The rise and fall of Cheese in the Trap
by javabeans
By now, you’ve probably already heard plenty about the brouhaha surrounding Cheese in the Trap, which we haven’t commented on too much here—mostly because the controversy started off at a relatively low rumble with claims that were, for the large part, difficult to substantiate or confirm.
But I’ve been keeping an eye on the developing headlines, and somewhere in the past couple days, it feels like the controversy reached a tipping point and is now gaining momentum and intensity, rather than dying down. I’d wanted to wait for more official statements and facts to come out before talking about it, and now that we’ve had multiple statements from key parties, including Park Hae-jin, it seems a good time to weigh in.
Reading the Cheese recap comments, it seems like most fans are already aware of the issues so I won’t go into comprehensive detail, but to give the general overview: Fans have always been critical of Cheese deviating from its original material, but for the most part, after the show premiered to praise and massive ratings, those comments calmed down for a while. However, about halfway through the show, the complaints began growing again, coupled with the increasing disgruntlement over the drama’s curious shortening of star Park Hae-jin’s screentime (playing Yoo Jung, but you know this already), which has coincided with the drastic increase in screentime for his co-star Seo Kang-joon (Baek In-ho).
We’d all noticed this, I’m sure, but it feels like things really blew up this week after Episodes 13 and 14 aired, and our lead actor was hardly in them.
A lot of conspiracy theories are floating around for why this might happen, but I have to admit at first I disregarded them as overreaching by upset fans. After all, I don’t see any problem with a drama deviating from source material to be its own thing, and viewers can’t expect or demand that a show re-create a webtoon perfectly. That said, the longer this controversy stretched, the more confused I got, and now I have to join the chorus of puzzled viewers wondering if there isn’t something to the rumors—I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but this whole situation is so bizarre that there aren’t many explanations otherwise.
I don’t actually find the main plot points of the drama to be too problematic on paper—for instance, In-ho struggling to reclaim his life, Jung and Seol arguing and making up—but it’s a case where the balance is all wrong. By skewing the focus so drastically, the show has altered the effect of the story in a way that now feels unnatural to its intent.
It came out that there were significant edits made to the shot footage, which was markedly different from the footage that was aired, which happened to favor a focus on Seo Kang-joon over Park Hae-jin. My jaw dropped to read reports that Park Hae-jin hadn’t been invited to the show’s own wrap party or reward vacation. (He clarifies this in the interview below.) There are rumors that Park Hae-jin finished shoots on the show a full five days in advance of Kim Go-eun or Seo Kang-joon, which is mind-boggling.
On a related note, I do also have to issue a mea culpa of sorts for Episode 13, because at the time I wrote the recap, I wasn’t aware of the full behind-the-scenes controversy, and therefore merely thought that while it was curious that Park Hae-jin was getting so little to do, I was sure—so totally confident—that the drama was just on a minor detour that there was no way he was going to be shafted in the long run. Because of course that’s how it should be! Who writes a drama and cuts out the hero at the end?
The story of Cheese in the Trap was so clearly about Seol and Jung, with In-ho playing a supporting role, and so I presumed In-ho would get his big moment and then fade away, like Copycat Min-soo and Stalker Young-gon. I had too much faith in the show to consider that anything else might happen, but after reading through the massive flood of new articles currently floating around in the internet ether, I’m concerned that I was too optimistic, and that the show might not right its course.
On February 24, webtoon writer Soonkki wrote publicly on her blog about the production not consulting her about the plot after Episode 6. She stated that the show contacted her later about the last two episodes, then disregarded her requests not to write a certain ending, lest it overlap too much with her own plans for the webtoon’s ending, which is yet to come. She wrote, “Considering that the medium is different, I’d wanted the drama to have a different feel from the original. However, it was reported that the drama was ‘faithful to the original.’ While the drama was being produced to be faithful to the original, I did not receive even one call, and I don’t know what plot will be produced.”
And that brings us to today, with new interviews with Park Hae-jin asking him for his thoughts on the matter. He is diplomatic but somewhat forthcoming, enough that we can read between the lines. I always find Korean stars to be so excessively polite and image-conscious that they hardly say anything in interviews, and therefore you know things must be really bad for them to say anything negative about their projects or the people they’ve worked with. (Mostly, it’s starting to look like PD Lee Yoon-jung must be nuts, and Park Hae-jin is a class act. PD Lee is getting a firestorm of flak right now, with Park Hae-jin being inundated with public sympathy. As this is also my sentiment, I have no problems with the current tide of public opinion.)
At the time that the drama’s reward vacation plans were announced, Park was asked about it and replied that he’d never heard anything about it. This time he clarified, “This is something I think I have to explain clearly. Because of my schedule, I told them in advance that I wouldn’t be able to go, and I think that’s why they didn’t contact me. Later I heard about the reward vacation’s time and location through the news. As I said, I didn’t know anything about it… The next day at an event, I was told, ‘I tried to tell you the plans, but the news came out first.’ If I’d heard [the talk] that I didn’t go because I was hurt over the drama, I think I would have just gone. It’s a situation that got misrepresented through misunderstanding.”
Park was asked about certain complaints about the drama character not living up to the webtoon character, and it sounds like Park himself wasn’t happy with the characterization.
Park Hae-jin: “It’s possible the drama viewers would think that. In my family, my noona and I have read the webtoon, while my brother-in-law and mother haven’t. Those who haven’t read it ask me, ‘Why is Yoo Jung doing that?’ and I explain it to them. There’s no need to take the webtoon directly as is, but in the drama there’s a connecting flow and you need to create plausibility. There’s a slight disconnected feeling, and in some parts it could be like ‘fishing’ [bait-and-switching] to viewers. From the viewer’s standpoint, you need to be able to sympathize and relate.”
He added, “If the plot interferes with plausibility or is unable to be understood, you can’t watch the drama. There are parts I’m disappointed about. There are parts where the feeling between what we shot and what aired is different.”
He said, “There are things I’m disappointed with regarding the screentime and editing. But even being the lead character, depending on the episode your emphasis could be greater or lesser. Truthfully, I don’t think the real problem is the screentime or editing. The biggest issue is that my character, Yoo Jung, has changed. He carries hidden scars that he can’t show to others. He smiles to cover that up, and shows a bright face. There are certain scenes that are necessary to show the characters’ internal and external sides. But in the drama, they were different from the original. I was disappointed in this point. I chose Cheese in the Trap because of Yoo Jung’s duality, with his sweet and chilling sides.”
“Past the first half of the series, this side of Yoo Jung wasn’t revealed much. Thus the character’s very essence was weakened, and changed. More than the shortening of my screentime because of the editing, I’m just so disappointed in the character faltering.”
“I really wanted to take on the role of Yoo Jung, but I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to show something more. And I’m also sorry to writer Soonkki of the original.”
A source from his management’s side said, “When he agreed to take the role, he only had one condition. That they not shatter the original. He only wanted for the characters’ personalities and situations to be explained adequately. Now only Episodes 15 and 16 remain. Park Hae-jin’s part is small, but he put forth his best effort. He mentioned that he’d be a ‘scene stealer.'” Also: “From Episode 10 onward, we asked the producers constantly to explain. But all they said was that they were in talks with Soonkki.”
What about the ending? Park said, “I don’t know how the ending will be. There are a lot of instances where we filmed things that didn’t air, so even I will have to watch the broadcast to know. But since it’s a drama I appeared in, I hope it will wrap up well.”
“Because filming has already wrapped, I can only wait to see how the director edited things. It’s upsetting. I worked hard as the actor in the lead, but I’m sad I couldn’t show more.”
One source with the drama said, “The original [story] has completely crumbled. Episodes 15 and 16 contain events that are incomprehensible.”
Park seems to be unhappy with PD Lee Yoon-jung’s direction, though he seemed careful not to badmouth her. Regarding the constant changes to the script, he said, “There were a lot of revisions made on set, to the extent that a script being complete became meaningless. I heard that’s her style.”
He described how PD Lee didn’t seem that concerned with sticking to the original material, and would sometimes ask why it was a problem. His interviewer asked if the new parts—the scenes the drama created that weren’t in the original—were the problem. He replied, “[The drama] didn’t capture the parts that are in the webtoon well, either. I’d like to ask the director once, why she did that. I don’t know what is still to come, but I’d still like to ask that.”
“When I watched the broadcast, Yoo Jung didn’t appear very much. I’d like to ask [the director] why. It’s not only the scenes I filmed, but there were child parts that were entirely skipped, and the emotional lines between Yoo Jung and his father, and parts where we could have explained more and still been insufficient, but got removed. There were things that didn’t get filmed, but even things we filmed were edited out. So I’d like to ask that myself, what the reason was.”
Park’s management company, WM Company, stated, “The viewers’ reactions are already known, and we’re extremely disappointed about the screentime issue. We just don’t understand why things that were already filmed were cut out. There are major scenes for Yoo Jung that were shot that weren’t included. [He/we] expressed extreme opposition to the current plot, but [they] did not accept any of it.”
He was asked if he’s satisfied about what’s aired. He replied, “To be honest, it would be a lie to say I’m 100% satisfied. The reason I confirmed Cheese in the Trap at the very start when the director, writer, or anything else hadn’t been decided was the because of the strength of the original, and my trust in the webtoon. Right now, I have nothing to trust in.”
Even so, a source with WM Company and the production staff did give an interview on the 26th stating that rumors of discord between Park Hae-jin and PD Lee were completely groundless and “pointless rumors.”
Meanwhile, through this all, PD Lee Yoon-jung has remained quite tight-lipped, only saying in one phone interview, “You’ll have to talk to the drama’s team leader, not me.” Also, “I can’t really talk about it, so I don’t plan to give an interview.”
She told one reporter, “I’ll talk about it later, in other circumstances. That means I’ll tell you if we meet on personal terms.” That is to say, off the record.
Park did express gratitude for the response to his role: “I’m thankful for receiving love beyond my expectations. I don’t know if I was able to bear the weight of the webtoon. Rather than bearing it, there were parts that were incomplete. I did my best with the situation I was given. I’ll work hard on what was lacking to show a better side in the future. I’ll return having grown more.”
“I think I’ve changed a little through doing this drama, about doing my best to protect the character. I had thought that an actor just has to do a good job on set, and get along with the other actors and staff without trouble. But it doesn’t seem that’s all there is to it.”
Via Herald, IS Plus, Sports Khan, Star News, Dailian, My Daily, TV Report, Hankyung, Sports Khan, Munhwa, Osen, Hankooki, FN News, Seoul Shinmun
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Tags: Cheese in the Trap, controversies, interviews, Park Hae-jin
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151 Susa
February 26, 2016 at 10:08 AM
I signed up for this drama because of Park Hae Jin and Kim Go Eun. Seeing that the production team essentially replaced Park Hae-Jin with SKJ (in terms of air time for sure) makes me very angry. SKJ is supposed to be 2nd lead and he has been treated as the lead. Instead of having wonderful PHJ's acting we get SKJ playing the piano, again and again and again....! I want to boycott TvN for what they have done. I probably will not watch their next drama Pied Piper - because of that. And I don't want to watch anything with SKJ ever.....
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Miky
February 26, 2016 at 12:42 PM
The "fun" stuff is that the production sold the drama to China with the name of PHJ attached,along his imense star power he has it there and kinda made him promote it when now he is becoming a cameo in it...it's like they use Lee Min Ho/Lee Jeong Suk name to promote a drama yet they happen to go MIA in the middle of it yet they still are asked to promote it even so...Not even mentioning the ugly stuff they did with the original writer that made her come forth and say it..at the end it isin't about the second lead and so story or that people like him more than the lead or whatever but the serious problems and injustice they did here in front with the PD(that isin't at the first,she did it before as well)...Kinda sad that tvN made in a glimpse of a moment a bad reputation thanks to the whole thing
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152 Fuujin
February 26, 2016 at 10:09 AM
A belated thank you to Javabeans for this post, by the way. I read what little I could find in English last night and was desperately hoping for some more coverage--because this is honestly the weirdest thing I've seen happen.
