During the first episode of
KBS2's new Mon-Tues drama '
Are You Human Too?', male lead
Nam Shin (played by
Seo Kang Jun) violently slapped female lead
Kang So Bong (played by
Gong Seung Yeon) in the face.
In the story, Nam Shin is a 3rd generation chaebol with a horrible personality and a knack for causing trouble. Kang So Bong is one of his bodyguards, but in episode 1, she also poses as paparazzi by following him and photographing him in secret. Nam Shin discovers Kang So Bong's double-handed motives, and blows up at her in public, displaying rash anger and violence.
It was also revealed that due to the producer's wishes, the scene was filmed with Seo Kang Jun hitting Gong Seung Yeon for real, without any "using effects or camera work to make pretend motions seem real". Reportedly, Gong Seung Yeon recalled that she was hit so hard, she felt as if she momentarily lost her hearing.
Viewers who watched the scene couldn't help but express their extreme discomfort at the violence. Back in March, tvN drama 'My Mister' also came under fire for its violent scene involving actors IU and Jang Ki Yong, ultimately receiving a warning.
Netizens complained, "The director was being an a**", "I feel so bad for the actors...", "It was too hard to watch", "I heard that Seo Kang Jun said he couldn't do it, but the director pleaded and said just once, so it ended up like this", "If you get hit in your cheek the wrong way, you could have serious hearing problems as an aftereffect...", "The director is out of his mind", etc.
It seems that when contacted about the controversial scene, a representative from the drama's side simply responded, "We will humbly receive viewers' criticism and cautiously move forward."
Do you think the violence scene went overboard?
