SBS’s ‘몽글상담소’: How a Unique Dating Show is Changing Lives for Young Adults with Disabilities

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[Sports Today reporter Kim Tae-hyung] SBS’s buoyant hit Mongle Counseling Center, a feel-good series that’s become a cultural talking point, is opening a new chapter.

The SBS Special My Heart Feels Fluffy — Mongle Counseling Center (hereafter Mongle Counseling Center) follows young people with developmental disabilities as they navigate their first romantic relationships. It’s the latest project from producer Ko Hye-rin, whose Hakjeon and the Other Kim Min-ki won the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Work. Pop-culture power couple Lee Hyori and Lee Sang-soon serve as the show’s counseling directors, offering full support to the participants — nicknamed “Mongle” — and their quests for love. Their involvement helped generate strong interest even before the premiere.

The first episode, released on the 8th, earned strong reviews and climbed to No. 7 on Netflix Korea’s Top 10 Series chart (as of the 12th), with word-of-mouth growing every day.

In the second episode, airing on the 15th, three participants — Oh Ji-hyun, Yoo Ji-hoon and Jung Ji-won — head into second blind dates after last week’s nervous, awkward first meetings. Oh and Jung meet new dates, while Yoo reunites with Jeon So-yeon for an after-date after their initial outing ended early because he wasn’t feeling well.

Jung Ji-won, who has developed a rom-com leading-man reputation for his romantic charm, may meet his ideal type in this episode, raising viewer expectations. Jung had said he likes outgoing, cute women; this time he meets a petite, self-possessed woman whose confidence stands out.

Jung looks at his date with what appears to be love at first sight — a gaze that even got Lee Hyori and Lee Sang-soon visibly excited as they watched on monitors. Both Jung and his date share a hobby: watching romantic dramas. Lee Hyori briefly cheers they’ll be a great match, then playfully worries, Aren’t they going to reenact everything they saw in those dramas? — a teasing aside that brought laughs.

Lee Sang-soon is impressed by Jung’s manners. When the date takes off her coat, Jung hands over a hanger — a small courtesy that had Lee smiling and murmuring, “That’s Ji-won.” Later, Jung uses his fork to pick up food and offer it to her first, prompting repeated praise from Lee: “Such good manners.”

Lee Hyori, too, was visibly moved by the pair’s movie-like date, asking, Why is this so touching and beautiful? Viewers will be curious to see what specifically moved her during Jung’s second outing.

Seeing the participants show clearer growth than in their first dates, Lee Hyori and Lee Sang-soon proudly declared, They’re dating experts now. With deeper romantic arcs unfolding, anticipation for the second episode is surging — viewers can expect an installment that leaves a lasting emotional impression.

The SBS Special My Heart Feels Fluffy — Mongle Counseling Center, which chronicles the warm, heart‑felt real-life dating journeys of young people with developmental disabilities — and which many find even more affecting than the hit series Extraordinary Attorney Woo — airs its second episode at 11:05 p.m. on the 15th.

[Sports Today reporter Kim Tae-hyung ent@stoo.com]
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