Plenty of shows have left me disappointed, but none that I have seen has changed directions so dramatically midway through. And that's saying a lot b/c it seems like the majority of K-dramas, well rom-coms at least, do switch gears from fun to angst. But this actually turned into completely different story about a completely different character. It's really a shame and a squandered opportunity, because the show started off as something special.
The whole thing is still confusing, and not just because it is still unfolding and we don't have all the facts, but because I don't totally understand the Korean entertain system (why, for example, the network would be to blame).
I would be grateful for updates, particularly if other members of the cast or crew speak up.
I look forward to your recaps next week, since I don't think I can bear to watch. All I hope for now is a second season of Bad Guys.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 10:25 AM
I doubt we're going to hear anything out of the other cast members for this - they have their own careers to preserve, and their footing in the industry isn't quite as secure as Park Hae-jin's.
But yes, anything that sheds light on how this utter clusterfuck came to be, would be helpful.
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153 sorrynotsorry
February 26, 2016 at 10:30 AM
Having not read the webtoon, I went into this with no expectations and found myself a nuanced yet fun drama without many of the same ole tropes. Because it was so well done, I thought I was safe; now I know...it aint over til it's over.
The first 8 episodes...basically the 50% that was pre-produced are fantastic. I actually could handle 9 and 10 just as well. 11 and 12 it started to stumble and this is where I first noticed major grumbling by the webtoon fans. By episode 14, I was fast forwarding through scenes.
I honestly don't know who to blame...if the PD did it on her own or if she was forced to by her own personal Anthony (from King of Dramas) or if tvN had a hand though they seem to give their PDs more control.
Regardless, it's just a crying shame. It's also a black eye once again on the whole k-drama business and a warning to any webtoon author out there. I commend the actor for saying something in a world where having legitimate complaints can get you into big trouble, but here he is finally getting a lead in a popular drama and the powers that be muck it up. I'd be bitter as well.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 10:37 AM
That's how I felt too - up to episode 8, it was fantastic, then we started getting gratuitous In-ho in ep 9-10 but it was still ok because there was other stuff going on, but episode 11 was where I started feeling like In-ho was really wearing out his welcome.
12 at least dealt with actual character/past stuff, but then along came 13 and In-ho getting shoved down our throats again, and I think that was when people started getting REALLY hacked-off about it - there were grumblings before, but after it became evident this was a pattern that wasn't going to let up, that's when EVERYONE started really bitching it out.
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154 Not Impressed
February 26, 2016 at 10:36 AM
First off - I'm sorry to hear PHJ was shafted so badly by this drama. I've loved him from his Chinese drama days and My Daughter Seo Young.
When I found out that the webtoon was ongoing I had a nasty sinking feeling the drama was not going to end well but by then I was already caught by the chemistry between the three main stars. I love PHJ but frankly, the way Jung is portrayed makes me want to tell Seol to run and never look back. Jung reminds me too much of a psycho ex-bf and that relationship didn't end well for me.
I like In-Ho a lot but I think that's because of SKJ and how great he's acted the role. I don't know how CiTT got so messed up that fans are in an uproar over it but I think tvN holds a lot of responsibility for this too.
And coming back to my point - seems like the webtoon writer has a lot of responsibility to this mess as well - no doubt, she has every right to demand how the drama ending should be but because this drama was made with an unfinished webtoon - it's opened the door to uncertainty which wouldn't have been the case if the ending was already published.
No more dramas adapted from ongoing webtoons for me. Lesson learned.
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Miky
February 26, 2016 at 12:50 PM
the problem with the writer was that she told them how she planed to end the story so she asked of them to change the drama ending and make other one as her own webtoon is still ongoing,they said yes we will yet the cut all connections with the writer and she found out after that they used her original ending to the drama aside from the stuff that she allowed her original work to be made into a drama only for her to be consulted on the scenarios and to be close with the story yet they didn't do it as well,opting to close the phone...aside from making PHJ film days (whne he had his own tight schedule)and after cut it out and made SKJ film the same scenes(Jung's story dialogues)again and use them without PHJ even knowing,find out later,and those are few of the stuff...Knowing the PD past with screwing her own leads i think she did it again why,only she knows...
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155 niki
February 26, 2016 at 10:37 AM
increasing or reducing a character screen time doesn't necessarily makes his character more acceptable. the main lead can be mean, arrogant, a manipulatite bastard,... but still empathizable!(sorry for lack of a better word) but Jung has some Personality Disorders that is really too hard to understand. I cant Feel his Pain. they can increase his screen time how much they want but i think the main problem is the sceenplay not his screen time. i can name many many Minor TV Characters Who Completely Stole The Show with just 10 minutes screen time! who watch bleach anime? Ichimaru Gin was a scary mysterious bastard. fully aware of the effect he has on others and more than once has toyed with people's emotional states for his own amusement, he tried to kill someone for causing his lover harm. his character hardly has air time at all and who is able to not love him?
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156 goldeng
February 26, 2016 at 10:38 AM
"Who writes a drama and cuts out the hero at the end?" well, the person who wrote Answer me 1988!
I just hope this doesnt become a pattern in TvN shows because its getting ridiculous... Idk if its pressure to keep high ratings or the price of breaking records but I do feel YooJung might have the same faith Junghwan had...
Its not as simple as an actor complaining hes having less screentime, he's like "hey, you're screwing every single thing about this story and you dont even care!" publicly, so that rings a bell. With this article, its interesting to see that prior to the interview, PHJ and even his agency wanted to know what was going on and got no answer, so it makes it look like having that interview was his last resort to see if the story could go back to the original plan.
I hope he wont get blacklisted at TvN o anywhere, that none of the cast members get hate for this and that the show ending makes sense..
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157 Evelia
February 26, 2016 at 10:47 AM
I was interested in this drama and planned to see it, but I think I won't anymore.
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158 JSinQueens
February 26, 2016 at 10:47 AM
What really gets me is the complete shamelessness of whoever is behind these stupid decisions. Did they really think they could get away with it and everyone would just stay quiet?
CITT is based on a webtoon with a very devoted following. Look at the furor over the casting process. People went crazy just because they thought Kim Go Eun didn't look like Seol. The production company and TVN should have realized from day one that there would be negative feedback if they deviated too far from the webtoon. They should have worked with author Soonki at every step of the process. Instead, they stopped showing her the scripts after episode 6. I suspect they knew from that point she wouldn't like the direction they were going in. It was entirely predictable there would be growing complaints from webtoon fans starting around midpoint that the show was deviating too far from the source material (particularly with the love triangle and the dropping of crucial Yoo Jung scenes). Yet they did it anyway?
Why did they think they could treat Park Hae Jin this way? Yes, there has been a lot of discussion about how he was not quite in the top tier of Koren actors such as Lee Min Ho or Kim Soo Hyun, but he's still a veteran with a devoted following including fans in China. The minute the series was sold for a record price for a cable show to China mainly based on PHJ's appeal, someone behind the production should have been scrambling to make sure as many PHJ scenes were included in the second half of the series as possible. Instead it seems like they were still cutting him out late in the game since there were previews of scenes he was in that didn't make it to broadcast. How could they not see this backlash coming from a mile away?
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NaijaNoona
February 26, 2016 at 10:54 AM
Actually all you just said is an excellent reason to think this *wasn't* some attempt to deliberately snub PHJ, and just another example of PDs and writers making decisions that audiences hate with a passion. The latter happens all the time. Deliberately trying to sideline PHJ given the popularity of the toon and the support for his casting and not anticipating backlash *at all* would have been tremendously stupid of tvN/Lee PD/etc, and I don't think they're tremendously stupid. They just made some tremendously unpopular decisions, and at this point I can hardly fault them for not being willing to get into extensive defenses of those decisions, because they've already been pilloried by the media and netizens.
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TJ
February 26, 2016 at 5:34 PM
I agree here and for the most part tvN produces some of the better less "formulaic" dramas anyway. I understand they can get away with a bit more because they are a cable network. You're absolutely right they wouldn't deliberately sabotage their own production.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 8:39 PM
....the fact that Park Hae-jin wasn't invited to the wrap party or the cast trip to Phuket, belies your claim that this is all just coincidence and just the accidental consequence of ~unpopular decisions~
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Fuujin
February 26, 2016 at 10:57 AM
Yes, I've been wondering that too. Why turn a beloved story into a travesty that would undoubtedly outrage fans. As you say, it was completely foreseeable; so why? (And even the webtoon didn't have a devoted fan base, the first half of the drama earned many fans on its own and betrayed itself even if you take it as a standalone work.)
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Lilium
February 26, 2016 at 3:37 PM
You're assuming that they care about what the fans think when maybe they don't. ;) There are only two episodes left and as far as they're concerned it's business as usual.
They've sold the series to at least 3 countries on the strength of PHJ's star power and the success of the first 8 eps, making a ton of money out of it. They've ridden on the back of his popularity to market this with BTS scenes, video cuts and promotional events. So they know his market value.
This is why conspiracy theories abound because it's not as if the ratings were low. They only started to decline after the love triangle took hold of the story.
Lots of large organizations do a lot of "stupid" things for short-term financial gain. Too many.
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159 nanananana
February 26, 2016 at 10:50 AM
im filled with rage and anger of how absurd and ridiculous this show is getting to . i was hooked to this show because of seol , jung , how their relationship evolves , jung's dark sides and how seol deal with it . yeah , a little bit of in ho and his trauma or how he manage to survive won't hurt . but , now its getting out of control . TOOOOOOOOOOO much . i've wasted my time watching him playing that goddamn piano over and over . i used to like in ho .. but after he dared to covet other people's things , i hated him. i really really really like this drama . and now ..... i feel betrayed . i feel sorry for PHJ and KGE . sighhh . im going to avoid anything involving this PD and SKJ .
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160 NaijaNoona
February 26, 2016 at 10:51 AM
Clearly Park Hae Jin and his agency are very unhappy about how the show is proceeding, as are the creator of CITT and a lot of viewers. I get it, that's a lot of important people to piss off and clearly Lee Yoon Jung PD is not delivering what a lot of people desire.
But I can't help feeling the reaction is seriously overblown even so. The conspiracy theories about the PD having some kind of grudge against PHJ, SKJ having a shadowy sponsor who is pulling the strings, or the PD being just kind of crazy—which I was surprised to see Javabeans give credibility!—are really reaching explanations for something that happens with dramas and doesn't require some hidden reason to explain. It feels like people are drawn to the more elaborate explanations simply because the original webtoon is so beloved and the fanbase was excited about PHJ as Jung specifically.
Dramas fall apart in the third act all the time. It's not as common for a main lead to be sidelined like this, but from what I understand Jung is more scarce in the 3rd and 4th seasons of the webtoon to begin with. I can see fans being upset he's been made even more scarce, but again, no grudge against PHJ or conspiracy to artificially boost SKJ's career is required for the PD or writer to make choices that the viewers hate. It happens ALL THE TIME.
The same goes for poor characterization. Jung isn't the only character who has suffered because CIIT has shortchanged backstory and other important context to focus on other parts of the plot. Jung's old hyung and the TA vanished; In Ha never got fleshed out; Eun Taek and Bora have little depth, etc. All of this can be explained by just poor plotting, writing, editing, time budgeting—none of it requires the PD to be deliberately sidelining PHJ as an actor. She could honestly believe she's improving the story and still make choices that most of the audience find baffling and infuriating. We all know this happens in dramas.
