Airing of controversial KBS drama series pushed back another week

Poster for KBS historical drama series "The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won" [KBS]

The airing of controversial KBS drama series “The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won” has been pushed back another week, according to the local broadcaster Thursday.

The release of episodes has been delayed for three consecutive weeks since Jan. 22 after intense backlash over allegations of animal abuse during the filming of the series.

The allegations came to public attention on Jan. 19 when animal rights organizations such as Korean Animal Welfare Association and Korea Animal Rights Advocates voiced concerns on their Instagram pages about the health of a horse during a scene in the series and urged KBS to reveal the full footage of the problematic scene.

The horse was reported to be a recently retired racehorse named Kami.

Footage released by KBS showed wires around the horse’s front legs that were pulled by the crew, resulting in the horse tumbling to the ground head first. The stuntman on the horse also went flying into the air as he’d been on the horse with minimal safety gear and lost consciousness for a few minutes after the fall.

The severity of the backlash grew when KBS revealed that that horse had died.

“We deeply apologize to viewers for causing such an unfortunate accident,” KBS said on Jan. 21. “KBS understands how shooting the [particular] scene was problematic and we will find a different way to film such scenes so that an incident like this never happens again. We will also put the safety of animals first by seeking advice from related organizations and experts.”

The problematic scene, which was in episode 7, has been removed from the broadcaster’s video-on-demand service and other streaming platforms. The series has 10 more episodes still to air.

Starring actors Joo Sang-wook and Kim Young-chul, "The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won" revolves around the story of Korea's King Taejong, played by Joo, who helps his father overthrow the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) and establish the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]