Samuel Lee dropped a bombshell interview about Single's Inferno

If you thought Samuel Lee, aka Lee Sung-hun, was quietly chaotic on Single’s Inferno season five, his latest podcast sit-down is basically the extended cut we all deserved.

The NYC-based quant trader and Berkeley grad hopped on the HA podcast and casually confirmed the stuff viewers obsess over, what filming is really like, what producers control, and why “Inferno” is… not just a cute name.

The vibe is half behind-the-scenes tea, half “wait, that’s actually intense.” Here are the biggest moments, served like a group chat recap.

He wanted to leave the show in episode one

Samuel fully admitted he was “about to call a helicopter and just leave.” Not metaphorically. Literally, because you can’t just swim away.

He said the experience was mentally and physically draining, and that the moment he opened his letter box and saw that there wasn’t anything in there, he was like… I’m done, get me out.

Not a lot of what happens makes it on screen

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A post shared by 이성훈 Sunghun Lee (@snhgnl)

This one explains so much. Samuel estimated that only around 30 percent of the 10-day experience actually aired and that editing shapes a narrative on purpose.

He said he spoke to basically everyone, but those conversations were cut to keep storylines clean.

Translation… if you felt like certain connections came out of nowhere, it’s probably because we didn’t get the full puzzle…

Inferno food was so brutal he lost 10 pounds

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A post shared by 이성훈 Sunghun Lee (@snhgnl)

Samuel revealed the food scenario on the show wasn’t the best for him and said he lost about 10 lbs during filming.

That’s why, according to him, he looks noticeably different on the show versus in real life.

Ten days of heat, games, social pressure, and limited food? That seems less dating show and more survival experiment with some flirting.

He speaks on the casting ‘application’

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A post shared by 이성훈 Sunghun Lee (@snhgnl)

During the interview, Samuel revealed he was contacted because friends in Korea knew people connected to production, and a producer reached out to ask if he’d be interested in the show.

His take is basically, the official application process might exist, but being scouted is the real pipeline.

You don’t get your phone, glam, or laundry help

Samuel re-enacting the triminasue scene with the ha sisters 😂 #singlesinferno5 pic.twitter.com/9YSG3FiSSV

— Dionpearl (@Dionpearll) February 18, 2026

If you imagined a hidden staff doing touch-ups and washing everyone’s fits… sorry. Samuel said they take your phone on the island, there’s no laundry, and there’s no glam team, hair, makeup, everything is DIY.

He even mentioned being told to learn a bit of makeup beforehand, so they’d look camera-ready.

“Can you pay for more screen time?”

this is all the confirmation we need. thank you mr new york https://t.co/pqKQkoTpDW pic.twitter.com/KrKgOEtQo2

— . (@ahranx) February 17, 2026

When asked if you can buy screen time, Samuel said he didn’t try, and he’d be shocked if you could.

So if your fave got done dirty by the edit, it’s not because they didn’t Venmo Netflix enough.

He finally shut down the ‘president’s grandson’ rumour

To be this rich that you want to call your own helicopter and leave 😝 😝
Sunghun>>>#singlesinferno5 pic.twitter.com/LilGmUD2YZ

— Single Inferno s5 (@kdramahotgists) February 18, 2026

One of the wildest online theories this season was that Lee Sung-hun was related to former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, and he straight-up said no on the podcast.