been competing professionally for five years. He became a finalist after winning the Punishment of Sisyphus challenge, where the contestants had to push a 100-kg (or 220-lb) rock up a small hill over and over until one man was lift standing.

In the finale, he reveals that he's a second-generation cyclist who came on the show to promote his sport, which has competitions "nearly every week" but is less well-known in South Korea.

Kim Min-cheol

Kim is a member of the Korean national ice climbing team, and works on the Bukhansan special mountain rescue team. In his intro, he says that his muscles were made as part of his daily life rescuing people, rather than in a gym. By using his climbing skills, he came first out of all 100 contestants in the opening hanging challenge. He later became a finalist after winning Quest 4's Wings of Icarus climbing challenge.

He reveals during the finale that he began ice climbing at the late age of 29, and that he joined the show to promote his work in mountain rescue as well as his sport. "I wanted to let people know what kind of sport I compete in and and what kind of work I do," he said.

Park Jin-yong

Park is an Olympic luger and member of the Korean National Team. He competes in the doubles luge with his fellow Physical: 100 contestant Cho Jung-myung, and they have a YouTube channel together. The super-fast contestant becomes a finalist after winning the Fire of Prometheus challenge in Quest 4.

In the finale, he reveals that he has been an athlete since elementary school and a luger since high school. He also said that after the Beijing Olympics, he lost some motivation due to the harsh world of sports, where "only the good athletes are remembered, and only the good survive." He joined the show in the hopes that he would make luge more popular, and make things easier for current luge athletes and those who come after him.

Woo Jin-yong

Woo is a CrossFitter and has been a member of the Korean national snowboarding team, as both a competitor and coach. He was the first-ever athlete to officially represent South Korea in snowboarding, and he competes in an event called cross, a race where competitors also have to jump and turn sharp corners. He became a finalist after winning the Tail of Ouroboros running challenge in Quest 4.

He reveals in the finale that he couldn't make it to the Pyeongchang Olympics as officials decided to put their support behind "promising events." He also hopes to make his sport more popular for younger athletes.

Eliminated

Agent H

Hwang Ji-hun, a.k.a. Agent H, is a media personality and a UDT Reserve Sergeant in the South Korean navy's special forces. He's also the CEO of the broadcasting & media production company Kick the Hurdle Studio, along with other UDT contestants. (Kim Jin-young from Single's Inferno season 2 is also under the company). 

An Da-jeong

An is a popular bodybuilder and coach, who has won international competitions and is considered one of the best female bodybuilders in Korean history.

Caro

Caro is a CrossFitter, model, and popular YouTuber who shares his workouts and day-to-day life on his vlog channel. He's referred to as the "Korean Hercules" by the other contestants. He also does videos with his wife, an architectural designer and influencer.

Cha Hyun-seung

Cha is a dancer and model who's best known as a backup dancer for k-pop soloist Sunmi. He says in his intro that he joined the show to test his limits. He's also a familiar face to Netflix fans, as he was a cast member on season 1 of Single's Inferno. (You can watch his round one match here.)

Cho Jung-myung

Cho is a luger and three-time Olympian who competes in doubles with his fellow Physical: 100 contestant Park Jin-yong. (They also have a YouTube channel together.)

Choo Sung-hoon

Choo is a former Judo fighter and current MMA fighter, who's highly respected among the other contestants. The 47-year-old, who's also known as Sexyama, won gold at the 2001 Asian Judo Championships, and per his UFC profile, he's won 15 fights and lost six in his MMA career. He says in his intro that he wants to show that he can compete against younger contestants as a middle-aged man. (You can watch his round one match here.)

Dustin Nippert

Nippert is an American baseball player who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks major league team in 2002. The six-foot-eight-inch pitcher came to Korea in 2011 to play for Korean Baseball Organization's Doosan Bears, and he holds the record for the longest career of any foreign player.

Hwang Bit-yeo-ul

Hwang is a CrossFitter who competes in the international CrossFit Games, as well as an ambassador for Lululemon Korea. She made an impressive showing as the 3rd place winner in her pre-round hanging contest.

Im Jeong-yun

Im is a bodybuilder, model, and student studying Adapted Physical Education at Korea National Sport University. He made a strong showing in the first round when he won against champion arm wrestler and "strongest man in Korea" Ha Je-yong. (You can watch his round one match here.)

Jang Eun-sil

Jang is a member of the South Korean national wrestling team, who also does CrossFit or ssireum, traditional Korean wrestling, for fun. In her intro, she says that she's done nothing but work out for the past 20 years. She also runs a YouTube channel and TikTok where she posts vlogs and workout videos.

Jang Seong-min

Jang is a rugby player who played on the South Korean national team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. In his intro, he says that he's been called the "Rugby World's Don Lee" and "Monster Physique." He's also one of the 10 team captains chosen for round two.

Jeon Young

Young is a dancer, choreographer, and the leader of Korea's first bone-breaking team (a.k.a. the contortionist dance where it looks like the dancers have no bones). He's worked with Netflix before, as the zombie choreographer for Kingdom seasons 1 and 2 as well as Hellbound. Though he was eliminated in the first round, he became a fan-favorite for his impressive speed and agility.

Jeong Han-saem

Jeong is an actor and fitness model who appeared in the Korean stage show Wild Wild.

