‘Physical 100’: Why Bang Seong-hyeok Was in ‘Big Trouble’ During the Consolation Challenge

After one of the elimination quests, Netflix‘s Physical 100 had a surprising twist. While the elimination quests and challenges knocked off more than half the contestants, the boat challenge was not the end for all the contestants. The eliminated teams took part in a consolation challenge to re-enter Physical 100. But Bang Seong-hyeok reveals how he was in trouble during the Physical 100 challenge for a few reasons.

The contestants of ‘Physical 100’ had to hold up their body weight for redemption

After the terrain wrestling quest, the remaining contestants branched off into teams. The bridge challenge would be the most significant elimination early into the series as a whole teams would say goodbye. Two teams battled against the clock to fill sandbags, walk across an unstable bridge, and dump the sand into a pit. The team with the most sand when time ran out was the winner.

But there was a surprise. After the quest, the losing teams entered a red-lit room of redemption. They partook in a consolation challenge to rejoin the Korean competition series. Their plaster busts were suspended from above with a rope. The ominous voice announced, “Hold onto the rope connected to your torso and hold out to the end to survive.”

But the contestants soon realized the trick and why they were weighed when joining. “The weight of the torso you must hold up were weighted to be 40 percent of your body weight,” said the voice. Out of the eliminated contestants, only five could be redeemed.

The competition was fierce, with some losing within seconds due to the surprising weight. Fans and the contestants were blown away by Ee-ddeum’s steady and unwavering hold, leading her to be one of the winners. But the Physical 100 challenge proved to be trouble for Bang Seong-hyeok for a reason.

Bang Seong-hyeok had gained weight before the ‘Physical 100’ consolation challenge

Tarzan’s team, minus DBO, met to discuss Physical 100 on Ee-deum’s Youtube channel, @euddeume. After discussing the bad editing that made their team look bad in Physical 100, they got into the comedic aspect of the consolation challenge. Ee-ddeum admitted she was worried about how Seong-hyeok would hold his weight. She revealed that they had weighed the contestants the morning of the challenge.

But Seong-hyeok was at a greater disadvantage as she remembered that he had gained 9kg (19 lbs) that morning. Seong-hyeok came clean about how his weight led to his loss during the Physical 100 challenge.

“When they said they’re adding 40% of our body weight to our torso for the consolation round, I thought, ‘Why did I gain weight?’ When we measured that morning, I weighed 130kg,” he explained. But there was another obstacle when he went to pull the rope away to hold on. “But my rope wouldn’t come off,” said Seong-hyeok. “I glanced at the writers once. But it really wouldn’t come off. ‘This is a big trouble.’ ‘This is too heavy.’ As soon as I recognized that [the torso fell].”

Im Jeong-yun was right beside him for the challenge and watched him struggle to pull off the rope. Seconds later, he heard, “This won’t do,” and Seong-hyeok letting go.

Ee-deum’s teammates worked hard to encourage her during the challenge

Physical 100 has been praised for the camaraderie among its contestants and its non-toxic environment. A prime example is when Ee-ddeum was the last person on her team still holding her weighted bust. Fans saw how Tarzan, Jeong-yun, DBO, and Seong-hyeok gathered around her, saying words of encouragement. Ee-ddeum explained Tarzan was whispering in her ear, saying she was almost at the end and one of the few remaining.

While being eliminated during the bridge challenge and being one of the selected in the consolation challenge, she explains, “But only I survived, and even though that annoys me, they were cheering for me just so I can survive.”

Ee-ddeum also revealed there were a lot of rules for the challenge. The contestants could not wrap the rope around their arms, they could not step farther away from the platform, and they could not use their legs. While Seong-hyeok is noticeably stronger, Ee-ddeum proved her worth.