John Smith

I just finished watching IOTNBO. I do not see how BR got treated so differently from it. The rating was the same (15, at least the intros I have seen), and IOTNBO was by far the more problematic drama concerning a lot of the issues BR got knocked for. I wonder what kind of show IOTNBO would have turned out to be if those same netizens complained about it. I liked both shows.

I stress the fact that I am not South Korean, nor do I have what I would consider even a moderate understanding of their culture or way of life. It does seem to me that being a celebrity in SK is different from being a celebrity in the US. Speaking for myself and most of the people I have spoken with tend to view celebrities in the US as people who are famous, where celebrities in SK seem to be seen as famous people. I would like to live in a world where you recognize the person first and their celebrity after. It is probably why I struggle to understand what I read on MDL and other places that have Korean drama or entertainment news and forums. The internet is a wonderful thing. It allows people to experience things they would never have otherwise, it allows people's voices to be heard in a world that often silences differing views, and it can be a tool that enables one person or a small group of people to make monumental changes in one person's life. In some cases, it can make a world of difference. To quote the Peter Parker principle, "with great power comes great responsibility." While I hope that the events surrounding the entirety of BR would be a lesson to others to be thoughtful, respectful, moderate, or at least more objective, I feel this will only serve as a warning to other dramas and celebrities about how much power and control they do not have,

Thanks for taking the time to write the article. I appreciate Chinese dramas, and I am glad to see others do as well. I would like to share some of the reasons I watch them as well. One of my favorite mood lifters is to watch one of the many binge-friendly 24 episode romantic comedies. Even if you are not a fan, there are plenty of other genres to try. In addition, there are a lot of Chinese dramas on YouTube that are subbed in English that make watching convenient. I also like the feeling of seeing how different, yet how alike people are everywhere on this planet.

Doing some web searching, I see where the production team said the webtoon was the basis but it was going to be made appropriate for a family drama. We must have come across the same articles because I was getting the same information you are. What is a Korean family drama? I could have watched a bunch but apparently not because BR seems to be in the same general mold as most of the dramas I watch. I do find it funny that articles quote netizens as if they speak for everyone. It reminds me of the dramas where the boss gets the PR to control the narrative of whatever problem is going on. I did not know it was real. Was it an issue with honor when viewers expected a 100% wholesome family drama and did not get it? Even if it was not, did it step out of bounds of its rating? Were they being what they thought was protective of the main actors, specifically KYJ? Kids become adults, and she is an adult. I am sure she protects her image and has a support staff that assists. If they saw no problem, why should anyone else? Even the netizen comments used in the articles (I cannot even believe that is a thing) come across as inflammatory, reckless, opinions lacking in facts, and missing any sort of opposing viewpoint. You would think a drama that got 7000 complaints only had 7500 viewers given the only comments published seemed to be negative. Is it a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease? Was it making a mountain out of a mole hill?

In my opinion, that sounds like a bunch of excuses that seem to ignore the fact that they both have the same rating (per MDL and the big "15" that shows up in both spots before the dramas air) and both have what can be considered objectionable content. I am not saying you are making excuses for them. I assume you are trying to look for reasoning in a quite unreasonable situation. I can understand if citizens complain and KMRB responds. It has been my experience that almost every drama I have watched has had objectionable content in it. It is usually what creates the drama that drives the story itself. Is no comparison made to its peers? There has to be more to it than that. Why didn't BR just continue with the story after episode 1 when all the mains were adults? Admittedly, since they were only using the webtoon as a sort of inspiration, someone on the team at BR could raised their hand during the very beginning and said:
"Let's consider moving SB to college studying horticulture or art design and have her dropping out there. We could avoid any misunderstandings. We could even have SB and DH meet again on SB's 20th birthday instead of the proposed cigarette incident on the steps leading to the store. Most of the rest of the story could still be told the same way. It might even offer more chances to make the drama better. Not that it isn't great now."
Hindsight is 20/20. I also still think it must have been multiple factors that caused the drama to not reach its fullest potential. Even though I enjoyed it and it is good to end wanting more, I still wanted more.

If or when they choose to rebroadcast it, they raise the rating to allow for more mature content. Also, digitally remove the flies that were added. I feel that was the most egregious part of the character. Saying that, I have watched a few episodes of IOTNBO, and apparently it has the same media rating as BR. There was violence against children, censored nudity, general stereotyping of mental health patients, some profanity (at least by translation), and smoking in prohibited areas. If the media rating is the same (as per MDL), I do not see how someone can raise issues with one show and not the other.