So I'm scratching my head as to why in this instance a PD who has until now had a good reputation is being talked about as some combination of crazy, vindictive, secretive, and/or in cahoots with sponsors and execs, all without her having spoken for herself yet. At this point if I were her, I wouldn't speak on the record—everyone is ready to crucify her! Lee Yoon Jung is rare to begin with as a female PD, much less one who has had a measure of success. Why are so many people reaching for the conspiracy when for some other PD or writer people would be upset simply that they did shitty work. This is going from "shitty work" to "sneaky/bad/unstable" person. It bugs, majorly. SKJ is getting some of that backlash too, which is even less fair since he's a newbie actor who has little influence over a PD or his agency.
But I'm especially worried about what this backlash means for Lee Yoon Jung. Even if I see why people have objections it's a bad idea to tank her rep over one drama if that risks losing a rare...
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NaijaNoona
February 26, 2016 at 10:55 AM
Sorry, to finish the thought: Even if I see why people have objections it's a bad idea to tank her rep over one drama if that risks losing a rare female perspective in the drama world.
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fromthesnow
February 27, 2016 at 8:52 AM
As a female myself, I don't think the gender of a pd matters in the face of good storytelling. She could be male, female, lesbian, gay, a dinosaur or asexual, I don't care. If she's not doing her job properly, I won't mind losing her perspective.
That said, the reason why there are so many talks about her is because there has been zero explanation so far. And when asked, she chose to act like a schoolgirl keeping secrets.
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NaijaNoona
February 26, 2016 at 11:03 AM
I also don't find PHJ's comments to be particularly classy. Restrained, yes. But public sentiment is clearly on his side and his comments only added to backlash against the PD (and probably SKJ as well). That's his call, but he actually didn't have to say a word and would have gotten the same support. His weighing in is just going to inflame the negativity, which some might feel is justified. From where I stand it's at a kind of ridiculous level, especially all of the rumor mongering. (Related: if PHJ already had scheduling issues towards the end of the shoot it's entirely possible he could be done days before KGE and SKJ without a conspiracy being afoot. This wasn't a live shoot so they could have simply taken more time with the actors who had more time to take.)
In any case, at this point I don't think there's anything Lee Yoon Jung could say that would appease people even if it were reasonable or sincere, which is kind of unfortunate. And the drama isn't over yet so all the anger over speculation about how it will end seems very unfair.
Again, it all goes back for me to CITT being unusual in having such an invested and vocal fan base coming into the drama. I think that's why this has blown up far beyond what it would have been in the case of a popular drama with no prior audience investment that went similarly south—say Yong Pal, which had a lot of weirdness go down in the last several episodes, including Joo Won being pretty passive and relatively scarce at the end.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 11:33 AM
...and why is Park Hae-jin the one you're criticising here?
He's been very clear about what was done, and the facts are presented very clearly when it comes to the changes made at the PD's behest - at best that’s a severe lack of integrity (assuming the decision was out of her hands and she just went along with whatever the higher-ups wanted and screwed her cast over as a result), and at worst, it’s unbridled arrogance and unprofessionalism.
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NaijaNoona
February 26, 2016 at 11:41 AM
Where is PHJ "the one" I'm criticizing? I wrote a couple comments about the overall reaction, and in a few sentences out of that disagreed specifically about his comments being a class act. I agree he was careful about what he said. I don't think he needed to make a comment and I think the entire situation is being blown out of proportion in the absence of the perspective of multiple people involved in this process. PHJ is the only one who has spoken on the record, so I can only comment on what he's said. Anything else is speculation, not facts.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 12:14 PM
I disagree that it was unnecessary for him to speak up - it's not only a matter of hurt feelings, but also of preserving his professional reputation and clarifying that the minimal screentime he's had in the last few episodes, are not his doing - especially considering that the Chinese streaming rights were sold for a record price largely because of him, and as a consequence they expected him to at least appear more frequently in the drama than he does now.
The Chinese distributors have already raised an issue with this and are supposedly in negotiations/buying the footage Park Hae-jin shot. I don't begrudge him making a statement that he had nothing to do with the decisions that left viewers feeling cheated of screen time.
Kween Ramyeon
February 26, 2016 at 3:07 PM
I think he did need to make a comment. He's human and he's allowed to express his opinion about his experience - and he has done it in a restrained, polite way. Secondly, he knows his fans and fans of the drama and webtoon are disappointed. His statement shows some level of accountability to connect with those fans.
Why should he keep schtum just because of some weird social expectation about "not rocking the boat" or "not daring to speak up".
And actually, PD should be addressing the fans too but hasn't and that is a real shame. Or maybe he thinks that the last two episodes are sufficient enough to quell the rage.
sirrky
February 26, 2016 at 9:24 PM
It's not up to you to deciide whether it is necessary for hi to raise the issue. K-ent is alreadty messed up as it is with people in power causing workers to keep their silence on the shady going ons. They are expected to keep the water calm and not shake the status quo. You are basically endorsing this type of suppression because it's uncomfortable for you?
He knows more about the situation than you, and the fact that he is taking this risk to even speak up about it gives credence to his and CITT fans misgivings.
TJ
February 26, 2016 at 5:41 PM
I agree about PHJ should have kept his mouth shut. If for no other reason than you never know if this won't come back to bite him later. If you're a Korean celebrity the rule should be "the less said the better". If it shakes out that the PD had no real control over the direction of the drama or if SKJ starts to get an unreasonable amount of hate from this it could go badly for him in the end. Better to just wait and see. Plenty of celebrities in Korea have been pilloried for less.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 10:43 PM
If you’re a Korean celebrity the rule should be “the less said the better”.
Oh, so that applies even in the face of blatantly unfair treatment..... but only as long as it's an actor whose work you don't like and whose ill-treatment you've openly expressed a lack of caring for. Lovely.
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fromthesnow
February 27, 2016 at 8:45 AM
Thanks for proving why so many 'Jung's in the real world exist.
If one is to witness something wrong, we should all just keep our peace. Turn our head the other way, right? Keep mum! No one wants to hear the truth. No one wants to hear how we feel. How dare we have feelings and tell other people about it?
What PHJ did was necessary. If he didn't say anything, would we have known how many scenes he had shot were edited out? Or how many of his parts in the script were skipped altogether? He gave this interview after the webtoon writer made her blogpost. As the actor who actually read the source material to better understand the character he will be playing (I'm looking at you SKJ), he merely was disappointed that the character he worked hard to portray so the viewers will understand him was reduced to a cameo.
Ignorance is not bliss. Nor is it cute.
This is absolutely necessary if you want a good story. I want a good story. I was disappointed when the plot got lost halfway through. Now I'm tempted to try reading the webtoon because this is such a huge disappointment.
In my opinion, PHJ could have been a lot more direct and a lot less nicer but hey, we know he can't.
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JISG
February 28, 2016 at 8:35 AM
PHJ shouldn't speak up because it'll make the PD look bad and she's going to get more flack? Um, okay...she made massive mistakes(if it were her), she should get flacks for them. We're not talking about an infant here.
And if you read his interviews, PHJ provides us with more context and truth from his experience, not maligning anyone. He got the shaft, he's not happy about it so he's going to say so. The end.
What's with these "not polite" comments?!?!? Show me where he's being impolite.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 11:16 AM
The poor characterisation of Jung is different from the lack of fleshing-out given to the hyung, Nam Joo-yeon, TA, Taek-Bora etc, in one important department - Jung is one of the main characters of the series.
Fans and new drama-watchers alike took it for granted that some things would have to be sacrificed in the course of adapting a webtoon to a 16-episode drama, but the short shrift given to Jung while In-ho sidelines everyone else, even Seol, raises red flags for people in a way that supporting characters don't.
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NaijaNoona
February 26, 2016 at 11:42 AM
Even so, no conspiracy is necessary to explain it. That's all I'm saying. And if people are going to propose some kind of conspiracy as an explanation, given that multiple people's careers are in the balacce, they should have more than speculations.
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Lilium
February 26, 2016 at 4:27 PM
Have you considered that the reason why conspiracy theories are rife at present is because no explanation has been given? Perhaps they're not needed but right now a perfectly good explanation is nowhere to be found.
I'm sure if the showrunners were actually concerned about people's careers, they would have considered this entire situation before making the decisions that they did for things to come to a head like this.
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JSinQueens
February 26, 2016 at 4:53 PM
I myself am not particularly interested in conspiracy theories, but I think what makes this case different from other cases where a show fell apart or characters were undeveloped is the degree of disrespect and lack of professionalism from the Cheese in the Trap PD.
Soonkki felt she had to speak out because promotional materials for the show were suggesting she approved of it and it was "true to the original" even though the truth was that the production did not work with her and actually refused contact after writing episode 6 until they wanted to discuss the ending.
As for Park Hae Jin, he only agreed to sign up for the show after multiple refusals on the promise that the show would stay true to the webtoon's characterization of Yoo Jung. The PD might have had the power but she really did not have the right in this case to just willy nilly change the show due to these multiple promises to stay true the source material. If that's what she wanted, she should have signed up for another show instead of trying to direct an adaptation.
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phuong
February 26, 2016 at 6:44 PM
Conspiracy theories are rampant because this whole situation IS weird. Park Hae Jin - a relatively big name in the K-drama scene with years of experience under his belt and a stable and devoted fan following - is getting sidelined in favour of... a long-winded character's arc that viewers who matter (read: Korean and Chinese) explicitly oppose to. They chopped off a bunch of Yoo Jung's materials that have already been filmed; IMPORTANT materials, mind you, that would appease viewers and webtoon fans alike. The cut scenes mean that yes, they HAD intended to flesh out Jung, but for some reason, opted to not present in on the broadcast. If tvN wants to go after the big money (because they are a business), you would think higher-ups would've stopped the PD from tanking an immensely beloved franchise once the public started voicing their discontent at around ep 10.
If you /are/ worried about the PD, then you'd better hope the SKJ conspiracy is true because if it wasn't, it just reflects badly on her professionalism and the quality of her work.
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JISG
February 26, 2016 at 9:51 PM
Yes to your first line. Speculations happen because it is fracking weird!!! And makes zero sense. Nobody watches dramas for conspiracy theories but they come up because we're all confused as hell as to what exactly happened to the show. Plus, if it's majority, it's unlikely to be conspiracy...it's more common sense that's something weird is happening behind the scene.
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sirrky
February 26, 2016 at 9:19 PM
Your excuses for how this drama went to the crapper citing other dramas as examples don't really hold water when this drama is produced differently. It already has a finished script which they deviated from in a senseless manner, since there is no good reason, like in these other dramas, things like bad ratings, unfinished script, swaying public opinions on the leads etc don't apply to CITT.
If you want to compare, compare it to Misaeng which was highly successful adaptation of a very popular webtoon with built-in audience. There is no reasonable excuse why the PD would drop the ball this much and this hard. Which is why people are speculating so much as to why.
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161 baran
February 26, 2016 at 10:59 AM
seriously guys its just a kdrama and not even a good one. you take it too seriously! are all of you new to kdramas? :/
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 11:11 AM
and are you anyone to be telling people how they should react to a drama?
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alua
February 26, 2016 at 11:27 AM
The point is it could have been good. Really, really good. Misaeng-kind of good (which happens about once in a blue moon).
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damianna
February 26, 2016 at 7:24 PM
Used to love CITT and Signal equally, now it's Signal all the way.
I love Misaeng to bits btw.
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Dani
February 26, 2016 at 12:07 PM
I stopped at the not even a good one. So you don't even watch the drama and telling anyone how they should react, because your opinion matter more than the others?