Kim Chun-ri

Kim is a famous bodybuilder and trainer who has won competitions including the PCA Europa bodybuilding Championship and the PCA Asia/World Champion. The fan-favorite was eliminated in her one-on-one match against Park Hyung-geun.

Kim Da-young

Kim is a stuntwoman, actor, and model who appeared in Squid Game and the Netflix film Carter, among other projects. She shares her stunt acting skills, daily life, and travels on Instagram.

Kim Kang-min

Kim is a bodybuilder and YouTuber, who also works as a trainer and owns clothing and supplement brands. He's also on the show with his wife Song A-reum, saying in their intro that they are a "married bodybuilding couple of the same age." They've been married for six years and have a six-year-old daughter.

Kim Kyung-jin

Kim is a former trainer and physical-education university teacher who transitioned to farming five years ago. He says in his intro that he know grows produce for people's health, and that he joined the competition to show people how he could compete fair and square. Though he lost his one-on-one match with dancer Cha Hyun-seung, the farmer became a quick fan favorite during his time on the show.

Kim Sik

Kim is the coach of South Korea's National Skeleton Team, who formerly competed in the 2014 Sochi Olympics as a bobsledder. (He's also Yun Sung-bin's coach.) He makes an impressive showing in Quest 4, when he holds a 50kg rock on his shoulders for two hours alongside Jo Jin-hyeong.

Kim Ye-hyun

Kim is a former fencer, model, bodybuilder, and YouTuber who also serves as the CEO of Fit & Hill Fitness. Per his Instagram bio, he also has a Master of Sports Rehabilitation at Korea Sports University.

Ma Sun-ho

Ma is a bodybuilder and media personality who's won multiple Domestic Bodybuilding championships in South Korea. He's one of the contestant MCs who appears in the Physical: 100 reaction videos on Netflix's YouTube channel.

Miho

Lee Miho is a fitness trainer, model, and influencer who shares her hobbies including traveling and hiking on Instagram. She was part of the underdog team in the second round with Jang Eun-sil.

Miracle

Miracle is a dancer, actor, model, and bodybuilder who has been a dance and fitness coach at Krump Studio since 2012. He formerly worked as a backup dancer for k-pop acts including Park Su-bin and OnlyOneOf, and he posts both workout and dancing content on his TikTok and YouTube pages.

Nam Kyung-jin

Nam is a wrestler who's been on the Korean national team for 12 years. He says in his intro that his "muscles are for real-life action" and that he thinks "he can beat anybody." He's also recently started a YouTube channel where he collaborates with other athletes.

Park Hyung-geun

Park is an MMA fighter who's ranked 31st among Pro Mens Featherweight fighters in South Korea. He became a controversial contestant after his one-on-one match against Kim Chun-ri.

Park Min-ji

Park is a ssireum (traditional Korean style) wrestler who calls herself "the goddess on the sand." She impresses the contestants when she chooses and holds her own against rugby player Jang Seong-min for her one-on-one match, though she's eventually defeated.

Seo Ha-yan

Seo is a CrossFit instructor and gym owner who regularly shares her and her coaching team's workouts on Instagram. She was part of the underdog team during the second round with Jang Eun-sil.

Seol Ki-kwan

Seol is a member of the Korean national bodybuilding team and an eight-time world champion. He also has a YouTube channel where he posts vlogs and workout videos. In his intro, he says that he joined the national team in his late twenties, and he's respected among the other bodybuilders on the show.

Seong Chi-hyun

Seong is a fitness model and casino dealer. He was eliminated in the second round, but came back into the game during the consolation match. He then joined Jang Eun-sil's team for Quest 3, though he was competing with a weak knee.

Shim Eu-ddeum

Shim is a popular fitness YouTuber who previously competed in bodybuilding competitions. Her channel includes stretching and workout videos and vlogs (including one of herself attending the Physical: 100 watch party). In her intro, she says that she's "ambitious when it comes to exercising or doing something physical."

Shin Bo-mi-rae

Shin is a boxer and YouTuber who's currently the WBC International Super Featherweight Champion.

Son Hee-dong

Son is a member of the Korean National Wrestling Team who competed in the 2018 Asian Championships and the 2018 World Championships.

Song A-reum

Song is a bodybuilder and fitness model who competes in women's bikini competitions. She joined the show with her husband Kim Kang-min, a fellow bodybuilder. The couple has been married for six years and shares a six-year-old daughter, and Song and their daughter regularly appears on Kim's YouTube channel.

Tarzan

Tarzan is a travel YouTuber, model, and media personality. He previously appeared on the survival show Black Sheep and the dating show Love Alarm Clap! Clap! Clap!.

Yang Hak-seon

Yang is an artistic gymnast on the South Korean National Team, who specializes in vault. He was South Korean gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal, coming first in vault at the 2012 Olympic Games. He also has two gold medals from the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

Yun Sung-bin

Yun is a skeleton racer who won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming the first Asian medalist in an Olympic sliding sport. In his intro, he said that he joined the show because "Olympic athletes rarely get a chance to appeal to the public or to share about themselves." He's also the most intimidating among the contestant pool, with everyone else saying he's the one to avoid. (You can watch his round one match here.)