Kim So-hye, Park Hye-soo, Jisoo: KBS’s Drama Lead Actors With School Violence Controversies But Different Treatment
“Dear M” has not been confirmed yet. We are discussing various possibilities,” a KBS official told MyDaily on February 4 about the broadcast of “Dear M.” It is a romance drama in which the characters seek out M, an anonymous person who made a post on Seoyeon University’s community. Along with actress Park Hye-soo, NCT’s Jae-hyun, Seo Ji-min, Bae Hyun-sung, Lee Jin-hyuk also starred in this drama.
“Dear M” was originally scheduled to premiere on February 26, 2021, but the programming was postponed indefinitely due to Park Hye-soo’s controversy over school violence. A number of people who claimed to have been bullied by Park Hye-soo at the time claimed that Park used to take money from nearby school students and slapped them in the face. In response, Park Hye-soo denied the allegation, saying that A, who claimed to be a victim, bullied her. In addition, at the press and distribution preview of her movie “The Dream Songs,” she directly denied the allegations of school violence, saying, “I have been trying to correct false accusations for a long time.”
It is unclear whether “Dear M” will be welcomed by viewers at a time when the actress strongly denies it but have yet to remove the “bully” label. This is because “My Lovely Boxer,” starring Kim So-hye, a former I.O.I. member, who was previously suspected of “school violence,” had a bitter result with poor performance. The ratings of “My Lovely Boxer” plunged to 0% and suffered humiliation, recording the lowest ratings among KBS dramas in 2023.
There was also an opinion that KBS gave unusual treatment to the actress. In 2021, when actor Jisoo was embroiled in a school violence controversy, the production company of “River Where the Moon Ries”, which was already on air, dropped him from the work and hired a new actor as the male lead. “Dear M” was practically impossible to film again, but it is unusual for KBS, which has been strongly responding to school violence allegations before, to discuss the broadcast of dramas starring actors who have yet to remove the label of school violence.
Source: MyDaily