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blo
February 26, 2016 at 12:19 PM
+1000000
Exactly. Funny how someone who's not even invested in the drama tells those who are to not take it seriously.
Makes perfect sense. /notreally
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dokutokunaneko
February 26, 2016 at 1:31 PM
I suggest you read the Spill the beans series to see the extent to which we kdrama addicts would go for a drama. Are we crazy? You decide. (I'll tell you right now that yes, I am crazy to be so invested, and that's why I've watching kdramas for so long, after being burned again and again...though never quite like this before!)
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JISG
February 26, 2016 at 9:52 PM
There's always one from the sanctimonious bench ?
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kjy88
February 27, 2016 at 5:48 AM
You must be new to kdrama. Viewers care about their shows - its one of the attributes I enjoy about the kdrama watching community.
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162 NaijaNoona
February 26, 2016 at 11:10 AM
And as for this making Korean entertainment/drama production look bad, come on. This isn't a show where the final episode will be 50% flashbacks, or where the episode will be being edited as it's airing, or where the stars have are so pressed for time or exhausted that they get into car accidents or have to be hooked up to IVs to make it through filming. This is really not the worst that could happen nor the end of the world, y'all. This too shall pass.
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TJ
February 26, 2016 at 5:45 PM
Good point and one I made elsewhere. I do hope that this drama doesn't sour the networks or the production companies from producing more dramas that are shot without such brutal schedules and terrible writing being dashed off at the last minute.
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Kween Ramyeon
February 26, 2016 at 10:00 PM
"I do hope that this drama doesn’t sour the networks or the production companies from producing more dramas that are shot without such brutal schedules and terrible writing being dashed off at the last minute."
There is no correlation, that is a complete failure of cause and causation.
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kjy88
February 27, 2016 at 5:51 AM
Agree. It was primarily in the editing room that the show was destroyed and the editing was done after production wrapped and perhaps completed right before each episode aired since the weekly previewed scenes changed the next week when the episode aired.
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Kween Ramyeon
February 27, 2016 at 2:11 PM
Sigh. Actually, as in an earlier comment I made - I think they did plan shooting alternative scenes and made switches of script during production, so no, I don't agree that it was primarily in the editing room that the show was altered but that it was occurring much earlier with planning.
However, my point to TJ was that this then has no real relevance to whether networks will go back to brutal schedules of shooting live, and not doing pre-produced shows. They will do pre-produced shows for other benefits, such as more storyboarded and designed cinematography, effects, location planning etc
163 minionies
February 26, 2016 at 11:16 AM
i wouldn't mind if the screentime of jung have been reduced , if only the replace it with more of euntaek and bora , the father or anyone else intead of in ho , his piano and him playing it over and over . im getting sick of him and the piano .
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164 blo
February 26, 2016 at 12:11 PM
So that PHJ DVD + Photobook that's being sold...
What is in it exactly? Anyone know? Does it have the deleted scenes? How much of the 90 min + 30 min is of CITT? Sorry, so many questions. Since it's 60 USD, I want to know before I pre-order it. Unfortunately, even though they have the English option for the website, they didn't translate the content part.
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165 thelady
February 26, 2016 at 12:12 PM
Loan shark plots are so boring and common in dramas, I almost didn't finish the episode cause I just don't care how Inho pays his debts
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 12:16 PM
loan sharks, car accidents, gangs....this is just becoming a makjang now.
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blo
February 26, 2016 at 12:25 PM
I think they're trying to fit as many genres into this as they can. Now, it's only fair that she gives away free amnesia for all the viewers.
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charlotte
February 26, 2016 at 6:44 PM
That is so funny! I want one order of amnesia please for episodes 9 & 10 that I watched. Haven't bothered with 11 & 12 but happened to read the post from JB, and then reading all the comments with great fascination.
Thank you to all the contributors, for the different points of views.
If I was PHJ, I would spreak out too. He needs to be something since he has to promote to people who pay big money to the show based on him being the lead.
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HANI
February 26, 2016 at 8:58 PM
Lucky you.
I'm ordering amnesia by bulk since I did watch all the way to ep 14, albeit it involved hella lot of ff but still....
I did ended up catching few glimpse of manpain piano playing and woe is me trudging~
KK
February 26, 2016 at 12:36 PM
Jung will walk away from his relationship with Seol as his redemption because Seol getting hit by a car is his karma... I didn't sign up for this lol.
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db
February 26, 2016 at 7:28 PM
Omg, and she'll have amnesia to go with the time leap and open ending -
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Dani
February 26, 2016 at 9:50 PM
uh oh the noble idiocy that every Kdrama lead must have in the sleeve.
..except Healer
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HANI
February 26, 2016 at 9:18 PM
I dont know why the moment Soonnkki asked them to do alternate ending, they taking the makjang route. Can they do something more subtle and appropriate to match CITT tone or they already forgot their own drama color & tone?
Freak accident like that is so not subtle.
guys, take it. I'm offering you my ending~
Seol is walking alone and enjoying sunset. She suddenly stop when she see a split road in front of her. She can see Yoojung sunbae and Baek Inho, both waiting at the opposite end. (put ominous music as bgm when camera moves to YooJung and fur elise as bgm when it moves to Baek Inho)
Seol opens her mouth
.
.
.
.
.
and the end credit rolls up
the end~
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fromthesnow
February 27, 2016 at 8:55 AM
Next we'll find out Seol is actually Jung's long lost sister from his mother.
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KK
February 27, 2016 at 10:01 AM
And a piano will fall on someone and put them out of their misery...might as well be Jung since he gets no screen time anyway!
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JISG
February 26, 2016 at 9:54 PM
It's honestly the WORST plot line in the show. Adds zero, nada, nothing except yet another challenge for our brave knight in shinning piano.
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Petra
February 28, 2016 at 1:40 AM
Lol. Brave knight in shining piano. Rofl.
Give me a Dark knight anyday. *cries
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166 Bushra87
February 26, 2016 at 12:19 PM
Well this is quite disappointing. I was not expecting something like this at all! I feel bad for Park Hae Jin because he would not have spoken up unless something quite unpleasant happened.. Sigh. I knew the goodness of Cheese was way too good to last. Now all I can hope for is that the end of this show is at least half as good as the beginning.. at least I know in advance not to expect too much..
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167 Lilium
February 26, 2016 at 1:26 PM
I'd understand all of this chopping and changing more if In-ho actually had some real development in 13 or 14 but most of it was really fillery. He screen time could have been cut by half in Ep. 13 and we'd still understand he was angsting over a girl and channelling it through his piano.
In a show where every single moment needs to count, it seemed really over-the-top. And I don't really know that being the stock second male lead is really "development" either.
I never found Jung boring or uninteresting at all despite having never read the webtoon. He's the reason I watched and enjoyed the drama so much because he was such a unique male lead. The duality or layers were so intriguing even when the show went on a downslide.
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JISG
February 26, 2016 at 10:04 PM
Of course there were developments for InHo!!!
-We found out that he enjoys walking in setting sunlight.
-We found out that he practices piano really good when he makes mistakes.
-We found out that he misses his subway stop when he's thinking about someon else's girlfriend.
-We found out that he likes to do push-ups when he can't sleep...from dreaming about someone else's girlfriend.
-We found out that he has at least two scarves: one to wear and one to give away..to someone else's girlfriend.
-We found out that when he says that things should not be awkward any more just because he confesses to you, you better not feel awkward any more around him and you better show up after school so that he can walk you home.
-we found out that when he's talking to you, you better not pick up any calls!!!
So many more! See, tons of character development!!!
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KK
February 27, 2016 at 2:31 AM
Lmao. That last one tho, still can't believe people defended that move.
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fromthesnow
February 27, 2016 at 8:59 AM
No you have to understand, Inho is so much better for Seol because he's so dreamy and nice, he bullies people because he thinks he's above them, he leeches like no other, he acts like a jealous boyfriend when his crush is with her actual boyfriend, he badmouths his bestfriend to other people, and he blames them for his own choices, then he runs away from his problems, and then still blames others for ruining his own life and he beats up bad guys for you....
wait.
He sounds like a douche.
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Dani
February 27, 2016 at 9:20 AM
I got one girl telling me that Seol does not deserve In Ho, because he is too good for her. And when I was making a puking sound, she started to attack me by saying that I do not appreciate how hard In Ho trying to built his life. So, if I am thinking bad about him, it's just reflecting on my personality.
So, the delusion of piano prince is real, guys.
In Ho is perfect, flawless, while the rest of the gang is effed up.
KK
February 27, 2016 at 9:56 AM
This is so true and it's sad In Ho fans find his behavior sweet and selfless, and think a lack of filter should be praised. This also makes me really miss webtoon In Ho...his friendship with Seol was more important and they've ruined both In Ho, Seol, and Jung in the drama by prioritizing In Ho's angsty one sided crush.
blo
February 27, 2016 at 11:35 AM
Tell that to any In-ho fan and they'll defend those actions as perfectly normal. yeap...It's The Piano Trap.
HANI
February 27, 2016 at 10:44 PM
He's not a douche because he has that puppy wounded eyes going on guys~
lmao
ThisCheeseHasGoneBad
February 28, 2016 at 1:51 AM
Hey, but he's a douche who wears his heart on his sleeve...
*evil laugh*
Dani
February 27, 2016 at 9:17 AM
I love you guys hahahaha. You guys make the comment section so fun!
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KK
February 27, 2016 at 9:59 AM
They really do!
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ThisCheeseHasGoneBad
February 28, 2016 at 1:46 AM
Lol. You forgot we found out he throws out the trash.
Very important to storyline and character growth. How else will we understand the puzzle that is PianoTrap?
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168 taekwoonadri
February 26, 2016 at 1:56 PM
i swear that if Baek In Ho end up with Seol i'll freak out!
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moonbeam
February 26, 2016 at 10:06 PM
@adriana oh please do not scare me like that.. You freak out. I will probably keel over and have nervous break down..
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169 Pips
February 26, 2016 at 2:12 PM
Hm... I thought something was off after the 8th episode. All these talks are making me super sad. I'm really digging this kdrama.
Can't jump ship now, 2 episodes left. And there's always DOTS. ?
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170 Ksk
February 26, 2016 at 2:22 PM
I just don't understand this situation. The only scenes people want to watch and re-watch are the ones of Soel and Jung. Those are the ones that TVn posts as well. Why mess up a good thing and then not shoot or air what is the story!!!! So disappointed.
Thanks for the update and the pics of PHJ during the good times ... Episodes 1-6. I guess I will just watch those over again and go read the webtoon, instead.
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171 Bren
February 26, 2016 at 2:27 PM
Wow, thank you @javabeans for your insight into the behind the scenes trouble story of this drama.
Most of us webtoon readers have some closure.
I can see from a production point of view that maybe they had to condense so much for a 16 episode series, which is why so many important scenes were cut out.
I don't fault Park Hae Jin (who is a great actor) for failing as the character. Nor the director,PD Lee Yoon-jung, because she is only a director. Definitely not Sonnki's fault either. Someone in the production team did not plan well with this series. I can see them having to struggle with what to show the viewers versus time limitations.
Hopefully, then can extend the series in the dvd set. If they want to make viewers happy, make the DVD set up 20-24 episodes if necessary. :) Just my 2 cents.
In all, I will finish it to the end because Park Hae Jin and Kim Go Eun are really great actors and their chemistry is adorable.
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172 E
February 26, 2016 at 2:37 PM
It all just seems to be random squabble. I don't understand all these additional thoughts just because the drama is following [or not following] the webtoon. Truth to be told, I don't find Yoo Jung to be the hero at all, this is kind of the first time I've been rooting for the second lead.