I am not sure but perhaps it was scenes that some thought exceeded the content rating for the show. I only know what I saw in the show and the links to articles about the board statements. I would like to know more but not sure if that will happen. For that particular scene, it was just a single kiss. They did not seem to meet until years later, and during that scene, they were only holding cigarettes, and DH did not even buy them. If anything, the scene sent a more positive message than negative.

I wonder if it would make a difference if they were to raise the rating and perhaps digitally remove what was digitally added that seemed to be the most problematic part of the show.

That was my initial thought. I imagine that it is not as easy after the fact. No way to know if the drama would have been given the go had the rating been different before either. I would think that even if a drama did not have to send a script to be reviewed before airing, that someone on the project would be a "rating" person. You cannot do this, you need to change that, cut the scene here... that sort of stuff. That does not mean I agree with the events that transpired. Without knowing what happened before and during the filming, the optics of getting caught off guard is not a good look.

Thanks for your comment. I tend to avoid melodramas because I get my fill from the news. I prefer happy and breezy dramas. Sometimes the heart cannot choose what it wants to watch, and a bright show I start takes a turn towards the melo and I still get sucked in. If dramas were colors on a palette, I suppose we need to use them all at some point, even if we have our favorite colors. One of the best feelings is watching the right drama at the perfect time. That is what I would call a masterpiece.

I can understand people's sensitivity. From what I read, the complaints were forwarded to a governing board and discussions were held. I want mechanisms in place that help and protect potential viewers. It is what seems to be uneven applications that confuse me. I know I am critical from the outside looking in without the same facts and knowledge of the rating system. I have watched quite a few dramas, some with the same rating and I am still puzzled by it.

I am sure a lot of people would agree that they are among the worst. My informed opinion is that this show does not fall into that category thankfully.

Confused is a good word for it. I am not South Korean, so I do not have a real grasp of the laws and general etiquette there. Korean age is also different as well. I did not think I would need to make a timeline to figure out all the dates and ages and passage of time during the drama. I was just trying to enjoy the it. There are also plenty of shows that depict violent crimes taking place. It seems like an apples and oranges comparison to me, but apparently this drama sparked outrage and other shows don't?

The male lead in Clean With Passion For Now is older than JCW. So that reasoning does not really hold water.

I want to thank everyone who participated in the discussion about the drama and topics related to the drama in the comment section. Some were nice, some were unfriendly. Some were happy, some were sad. Some were thoughtful, some were careless. I laughed, shook my head, got upset, and even did further research on some of the discussions that have taken place here. I was able to see things I might have missed had I been watching alone. I learned a thing or two as well. Whether I agreed or disagreed, I tried my best to be respectful. A majority of fellow commenters were just as respectful. This was my first drama here I actively participated in, and I found it actually made watching the show better. So thanks again.

Just rechecked. Episode 8 about 35 minutes in. You had it reversed. They showed the phone ringing, then the kiss. It was a passionate kiss.

I am trying to recall, but was the only real kiss between YJ and SJ? The actor playing SJ seemed to get the long and the short end of the stick in this drama.

I knew someone was going to reply with it had nothing to do with it and say other shows had it. Perhaps an executive or one of the mains might have had an issue with it. I agree the show was aiming to be pretty clean when it came to romance. Both could be true. Regardless, I also was not as disappointed as I thought I might be at the ending. I thought the drama was mainly a comedy with some romance and that is how it ended.

I just finished watching the last episode...
Wait. Lemme try that again.
I just finished watching the beautiful beginning...
That sounds much better.
I wanted to comment on a comment about kissing scenes because I noticed at the end when they panned around everyone looked to be wearing masks. I sort of forgot that this was filmed during the pandemic and I wonder how much of that might have played a role in how much physical romance was shown. Just a thought.

It is so hard to see that. Suffer is such a strong word. She makes him laugh and be himself. His family treats her like a daughter. She was trusted to basically run the store. She also contributed more towards the success the store had than anyone, including DH. He also told her specifically that she was good enough. He did not say it in a way to be misunderstood either. It came across more to me that she felt that DH's mother wanted DH to go back to YJ. At the end of the day, what I really wonder is why DH and SB felt they needed to hide the fact that they like each other. That is probably a whole other discussion as well.

It is nice to see that there is still a lot of civilized discussion going on and that people still feel invested in the drama.