7 Times The Filming Of Korean Dramas And Reality Shows Made People Furious

Korean dramas, films, and reality shows are loved by audiences worldwide. What many people may or may not know, however, is the drama that happens behind the scenes. Filming takes a lot of work for the production team and the actors involved, and sometimes, the filming process makes the public furious.

Here are seven times people were angry at the filming process of K-Entertainment.

1. Trash left behind after filming of the K-Drama Tell Me You Love Me 

ENA’s not-yet-released K-Drama Tell Me You Love Me (translated from the title 사랑한다고 말해줘) received criticism after the production team left garbage at the filming site. Someone posted pictures of the scene after the production team had left; there were coffee cups, plastic wrappers, cigarette butts, and a script for the K-Drama.

People were angry that the production team did not pick up their trash, as if they were expecting someone else to clean up after them. On June 1, 2023, the production team of Tell Me You Love Me apologized for leaving a mess, stating that they would “prevent this from happening again in advance” and “proceed with more thorough cleaning around the area.”

2. Loud equipment unloading for Netflix’s Mask Girl

In March 2023, a post titled “Netflix’s Mask Girl Production Team Is Atrocious” gained attention in an online community. According to the post, the production team was unloading their filming equipment at 11 p.m., making a lot of noise for more than 30 minutes. After the equipment truck left, the poster went downstairs to check what happened and discovered white powder all over the ground and cotton-like garbage left on the streets.

After the post went controversial, Netflix apologized and stated that they would be mindful to check whether their filming would cause inconvenience to residents in the future. However, at the same time, they defended themselves, stating that they posted a notice beforehand, and visited the households who couldn’t check the notice to inform them in person.

The original poster of the online community post rejected the apology after denying ever getting a notice from the Netflix production team despite being home for a month. The one notice they received from Netflix regarding parking near the film site was from 2021, two years before the incident occurred.

3. Production team’s truck parking in a handicap spot at a hospital

In July 2019, a production team filming a K-Drama at a university hospital in Ansan was under fire for parking in handicap parking spots. A netizen posted a photo in an online community showing the production team’s equipment truck and van parked in five areas of the hospital’s handicap parking lot.

The netizen revealed to Yonhap News that the production team even controlled visitors and patients of the hospital because it interfered with their filming. He had urgently visited the hospital to care for his wife and child, but multiple parts of the hospital were blocked off. With this and the crowds of people filming and watching getting in the way, it took him double the time to enter the hospital, and he expressed his anger at the production team.

Does being a production team mean you can park illegally if you want and have the right to control where people can and can’t go?

— Netizen

The netizen reported the illegally parked equipment truck, and the production team was fined. Eventually, an official of the production team admitted to parking illegally and shared that they moved the vehicle immediately after receiving the warning and paid the fine. They also issued an apology saying the comfort of citizens is more important than filming a show, and said they would be careful in the future.

4. IU and Park Bo Gum’s K-Drama filming happens at the same place as a festival

When IU and Park Bo Gum were filming their upcoming K-Drama, You Have Done Well, in April 2023, the Gochang Barley Field Festival took place. People attended this festival to take pictures in the canola flower field, but the production team stopped them from entering it. In addition, the production team yelled at people to stop taking photographs when people were simply trying to take photos of the flowers.

The double-booked filming and festival location was privately owned land, and the site owner confirmed that the K-Drama production team had signed a contract. The team was asked to ask for the citizens’ understanding politely, but the public was not all understanding. You Have Done Well’s production team apologized for the inconvenience.

5. A man throws a brick at the production team for  Diva of the Deserted Island

Around 3 a.m. on April 26, 2023, a production team was filming tvN’s K-Drama Diva of the Deserted Island in a residential area in Jongno, Seoul—when suddenly a brick flew in from nowhere. The brick was thrown by a man in his 40s who lived near the filming location and claimed he was “annoyed by the light and noise caused by the filming.“

The man said he couldn’t sleep because of the filming. The production team later stated that one of the staff members was injured after getting hit by the brick and was getting treated. They claimed they would pay close attention to the filming site in the future.

6. Noise and drones while filming Heart Signal 4

Channel A’s popular reality dating show Heart Signal found itself in controversy even before its fourth season aired during its filming process. In April 2023, residents of the filming location for Heart Signal 4 submitted police reports due to noise. There were also complaints about drone filming.

Heart Signal’s production team stated they will be cautious from now on.

7. Netflix’s popular Korean reality dating show films in a marine-protected area

In May 2023, it was revealed that the production team of a popular Netflix dating program illegally built a set in Saseungbongdo, an island in Incheon that is a marine protected area. The set consisted of ten temporary buildings—however, constructing buildings in marine-protected areas is prohibited.

The production team built the structures without getting approval from the county, and the Environmental Movement Federation stated that the set caused serious damage to the coastal area and demanded strict supervision of the island.