Baek In Ho - although not without flaws, has always had a conscience and tried to do the right thing. And for me, just because Yoo Jung had a rough childhood, it doesn't make up for the fact that he intentionally hurts people. It's not a mindset I personally understand or forgive - and it's not like he's ever been apologetic.
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Elle
February 26, 2016 at 7:25 PM
It's no longer an issue about which character you'd prefer. It's about actors and the original creator being shut out and disrespected by people they trusted. It's about disregarding the hard work of people who poured out their hearts and wasted months of their lives filming scenes that will never see the light of day.
Regardless of whether you like Baek In-ho and dislike Yoo Jung, you'd have to be blind not to see that PHJ (and Soonkki, and even SKJ) is being outright disrespected here. Just because we'll all eventually move on with our lives does't mean we have to overlook what's happening now. This is a big deal, and the entertainment industry must learn that their audience won't stand for this kind of behavior.
I'm glad the netizens are rising up against this. I do feel bad for SKJ, but it's not really surprising that he's being dragged in this. After all, he's the "face" of the production team's missteps with this drama.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 11:11 PM
....do you people even pay attention to what actually went down in the story, or do you just come here to spout off buzzwords about how Jung hurts people and isn't apologetic about it?
(and do you even take a good look for a second at just who it is he struck out against? A bullying mooch thief, would-be date-rapist, copycat plagiarist, and stalker. You want to tell me those people deserve an apology, that is rich indeed)
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lolalarue
February 27, 2016 at 3:19 AM
Except the reason that you dislike Jung is because you've only been exposed to his bad sides, the humanizing scenes were cut.
So I'm sure you can understand why that might be a frustrating standpoint for people are are shocked by the news that those very important scenes were replaced with filler scenes that make an otherwise tight, exciting, dynamic story into a morose, boring, makjang mess.
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fromthesnow
February 27, 2016 at 9:01 AM
I hope you're still in school because your reading comprehension and ability to analyze situations in fictional settings is zero.
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ThisCheeseHasGoneBad
February 28, 2016 at 1:57 AM
Urrrr...so you missed the times Jung is apologetic? Like the times he Uh...APOLOGIZED?
Is it because he didn't have CGI pink cheeks when he said "I'm sorry"?
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173 Kita
February 26, 2016 at 2:58 PM
This is my first time ever putting up a comment on a discussion forum. I watched CITT up to ep 6 and thought it was quite good (didn't abandon it just watching other series and planning to do a CITT marathon afterwards). I also started to sense the love triangle was forming but thought its normal for kdrama to have that.
I was curious about Jung character and wanted to find out more background stories. I like PHJ acting in CITT (liked him too when he was in East of Eden) seems effortless, cold look, sweet smile and interesting personalities!
However after reading all these comments I am now not too keen to continue on...how could a character that is not even in the drama poster taking over the focus of the drama (I have had nothing against the Inho character or the actor upto where I stopped)
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jenny
February 26, 2016 at 4:07 PM
My thoughts exactly!
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174 ennuhchennuh
February 26, 2016 at 4:04 PM
Thank you so much DB for the translations & javabeans for your coverage of this issue!!
WOW. I had no idea that behind the scenes, things have been going down lately. I've been following CITT since ep. 1 and in the recent weeks, I've been reading comments too and noticing the heavier focus on In-ho and shift away from Jung. I was disappointed bc I realllyyy loved the complexity and duality of Jung's character, contrast to most of my friends who saw Jung as just "creepy" or "psycho" and thus rooted for In-ho. I'm a fan of both PHJ and SKJ, especially proud of SKJ's growth in the role, however I cannot help but feel disappointment towards how relations BTS in making this drama have become so messy to a point where crucial scenes to building the plot and Jung's character have been cut. I was really impressed with PHJ's portrayl of Jung, who I know is not an easy character to play.
Having a sociopath sunbae character with emotional scars was a breath of fresh air to me in dramaland and I was really looking forward to understanding why Jung is so complex as a character.
Well, I guess we have 2 episodes left to see how this show wraps up (ep 15 preview has Seol getting pushed & hit by a car?? MAKJANG pls no o.o ). Sighhh, I completely understand PHJ's frustrations, although I feel like he's already done an outstanding job as Jung (a role with so much burden from public opinion etc) especially with the recent developments of a bunch of his scenes being cut. :(
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175 Lincoln Gu
February 26, 2016 at 4:28 PM
I am going to personally lay it a lot on the PD. "Anthony" from King of Dramas does not have a lot of power when it already comes to pre-produced dramas.
He is not able to able to view all the footage the PD has shot. He is not able to be on the set most of the time to see what the PD has shot.
Yes, there are scenes of Jung's explanation and what. But unless there are scenes leading into that explanation, he has to take the PD's words that she cannot splice it in.
Besides, ratings are fairly stellar. Anthony won't touch that, just like in King Of Dramas, when they did a genre that he thinks will fail.
Higher ups aren't as powerful especially when things are already done and over with. You are not going to pay obscenely high cost of film shoot to save a train wreck by filming some "new rails" just to hopefully stop the thing from derailing.
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176 MerinoMedia
February 26, 2016 at 4:45 PM
I haven't watched it yet (and this is making me wonder if I should), but this is a major blow for pre-production. Fingers crossed Descended from the Sun handles it better, but I doubt PHJ is going to be going that route again. What a shame, cause the live-shooting system is nuts.
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177 August
February 26, 2016 at 4:57 PM
To the 'powers that be' over the kdrama version of CITT why did you do this? Why??????????
?????
??????
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August
February 26, 2016 at 5:03 PM
In my mind I keep hearing the lyrics to Adele's "Rolling In The Deep"
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear...
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all...
But you played it
You played it
You played it
You played it to the beat.
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178 Decline
February 26, 2016 at 5:35 PM
This is a quote from the webtoon author quoted on the news story.
“I told them how I would end the web comic. But seeing that the drama will end much quicker than my web comic, I requested them to come up with a different ending, so that it would not become a spoiler for my readers. But they failed to do this.”
“They then contacted me for the first time prior to filming episode 14, and asked if the ending they had in mind would be alright. Despite requesting them to come up with a different ending, I realized that everything was similar to the ending that I had shared with them earlier. I protested their decision, and again asked them to change the ending.”
Sounds like the drama will end like the webtoon. Why should we be upset?
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Barbrey
February 26, 2016 at 8:41 PM
Because we don't know (and Soonkki doesn't know) if they decided to honour their promise to her from the beginning that they would end it differently.
My suspicion is that when she was shown the ending before episode 14 was shot, and objected that it was too similar to her own, that is when the PD decided to honour the original promise. So the ending was changed, and that necessitated refilming scenes prior to ep 14, and changing the base script for 14, 15, and 16. We don't yet know how the drama is going to end so why those changes were made are not yet obvious, but they definitely disrupted the trajectory of the drama - and everyone noticed.
Like I said, this is only my suspicion based on what's been said but it makes sense. Something changed in the second half. The fact that Soonkki decided to speak out was a defensive move on her part, I believe, to let viewers know that she had been saying they had to have a different ending from the very beginning, so any changes they made latterly because she insisted they keep to that agreement were the drama people's fault not hers. She's right. They should have built in an alternate ending.
Still, if this is true, it's too bad all around. Anyway, I expect we'll find out after the last two eps air.
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Ayana
February 27, 2016 at 3:42 AM
Because it disrespects and disregards the webtoon writer's wish for it not to end like the webtoon lest it become a major spoiler for fans of the webtoon most of whom watch the drama. And because the drama has deviated so far from the webtoon, it would be upsetting to see the drama paste on the ending originally intended for the webtoon whose story it has now bastardised.
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ThisCheeseHasGoneBad
February 28, 2016 at 2:06 AM
Because it's not just about the ending but about the process of storytelling.
I never really cared how the story ended as long as it made sense in the context of the story.
Even if the story ends as one side or another wants, we still have the 2nd half where the plot loses focus and we are given meaningless scenes when so much of importance is left unsaid.
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179 miss parcel
February 26, 2016 at 5:45 PM
I watch kdrama again after decades only for citt... but now.. leave it and i wont waste my time ever again... BYE!!!
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180 atz
February 26, 2016 at 5:47 PM
Actually, I am curious to know if KSJ had a sponsor ( or even his agency put some pressure on PD or something). Though his fans do not want to believe this possibility, when one starts wondering how this switch of main male leads happened, this would become a big possibility.
Though SKJ does well (at least better than the last period drama he was in), I can see many other youngish actors could actually play IH's character well because it is an easier role to play for actors. But Jung's character is a bit harder to play as an actor. I think that was why PHJ was chosen for the role. Though KSJ act better with contemporary young men characters, when I watched SKJ's last drama, Hwajung, I found his acting skill has some limit and I thought he would have a hard time to get a role next time but I was wrong! Why is that?
My point is ; if KSJ got a sponsor or something , I think KSJ should be punished so that those dirty action would stop in K drama or K pop world.( please his fans, do not think that having a sponsor is nothing to do with KSJ himself)
I decided to expose my thoughts despite of many his fans's bashing. Don't kill me please!
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181 Mae
February 26, 2016 at 5:47 PM
I guess no one expected the second lead male to breakout in his role the way he did. And though you could blame things all on the writer, let's just ponder...if Park Hae-jin interpreted his role better, would he find himself gradually written out of his own lead role...
Not really sure about anything, except that Jung thought he could just stiff-upper-lip his way through the whole show, while In ho sort of pretty nailed it with the brooding, dynamic actor we wanted the lead male to be. I guess it is what it is.
Not happy that the writer of the webtoon got sidelined though. No author likes that.
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Jeanie
February 26, 2016 at 7:11 PM
But that's just it, isn't it? The lack of understanding of Jung's character because, well, the scenes explaining those were filmed but not shown. And if Baek In Ho did shine and overshadowed Park Hae Jin, I don't think there would be this strong of a backlash. There have been shows where the 2nd lead have been adored and noticed for his great portrayal, like say Siwon in She Was Pretty. Drama fans acknowledged that and understood his part in the story.. But for CitT, there was just blatant in-your-face shoving of one character, to the point that the others, most especially the main leads, are just pushed to the side, there story not really fleshed out. We even see Inho exercise while brooding about his crush, lol! When instead those scenes could have been used to further the story. Seol has still alot of her story to tell too! At this point, the story has gone out of focus and that is the main problem. People can't accept what's happening thematically. And since Soonkki and Park Hae Jin have released statements. We now know that they too are confused with what's happening, just like the rest of us.
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Chamomille
February 26, 2016 at 10:20 PM
Good point! Siwon was brilliant and noticeable in She was Pretty. He did not come off as stinky-fishy-greedy brat. And he was adorable and truly complimented the leads. If SKJ's management has any hand to this, they should be sorry. Thanks for reminding us!
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Miranda
February 26, 2016 at 7:30 PM
I thought PHJ was doing a great job with a very complex character. Jung really is very insular; in the webtoon In Ho is deliberately the more dynamic one.
PHJ's interpretation has been very faithful.
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KK
February 26, 2016 at 7:45 PM
Um. Not sure you got the point but, since you seem to like In Ho/SKJ, I hope you realize there's a good chance he's going to get tons of unnecessary backlash from this role now. This webtoon has a loyal fanbase and most are not pleased with the direction this has gone in, and the PD hasn't said ANYTHING but basically to ask the people above her what happened and she'd speak more off the record. In a way, she threw SKJ under the bus. I'm upset for PHJ and SKJ for the position they have put both in.
Even people connected to the drama have not said good things about where the story has gone or what's happening in the last two episodes. This is not about petty preferences anymore...and I'm not sure why people keep going there with this conversation. They messed up.
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Elle
February 26, 2016 at 8:30 PM
It's weird that the PD said that. Perhaps she was overruled and this mess is the result of executive meddling?
