A series of stars’ school violence controversies have been exposed and the TV industry has been alarmed. Consequently, dramas have been experiencing their main characters dropping out, or having their airing schedules pushed back.
Ji Soo, the male protagonist of KBS’s River Where the Moon Rises which kicked off on Feb 15h, was embroiled in a school violence controversy for assaulting and extorting. The first exposing post was made on the 2nd, and additional confessions were made in the comments. Since then, there were requests for Ji Soo’s withdrawal on the official website of River Where the Moon Rises. Ji Soo eventually posted an apology on his social media on the 4th acknowledging his involvement in school violence, and the production team went into an emergency meeting. 6 of 20 episodes of River Where the Moon Rises were aired at the time, and 95% of the shooting was completed. After much consideration, the production company Victory Contents decided to drop Ji Soo off the show, and replace him with Na In Woo. Due to the huge financial loss from the decision to re-shoot, some actors chose not to take their pays for the re-filming. The viewers’ responses to Na In Woo who made his first appearance in the 7th episode, are favorable.
Scheduled to premiere on April 9th, SBS’s Taxi Driver also fell through due to the controversy of bullying within the group and school violence. With about 60% of the shoot completed, Taxi Driver faced a crisis as its cast April’s Lee Na Eun was involved in such controversy. In response to complaints from prospective viewers, the production company Studio S ended up making an official statement on the 8th saying, “we have decided to replace Lee Na Eun.” With Pyo Ye Jin taking the role which was to be played by Lee Na Eun, they are to re-shoot everything.
KBS’s Dear. M was scheduled to kick off on Feb 26th, but was promptly canceled as its lead actress Park Hye Soo was entangled in a conflict regarding the truth of her school violence. Park Hye Soo wrote on her Instagram on the 7th that she is a victim, not a perpetrator, of school violence as she stated that she would “find out the truth no matter how many months it takes.” Then the person who exposed her pointed out on their social media that this gave them “goosebumps,” and that she is putting on a “victim cosplay.” The feud between the two over who is right and wrong seems like it will intensify even further.
Attention was attracted to KBS’s Come Back Home as it is a new entertainment program for Yoo Jae Suk’s return to KBS, and his meeting with Jo Byung Gyu, who emerged through The Uncanny Counter. However, the public response worsened as the actor was entangled in allegations of school violence. While both Jo Byung Gyu and the victim were fighting for truth, a national petition was made titled ‘We oppose Jo Byung Gyu, the perpetrator of school violence, to appear in the entertainment program.’ After deliberation, the production team announced their decision to halt Jo Byung Gyu’s appearance. Come Back Home will be aired on April 3rd with Lee Young Ji and Lee Yong Jin alongside Yoo Jae Suk.