Elena Li (MBA ’26) goes behind the scenes with Section I.
"I had to wear sunglasses. Always." That was the reality TV survival tip from my sectionmate Mintak Son, who spent a year dodging fans after television turned him into an accidental celebrity.
In a plot twist worthy of prime time, I discovered during our section retreat that Mintak wasn't just a successful tech guy – he'd competed as a guest player on my favorite TV show: The Genius, Korea's cutthroat strategy game show. More surprisingly? We'd both been courted by Asia's reality TV machinery, with stories that expose the industry's carefully manufactured "reality."
The “Reality” of Reality TV
While Mintak played high-stakes mind games on "The Genius," his real TV drama unfolded on Seo In-young in KAIST, where the famous K-pop singer Seo In-young experienced student life at KAIST, the university that Mintak attended.
What should have been a simple university PR stunt turned into something much more juicy when producers added deliberate post-production effects to a scripted handshake between Mintak and the star. "The edit made it look like a romance after a friendly three-second handshake during a zoo visit," Mintak laughs now. "I couldn't walk outside without being recognized." His call to the producer later revealed the truth: "It's all about the KPIs – audience share, viewership. Your real story? That's secondary."
Similarly, before attending HBS, I was navigating the final rounds of Heart Signal, China's hottest dating show. The red flags of scripted stories appeared during my last in person audition in China – cameramen, probing personal questions, and a screenwriter carefully steering my character towards "the competitive Harvard girl" by discussing a potential story line. When the director started filming me eating, drinking, and walking on camera to check the angles, it became clear that the show was crafting a narrative far removed from reality. I wasn’t ready to live under the camera 24/7, either.
Choosing Authenticity
After the success of Seo In-young in KAIST, Mintak was offered a further collaboration with her agency, which he ultimately turned down. His encounters with fame had shown him that his authentic personality doesn’t live within scripts on reality TV, and he realized his strengths lay in tech. With his KAIST background and newfound sense of purpose, he committed to building a career where he could leverage his analytical skills rather than relying on a public persona shaped by TV producers.
Today, Mintak lives happily in Allston with his wife Kyuyoung and daughter Taein, who support his ambitious startup journey and help him realize the true value of life. He’s also an early employee at a fintech company in South Korea that’s gearing up for an IPO on Nasdaq – a journey reflecting his choice to invest in a future defined by his skills and ambitions.
For me, stepping away from Heart Signal meant dedicating myself to my studies at HBS, especially given I might have had to stay in China a bit longer to complete filming. Like Mintak, I realized that my professional and personal goals couldn’t coexist well with the unpredictability of reality TV.
As fate would have it, thanks to the golden brand name of HBS, I was approached again by a different dating show asking if I would be interested in joining shortly after starting school. I quickly declined – the authentic story unfolding in my first months at HBS proved far more meaningful than any scripted reality show: one of genuine connections and personal growth.
To be fair, not all dating show experiences are negative – Mintak has a friend who went on a dating show and thoroughly enjoyed it. For some, these shows can be fun and memorable adventures.
The Final Cut
Here's the reality check: fame is tempting, but losing control of your narrative is terrifying. As Mintak puts it, "They can turn three seconds into three weeks of drama." In our HBS bubble, where case protagonists grapple with high-stakes decisions, we've made our choice: authenticity over artifice, and personal growth over fleeting fame.
Elena Li (MBA ’26) is originally from China, and more recently New York City. She graduated from NYU Stern School of Business with a degree in Business. Prior to the HBS MBA, She worked in product management and sales & trading at Citi in New York City.
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