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JISG
February 26, 2016 at 10:13 PM
I am kind of sick of the fly by comments about how "it's good for me, I like InHo, never liked Jung anyway". If that's all you care about then why come in here in a post about the controversies behind the scene?!?!?
Whatever free country. Just strikes me as weird to come to a discussion about to do about a fire to essentially say "there's no fire".
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sirrky
February 26, 2016 at 9:38 PM
SKJ's character while popular is not the stellar break out character you claim him to be which is why people are actually protesting his increase in screentime. Viewers were far more into Jung's story (webtoon fans of Inho actually hate how he is portrayed but that's another matter) so this is far from the second lead stealing 1st lead shine and given screen time because of it. PHJ didn't speak out first, fans were already raging, Soonkki gave a statement, the tide was already in his favor when he spoke out. The reason he was allowed to say anything is probably because viewers are already on his side.
Inho was not more popular than Jung prior to being given ost of the screentime, there is no causation there. The fact that he is getting more backlash after getting more time should make it fairly obvious where the problem is.
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Mae
February 27, 2016 at 12:57 AM
I'm rolling with the 'second lead stealing the first lead's shine" oh like really? You are given the chance to portray a character the way you choose. SKJ simply did his job to the best of his ability and happened to reach out to so many. PHJ is lovely, he just couldn't handle the poor writing and turn it around no matter what. Ask yourself why the production team would even consider sidelining him? That shows you how they saw the tide turning for themselves and moved along with it. Same thing happened in Empress Ki, when the Emperor got the girl and the main lead when that was never the plan. Just because the production team went with the popular tide. You don't see anyone crying foul over it.
Maybe they can redo the series when the webtoon finally finishes so you all can get the replica drama you want.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 5:20 AM
ok, keep believing that if you want.
But I'm afraid repeating it won't make it come true in the face of overwhelming amounts of advice to the contrary.
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sirrky
February 27, 2016 at 6:21 AM
I have no idea where you get that the popular tide is girl with second lead because if you read korean forums this is far from the case. He is not even as popular as Siwon in She Was Pretty and even then people rooted for the actual lead while liking him.
The issue isn't even about who gets the girl, it's about the entire premise of the show ruined to give more time to a half-baked pining.
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fromthesnow
February 27, 2016 at 9:03 AM
You seem to like Baek Inho so much, you sound exactly like him. Well, keep believing your delusion. Might want to invest in a piano.
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JISG
February 28, 2016 at 8:44 AM
Poor writing???? That's where you lost me. It was stellar writing up until recent episodes. I laughed, cringed and laughed some more throughout episodes 1-8.
Those episodes were so so so nicely done. Pure crack!
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 9:55 PM
...except that being broody doesn't make a character dynamic. What kind of slavishness to tropes is that?
And if you think Park Hae-jin has just been stiff-upper-lip-ing his way through his portrayal of Jung, even the bits of it that we have been allowed to see, you're in an extreme minority there.
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Mae
February 27, 2016 at 12:52 AM
Well guys sorry to offend your delicate sensibilities. I haven't seen the webtoon. I'm enjoying the drama on its own face value. And i honestly didn't get into it till In Ho's character started coming to life. Something Jung never really did.
It's just really hard to play that implacable, cold character and still make the right impact. Stop sticking to your fan-worship of PHJ and admit that SKJ impressed a whole lot of viewers with his interpretation of In Ho.
I really like his character here. What's the controversy about that? I think you all should take some chill on the In ho bashing. And instead, hope your fave actor PHJ gets a better platform to showcase his star quality. Because looks like CITT wasn't his shining moment.
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pigsnout
February 27, 2016 at 2:05 AM
I don't think you understand anything in that comment at all.
SKJ is not the fan favourite, not by a long shot. If he was really so well loved as In Ho to the point of being loved more than PHJ as Jung, do you really think kfans and everyone else would be tearing the drama to pieces like this?
You can persist in your delusions, but there is nothing to back you up except a few of you In Ho fans here. Literally every other source of fan comments, even soompi, is as sick of Baek In Ho as we are, and all the liking his character received in the early part of the drama is gone now that he's being shoved down our throats and Cheese turned into a makjang melo to show us how pitiful Bark In Ho is.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 2:24 AM
firstly, I'm not even a webtoon reader, just a drama watcher who can tell when a story is being altered to the point where it doesn't feel organic anymore.
It started out as a story without the traditional kdrama love triangles or lead acting according to a set pattern of actions expected from a trope.....and then became exactly that, since SKJ's character doesn't come across as a person, just a construct designed to elicit maximum pity from the viewers (a task at which he is failing, judging by the fact that the more screentime he gets, the more widespread viewer irritation with his character is, across all fora in Korea, Japan and several other countries).
And you might want to take a moment to ask yourself why, if Cheese in the Trap is Seo Kang-joon's shining moment, do so many people dislike the amount of screen time he's got, to the point where the changes made to accommodate him have ended up on the mainstream news in Korea? And I mean be honest with yourself, instead of looking at it through fangirl 'waah everyone hates my fave and loves PHJ' goggles.
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JISG
February 28, 2016 at 8:50 AM
Yes yes and yes to the last paragraph. If InHo is so beloved and his character development is well done, why the outcry? If the show still makes sense and enjoyable, why all the controversies.
And again, there are MANY of us who don't read the webtoon and have never been an avid fan of PHJ prior to this. I want to tattoo this to my forehead so I don't have to repeat myself lol
phuong
February 27, 2016 at 2:28 AM
My God you really just do not get it. In Ho bashing is a a dead beaten horse that is actually irrelevant in this discussion. What we are looking at is a case of an ACTUAL REAL LIFE ACTOR and ARTIST being flat out disrespected, (and possibly industry corruption as well) and what you got out from this is fans crying foul because of their favs. It is not what this uproar is about. At all.
You like In Ho and find Yoo Jung boring, fine, whatever floats your boat. But you cannot just force your own opinion onto the majority because, guess what, Yoo Jung is light years ahead of In Ho in popularity. Changing the direction of the show should never be the plan because the tide ain't swaying that way sweetheart. The general public, the viewers that matter (Korean, Chinese) have been camping with Jung since day One. Read any article in the link below to be informed of how superior Jung's influence is to In Ho's: http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.com/search?q=cheese+in+the+trap&max-results=20&by-date=true Not to mention that Park Hae Jin single-handedly secure the Chinese project for this project and his Mainland fans ain't pleased.
No, /you/ ask yourself why the production team would consider sidelining him because: 1. PHJ is by far the much more prominent entertainment figure than SKJ 2. PHJ's character is by far much more loved by the viewers (Tumblr doesn't count) 3. His performance, even though you seem to really hate it, is loved and praised by a vocal majority of fans so your lone opinion doesn't really matter 4. Ever since he was sidelined and the show adopted its current direction, the ratings has dropped
Look at the facts. Your opinion is not universal.
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phuong
February 27, 2016 at 2:31 AM
I mean the Chinese market*****
kjy88
February 27, 2016 at 6:48 AM
To make your point seem reasoned, you are suggesting that folks who are speaking out are a bunch of exciteable fangirls getting the vapors because their Oppa is being disrespected when this is not the situation.
I am happy for SKJ that his portrayal is being well received. I was totally unfamiliar with CITT before the drama so did not start watching because I am a fan of webtoon not PHJ. Ironically, I started watching because I am a fan of the PD.
I'm not going to try and repudiate your personal opinion of PHJ's acting ability or Jung as a character. I have the exact opposite opinion, but what ever, it is what it is.
However, taking personal opinions about acting ability aside, one of the reasons that I am upset as a viewer (who was truly enjoying the first half of the show) is that the focus on creating a love triangle and bolstering Inho has had the unintended effect of distorted Seol as a character.
The drama established that Seol cares about Jung and is invested in their relationship. Given that, why is she spending so much time with Inho? Inho, the guy who said he hates her boyfriend and vice versa. Why does she let him take her phone and hang up on her boyfriend. Watching the last few episodes, I became very irritated and frustrated at Seol and thought, no one in a relationship would act this way. I'm not supposed to feel this way about the heroine and the fact that I (and others do) is why this thread has over 700 responses.
Stating that the reaction is only about PHJ worship is condescending - you are not on higher ground.
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blo
February 27, 2016 at 10:49 AM
+1000000 Excellent response.
pigsnout
February 28, 2016 at 7:47 PM
+1
ThisCheeseHasGoneBad
February 28, 2016 at 2:11 AM
What? Are you saying that SKJ's acting was so good here that it over-shadowed PHJ's?
Hahahahahahahahaha. Rofl.
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182 missjb
February 26, 2016 at 6:22 PM
I agree with you though, PHJ is not work hard enough to enterpreted Jung more nuance and subtle... He is abit limit to interpreted this kind of character deeper ( This char is hard to interpreted, because lesser actor will make it dull, I agree) . It seems the director doesn't trust his ability.. Then again, It's not an excuse to cut an important scene that has already filmed. PHJ is not that bad... He can do intense scene eventhough he is not nuance enough.
Even Kim Go Eun, who is doing a great job at beginning of the drama doesn't has worthy material to work with in recent episode due to In Ho... If they to include Inho more often, why not involving PHJ's char in the process ?
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 9:59 PM
If Park Hae-jin's interpretation can be called limited (admittedly, after a massive stretch of the imagination and a highly selective viewing of his scenes), then Seo Kang-joon's performance is even more limited - it conforms to absolutely every stereotypical trait of kdrama second male leads ever, with absolutely NO nuance or depth despite the overload of scenes of In-ho walking around, looking broody and making eyes at Seol.
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ThisCheeseHasGoneBad
February 28, 2016 at 2:34 AM
Are you a troll? Or are you from SKJ agency and trying to bash PHJ acting? If so, please stop because you are not helping SKJ here.
As a fan of BOTH actors, there is no way PHJ doesn't have nuance.
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183 Ika
February 26, 2016 at 6:50 PM
I skipped all inho scenes at later part... So unnecessary... Puppy in love with sad look in his eyes... Ohhhh come on !!!! ...and Wth with lots of piano stuff.... I am not invested in the piano..ppffftttt..... PHJ charged all his scenes very well and when they scenes stealer, he was technically did that... The most memorable scenes was when Jung in it !!! Tvn or the PD ... Can't believe they did what they did to PHJ and the drama... Dropping this already... It end on episode 12 for me... Not buying DVD either... They are not milking my money by doing this sleazy things to others ...
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Chamomille
February 26, 2016 at 10:10 PM
Unless they make corrections to DVD version, probably not worth buying at all. But there's so much In Ho scenes, it may just be a very short viewing time for you :)
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184 db
February 26, 2016 at 7:21 PM
Soonki isn't blameless in all this, she sold the rights too early (greed) and then told them to make the drama ending different from the webtoon... huh!? If she didn't want the end of the webtoon known, she should have waited or just let it be known in order to stay true to the story.
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Elle
February 26, 2016 at 7:37 PM
From what I understand, Soonkki did reach out to the production crew so they could cooperate and come up with a drama that, while not being a carbon copy of the original webtoon, still had its soul. It was the production crew who shut her out. Her issue with the ending was that sequence of events leading up to it were too similar to what s1he had in mind. The production team didn't have to do a 180 to come up with an AU ending that still kept the spirit of the original CitT.
As for Soonkki selling tv rights to her webtoon before she finished it, well, people do it all the time. Mangaka sell anime rights right in the middle of the story all the time. Case in point: Hiromu Arakawa and the disastrous Fullmetal Alchemist anime (2003), or Yoko Kamio and Meteor Garden. There's also the manhwa Goong, which still had years before finishing when it was adapted into Princess Hours.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 7:59 PM
Exactly.
