JTBC’s drama “Doctor Cha” issued an official apology regarding the controversy over its false portrayal of Crohn’s disease.
On May 10th, the production team of “Doctor Cha” made a post on its official website, saying “We want to thank ‘Doctor Cha’ viewers for your affection and would like to apologize for hurting patients and their families with the story about a specific disease in episode 7 that aired on May 6th”.
They continued, “We tried to deal with a specific case of a patient with severe chronic complications among those with Crohn’s disease but did not explain that it was not a typical case of Crohn’s disease while developing the plot”, adding “We did not pay close attention to the fact that the lines spoken by the characters without medical expertise could potentially fuel negative perceptions of the disease.
They added, “‘Doctor Cha’ production team would like to clarify that we had no intention of dealing with the pain and depression of patients undergoing treatment lightly, and we promise to be more careful in the production process to ensure that viewers can enjoy the drama without inconvenience.”
Earlier, episode 7 of “Doctor Cha”, which aired on the 6th, negatively portrayed a patient with Crohn’s disease going up to the rooftop to attempt an extreme choice after a failed surgery. Prior to that, family members were shown making harsh remarks towards the patient, calling Crohn’s disease a hereditary illness.
After the broadcast, viewers, Crohn’s disease patients, and their families poured criticism over the drama delivering excessive depiction and inaccurate information about the disease.
Meanwhile, “Doctor Cha” tells the struggles of Cha Jung Sook, a housewife who starts a new life as a first-year resident in her late 40s. Its latest episode (episode 8) recorded a nationwide rating of 16.2% and 16.2% in the Seoul area.
Source: Nate