Even J.K. Rowling sold the movie rights to Harry Potter before she was done writing the books, that doesn't mean the author washes their hands of their story in exchange for a cheque.
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Elle
February 26, 2016 at 8:34 PM
I may have my beef with the Harry Potter movies and I'm not sure how much JKR's involvement was in their development, but she did have enough veto power to overrule plans to set the series in an American wizarding high school (thank goodness!). The producers respected her enough to go along with the points she feels strongly about.
I do wonder why CJ had to shut Soonkki out for confidentiality reasons? Did they think she'd immediately leak the script if they'd given it to her? This doesn't make sense.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 9:25 PM
oh, I definitely don't think the Harry Potter movies were perfect, I was just using them as an example of an adaptation that did start before the original story ended, and still managed to be a recognisably similar story to the books (I hear you on the Ron's lines for Hermione thing, but that was a relatively minor issue, not even close to what was going on here).
J.K. Rowling may not have had much creative control over the scripts themselves, but at least she was able to get the producers to keep certain information in mind when they were filming - like the fact that Dumbledore was gay, or that Snape was on the good guys' side. (and the immense amount of public goodwill on her side had a LOT to do with it)
Elle
February 26, 2016 at 9:54 PM
@pogo
I agree with everything you said. JKR had enough clout to keep the movie producers in line.
I wonder why CJ refused to extend the same courtesy to Soonkki, who is well-respected and whose work is well loved. How could they have not forseen this sort of backlash?
pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 2:45 AM
@Elle - there would have been blood if the Harry Potter fandom thought JKR was being screwed over. The movies actually needed JKR's endorsement to have some legitimacy with the fans, and they traded on it in a big way.
The same way, Cheese the drama used Soonkki's name and the promise that she'd been consulted, as an endorsement for their drama.
And given how things turned out, I do not blame her at all for openly revoking that and blowing the lid off how she was treated.
pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 28, 2016 at 7:27 AM
It may be worth noting that the drama used Soonkki's name and her tacit endorsement (the promise that she had been consulted on the script) to promote their drama.
If she hadn't spoken up, the blame for the current state of the drama would have fallen at least partially on her because viewers assumed she was in on it/agreed to it.
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185 db
February 26, 2016 at 7:31 PM
Inho was a cute second lead, but a directionless drifter who could hardly afford rent and lives with Inha (and people say Jung is psycho? Inha has that completely covered). He's not first guy material, and for all Jung's faults, responsibility was never one of them.
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186 Gwinna
February 26, 2016 at 7:49 PM
I hope we find out what actually happened someday, and why they (whoever "they" are) decided to ruin the drama.
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187 Peach
February 26, 2016 at 8:01 PM
Yikes! CITT has been the my first time watching kdrama, so sad to see it combust into flames before the end of the season. Feel bad for all the main actors and webtoon writer. I hadn't been able to watch ep 14, now knowing how the show will probably end, I don't think I'll watch the last three.
Regardless, I'm glad Cheese encouraged me to watch other Korean dramas. I've binged watched some great ones over the past few weeks!
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188 Loolu
February 26, 2016 at 8:33 PM
This really makes me sad...I was enjoying the drama so much. I only read the webtoon to how much was translated in English from oddsquad around season 3. So i only knew the story to episode 11 in the drama. I didn't finish the webtoon so I was curious for the ending in the drama format. Now this news makes me feel really bad and I don't think I can finish it. But I'm really glad PHJ was committed to the original story and put his best to it. Good job to all the actors involved! It was surprising, unconventional, original, & the most realistic drama I've ever watched. Drama cliches, go away!!
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189 doobeedodub
February 26, 2016 at 8:40 PM
This reminds me of my great disappointment in Reply 1988. Not only because of the storyline but the sheer disregard for proper story-telling and deliberate writing.
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190 dee
February 26, 2016 at 8:41 PM
ha.. so this is why i can't feel the thrill i have seen jung in webtoon over the drama. hm..
this controversy really have to be a lesson for all another webtoon-to-drama adaptation. especially if the webtoon is a huge success. i warn you webtoon author!
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191 JSinQueens
February 26, 2016 at 9:10 PM
Have we been able to piece together some idea of exactly how many Jung scenes were cut based on leaked scripts, interviews, previews, and stills? I can think of at least 3 just from episode 13:
- A scene between Inha and Jung seemed to be cut. In the preview for 13, Inha asked Jung something like would Seol ever truly accept him? I believe this conversation came after Seol and Jung met in the cafe because there was a production still where Jung was with Inha and wearing that same scarf. Also, in the cafe scene Jung tells Seol he will speak to Inha since Seol was upset about their earlier encounter.
- A scene between Jung and his Dad where Jung confronts his Dad about the Baek children spying on him was definitely cut (according to the leaked script). It was funny because I and a few other people thought the talk between Inho and Jung's Dad in episode 13 made no sense because it seemed like Daddy Jung had inexplicably changed his attitude to the Baeks. That cut scene would have really helped explain a lot about Jung and his dad!
- A scene in Jung's car where Jung gave Seol the notes seems to have been cut (based on previews). Maybe if we had gotten that scene we would have a better idea why Jung was so mad about Sang Chul stealing his notes?
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skelly
February 28, 2016 at 8:41 AM
It would be a worthwhile exercise to gather all evidence of cut scenes; if nothing else, it will diffuse the whole oppa-wars thing to focus on the real issue, the slicing and dicing of a storyline to incomprehensibility.
- We know that there are several (or one large) childhood scenes filmed to provide backstory.
- We also know that they either did not film or chopped out the whole conversation between Jung and Seol after they met when she ran away. We went from a hug to rolling in bed, and judging by how many viewers felt he was grasping and creepy we missed out on a lot of couple bonding over discussion of Seol's issues and Jung's support for her.
- We know there are at least two Seol rescue scenes that were filmed with Jung but replaced by the same scene with InHo, most notably the Sang Chul punch.
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192 pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 26, 2016 at 9:17 PM
So is it safe to say Cheese has secured an early nomination for Biggest WTF in the DB end-of-year awards for 2016?
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moonbeam
February 26, 2016 at 9:54 PM
@pogo lol.. yes. it is safe..
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Elle
February 26, 2016 at 9:55 PM
This will be very difficult to top, but who knows?
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pigsnout
February 27, 2016 at 12:16 AM
It'll probably win, too.
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Kudo Ran
February 27, 2016 at 1:44 AM
In the top of WTF, yeah sure for me, but we need to wait for ep 15 & 16 to see if it will be top 1 of WTF 2016 dramas or no. 5 in this WTF 2016 dramas.
Also let's hope this WTF top won't be too long after 2016 ends ...
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ThisCheeseHasGoneBad
February 28, 2016 at 2:49 AM
Nomination, yes but TVN has plenty of time to do an even worse job and top it.
Yes, that was a bitter tVN burn.
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193 Chamomille
February 26, 2016 at 10:01 PM
CITT is a HUGE disappointment. The production (director, team lead, and writer) irresponsibly wasted a perfectly great material. I wish they did not touch this webtoon at all. And worse they wasted great talents of PHJ Jung and KGE Seol. These two actors were perfect for the roles and played them so well. The supporting leads were great ensemble, too. I wish greed did not play a part in all of these. When the show went off track and forcefully rammed down In Ho in our throats that it cannot be helped but puke it out because consciously or subconsciously we feel it was so very wrong. We did not watch it for In Ho, the story was not about In Ho, and we keep getting his woe-is-me face or his irrelevant fillers. I feel bad for SKJ, but I can't take anymore of his screen time because it just feels so wrong - not necessary, not relevant, and it has a very sticky, fishy smell to it (worse if somebody is proven to be pulling strings to promote SKJ - and boy, did they pick the wrong material!!!) It will take me some time to watch SKJ even in other drama again (not that he would care; but I'll skip him for now; sorry fans). On the other hand, I'm glad to have discovered PHJ and KGE! Yey!
There must be a bit of Jung in all of us. When we see injustice around us, we feel the urge to mete out justice. Unlike In Ho, who would probably punch and kick those who butchered this show, we can only do what Jung would likely do, in some ways. We express our disappointments, we write criticism of their obvious butchering of good material and talents, and economically affect them by giving low ratings (and give many reasons before watching another show of PD Lee Yoon-Jung!). Like Jung, we are not psychos. Just rational beings that can sense when they were made big fools.
Disappointed. Truly disappointed. And I feel so sorry for the original writer and PHJ. I'm glad PHJ was able to express himself and that the original writer was able to express hers in her blog. Neither of them seem to have been respected with how their talents and craft were treated.
If they make a remake of CITT (like Playful Kiss), I hope the original writer and the lead will be given the respect they deserve.
And that the audience will also be trusted and respected with complex, dark, atypical hero and heroines. I'll miss Jung and Seol, Bora and Eun Taek, and even In Ha.
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db
February 26, 2016 at 11:07 PM
Soonki needs better lawyers, she should have kept more control over the situation, which is now a runaway trainwreck. The drama should have stayed true to the original artistic intent.
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194 Elle
February 26, 2016 at 10:12 PM
Reposted from the Korea Herald: ‘Cheese in the Trap’ under fire, Park Hae-jin joins fray
Soonki said that if the staff failed to communicate with her, it would constitute a “breach of contract.”
So does this mean she can actually sue tvN/CJ Entertainment over this?
And wow the news is big enough that even mainstream media is reporting on this.
Full article here: http://kpopherald.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=201602261602322957365_2
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Chamomille
February 26, 2016 at 10:27 PM
She should. What a slap on the face, her original materials were really good. If she asked for a different ending, they truly messed this up: different character development (i.e. it became In Ho's story versus Jung and Seol) and used the same ending!
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pigsnout
February 28, 2016 at 10:11 AM
So it was only on blogs/Internet news before this?
Now everyone knows how things on this drama were handled, wow. I feel bad for PHJ that it came to the point where he had to do this.
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195 Jam
February 26, 2016 at 10:42 PM
yikesss. this is why i wait til the halfway mark now for dramas! <_< it really annoys me that all these dramas have potential for being great UP UNTIL THE END! ugh! i respect PHJ for speaking out even w/ the risks of being blacklisted. it surely says a lot about what's been happening. viewers aren't stupid either.
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196 merrym
February 27, 2016 at 1:20 AM
It's unfair to keep blaming SKJ. Instead blame the drama writers for making Jung go too dark, ensuring PHJ couldn't play an appealing character no matter how good an actor he was. I for one cringed each time Jung did something questionable and horrid. Inho's character may have his flaws, but at least he struck a chord with me. I'm happy SKJ was in the drama.
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Elle
February 27, 2016 at 1:39 AM
From what I've been reading here on DB and Soompi, no one here is blaming SKJ. And the issue isn't that Yoo Jung is too dark. That's how the character is in the webtoon. He's supposed to be that way, and Baek In-ho is supposed to be more hard-edged than the way SKJ plays him.
The issue is that they deleted Yoo Jung's scenes wholesale, scenes that would have rationalized his thought processes without exonerating him, scenes that would have made huge strides in developing his personality. That was the appeal of the webtoon and the drama (at least at first). It's peeling back layers so you can see the bigger picture with the character.
I'm not even getting into how Soonkki and PHJ were snubbed and mistreated by people they trusted with their work.
So yeah. I blame the CitT production crew, as do most people, even the Korean and Chinese netizens. They're at fault for showing us a drama that as of right now is so off-balance it will probably sink even deeper in its last two episodes.
SKJ is an unfortunate casualty. He's done nothing wrong, but he's the "face" of the production crew's off-balance decision-making. I disagree with the netizens aiming their fire at him, but I'm not surprised that it's happening.
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merrym
February 27, 2016 at 2:12 AM
Thank you for your level-headed comment. I wish all PHJ fans could have this point of view, instead of vowing to never watch another sKJ drama as if he went all out to rob PHJ of his role. Think Kim Woo Bin in The Heirs and how he was such a scene stealer. Most second leads simply have more room to expand than the main lead who has such a restricted angle to his persona.
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Elle
February 27, 2016 at 2:26 AM
Thanks! I know it's upsetting for fans to see SKJ beng blamed for something he has no control over. He's only doing as he's told
But the CitT production team and the executives who had a hand in this mess? Yeah they deserve all the backlash.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 2:34 AM
The difference is that Kim Woo-bin's character development in Heirs didn't come at the expense of another character.
Let's not compare apples to bananas, the two situations simply aren't the same and it's time for some SKJ fans to accept that Park Hae-jin was done wrong, instead of chalking it up to just a part of the kdrama creative process - reactions within Korea (which is more familiar with their popular media and dramas than we are) easily show up just how spurious that excuse is.
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Elle
February 27, 2016 at 3:52 AM
I didn't get past 8 episodes in Heirs. I couldn't stand both male leads and their cavemen ways. Come to think of it I disliked the female lead too.
That said, I don't think they would've scrapped LMH's scenes in favor of KWB even if KWB was a scene stealer. That would be tantamount to career suicide.
merrym
February 27, 2016 at 4:12 AM
Anyone would be blind not to see that the actor PHJ was wronged! That's obvious. Just, don't lay the whole blame at SKJ's door. That's my only problem. I don't think he has the power to turn things in his favor with the 'sponsor's theory. If so, then he'd have made the lead role from the get go.
As to Kim Woo Bin...the only saving grace for Lee Min Ho was, his character had some saving graces. And yeah, LMH is kind of a mega star so it'll be hard to sideline him. But guess what? KWB continues to shine brightly based off his acting skills and that's what SKJ will continue to do no matter what you think. Same goes for PHJ because we wish him well too.
pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 5:12 AM
....except that I'm not blaming SKJ personally for what went down, and I referred to other SKJ fans - some of them notable in this very comment section - who have been insisting that what was done to Park Hae-jin was his own fault, or purey the result of coincidence. That's a kind of disingenuousness I don't buy at all.
It may not be SKJ's fault personally, but after the way this show has tried to sell In-ho like soon-to-expire milk at a supermarket, there isn't going to be as much goodwill towards him as there was before the show took this turn. That's a pretty sharp contrast to Kim Woo-bin.
ThisCheeseHasGoneBad
February 28, 2016 at 2:57 AM
Almost all PHJ fans here have said they feel sorry for both PHJ and SKJ.
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197 pigsnout
February 27, 2016 at 1:55 AM
So let me list out a few of the excuses some people are leaving here to justify this situation:
"Maybe it was just the director's decision to cut out all of Park Hae Jin's scenes, it's normal for lead actors to be completely cut out of their roles!"
"Soonkki was greedy, how dare she allow her work to be adapted, she should just stay quiet and let the drama team screw up her work since she got paid"
"How dare Park Hae Jin speak up, it's not 'classy' of him to reveal what went on bts because the PD is a woman and so that justifies everything she does"
"Maybe Park Hae Jin wasn't a good enough actor and so the PD cut his role" (OP not: lmao @the delusion)
"All kdramas suck anyway, why are you criticising this one?"
"If you care about this issue, why should you care, there are other problems in the world, ugh fans should just shut up and take whatever the drama dishes out"
"It's just a drama, not a G8 summit"
"I don't like Jung's character or the actor because they have no empathy, so I don't care what the actual real life actor is treated like." ( so basically they got no empathy for someone but them go around calling a character psychopath for not having empathy....by their own logic, what does that make them?)
Feel free to add on any ones that I missed after this!
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Elle
February 27, 2016 at 2:06 AM
*laughs and then weeps at the hypocrisy*
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pigsnout
February 27, 2016 at 2:10 AM
Oh wait, I forgot one..
"the Seo Kang Joon effect"
I know what that effect is for most viewers..... the effect of wanting to puke.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 2:15 AM
lmao SAVAGE
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sweetsour
February 27, 2016 at 8:50 AM
Comment was deleted
Kween Ramyeon
February 28, 2016 at 10:29 AM
Love this, pig snout.
Another for your list
"Why get so bothered about this. This too shall pass, like everything in life"
*roll eyes*
merrym
February 27, 2016 at 2:17 AM
Puke, wow? What did Seo Kang Joon ever really do to deserve such animosity? Sorry to break it to you, but PHJ was kind of stiff and inflexible with his acting. Some roles are badly written but actors manage to win the day. Guess what: if his character was so well loved from the drama even with all his psychopathic tendencies, why couldn't PHJ translate that well enough, especially to the non-webtoon fans? Please, be more objective and open-minded.
PHJ should just chalk this up as a lesson/experience and move on from it.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 2:29 AM
..except that he DID manage, even with his limited screen time, to convey the idea that there was more to Jung than simple psychopathy, but as his performance has been literally cut in half, he was able to give us only half the story because the PD chose not to air the rest. As a non-webtoon reader, I can safely say that much.
And yes, Seo Kang-joon is being shoved down our throats in the drama to the point where viewers have openly stated it's excessive, so I'd say 'wanting to puke' sums up the 'effect' of him quite aptly.
Elle
February 27, 2016 at 2:32 AM
I don't think it was PHJ's acting that was wooden. It's Yoo Jung who's cool and aloof most of the time, and this is why I bemoan the cutting of scenes that could have explored his character. I found PHJ's subtle shifts in the way his mouth moved and the way his eyes looked to be an excellent way in conveying what was supposed to be an inscrutable character.
It's not a question of PHJ's acting. He was sooooo good in Bad Guys, and I'm seeing that here. I do hope that he doesn't take this to heart, and that he moves on and prospers with his career. Same goes for SKJ.
The problem with the BIH character was overexposure. I ended up fastforwarding a lot of scenes because I felt they were gratuitous. We're never going to agree there, but I felt more than half the time they spent on BIH they could have used in developing Seol as a person independent of the men in her life (that is if the production crew were so adamant to cutting out Jung).
bips99
February 27, 2016 at 5:02 AM
Dear god! not this again - You might dislike how PHJ acted but a majority of the audience did not
please understand - if people had complaints about his acting, there would have been no rumblings about his reduced screen time
People were angry BECAUSE they wanted to see more of him because they liked how he did jung.
FIRST, viewers complained
then the writer
and last PHJ
@pigsnout - lovely list you have going here! PHJ bad acting has to be in number one spot though.
JISG
February 28, 2016 at 8:58 AM
it's a legit reaction because he was on scene every minute!!!!
Again, I thought he was super cute on Cunning Lady and I actually watched Running Man episode because he was on, but in Cheese, I'd be happy if InHo jumps off the cliff.
Dani
February 27, 2016 at 9:25 AM
He has that effect on me, really. It was growing slowly. Until I can't keep it to myself anymore.
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Chax
February 27, 2016 at 7:20 PM
Exactly the feeling in episode 13 watching In Ho! Couldn't pin point why back then; now it makes sense! Subconsciously we know something was stinky wrong.
Poor SKJ, can't look at him without seeing GREED (him, or somebody with or without his knowledge; for his sake I hope it's not him!).
Will we ever find out who is behind this mess?
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Chax
February 27, 2016 at 7:26 PM
In Ho in small dosages like in the first few episodes was good. In Ho rammed down our throat has that effect, vomit!
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Lilium
February 27, 2016 at 2:22 AM
My favourite one is: PHJ's acting is wooden.
But I guess that is covered under your "Maybe PHJ isn't a good enough actor."
Yeah, he's so terrible that they courted him on multiple occasions and signed him up before they signed anybody else up.
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Lilium
February 27, 2016 at 2:23 AM
Oh that's hilarious... I posted this right after AidaZen's comment... LOL.
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merrym
February 27, 2016 at 2:34 AM
hmmm well maybe that's your fave excuse because um, it's actually true?
Inho's character has been called a lame, piano-playing thug role, but at least he had fun with it and that reflected well with his fans (yes surprisingly he does have them from the drama, ie me). While Jung's character was badly written (obvs) and yet, PHJ just couldn't make it work for him. That's just the thing with having the 'it' factor in a particular drama. PHJ just didn't cut it this time for me. And didn't live up to all the hype the production team must have believed in when they sought him for the role.
And you can add those to the growing list of excuses, heh.
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Lilium
February 27, 2016 at 2:43 AM
The nicest thing I can say in this instance is:
You and I are watching entirely different shows.
PHJ has an incredible range in eye, cheek and mouth movements. The subtle shifts in his expressions and moods are among the best I've ever seen.
If you can't see it, then that's your problem.
It's fine you like SKJ, I like him too. He's improved a lot since his S&S days. But you don't have to knock one actor down to prop another up.
phuong
February 27, 2016 at 2:57 AM
If the character was already badly written then why are you blaming PHJ for being "wooden"? That is, if his portrayal has really been wooden at all. Your opinion is not everyone else's opinion. If you bother to look it up then most domestic viewers and a large chunk of international ones are in favor of Yoo Jung the character and believe that PHJ brought YJ fully to life. See that, I'm not reciting my own opinions but the general consensus, because if you're planning to argue for PHJ's mistreatment then you'd better look at the facts rather than churning out opinions as if they were gospel.
merrym
February 27, 2016 at 4:02 AM
Be my guest and don't be nice @Lilium. No skin off my back. I guess I'm just shocked how seriously this has escalated.
I'll just round up my opinion thus: I really like the drama and others just don't. It happens. I liked the direction the whole series took with In ho and just pushing him forward. He was the selling point with this drama for a whole lot of us. Whatever happens with Jung, I definitely don't regret starting the drama. I feel bad the actor himself had to go through this, but as to the character and the drama (the makebelieve aspects of this whole brouhaha), really had it coming.
Petra
February 28, 2016 at 12:36 PM
If you don't like how it's escalated, then please stop escalating it.
There's no need to insult either PHJ or SKJ.
OBVIOUSLY, saying something like that is going to inflame and antagonize.
You're not doing SKJ any favors. If I were him, I'd tell you to knock it off right now.
There is a time and place for everything.
KK
February 27, 2016 at 3:19 AM
"Jung is abusive anyway so I don't care that PHJ's material got cut without being notified he's a psychopath (not human) and hopefully Seol will stop being a ditz and run into the other guy's arms even tho he's stolen from gangsters who are after him and is temperamental and pushy and has shown more questionable controlling behavior by taking Seol's phone out of her hands and not letting her speak and making her uncomfortable because she's in a relationship!!!! In Ho is bae and SKJ was clearly the breakout star sorry not sorry!!!"
"PHJ should just sit down and be quiet like all other Korean actors"
I got a little carried away but Drama In Ho fans try my patience to the max. I don't even dislike SKJ but they make me wanna be SO petty lmao.
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Elle
February 27, 2016 at 4:43 AM
Ugh this makes me so angry! This isn't about shipping or fictional characters, people! A real life actor and a living, breathing writer have been deceived by an actual company they entrusted with their work. This is happening in real life, to people who exist in this world.
This is an abuse and breach of trust. People get so carried away with whether or not they prefer this actor or that actor that they lose sight of the big picture. Because apparently, it's okay to let injustice slide because it's not happening to your idol.
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merrym
February 27, 2016 at 4:58 AM
Only a PHJ hater would be happy to know he was mistreated in this drama. That aside, many can't deny that his "character" was depicted in a creepy way we just couldn't handle. While In ho was depicted in a more palatable manner, even if he seemed to get unfair mileage in terms of screen time.
Dragging yet another actor down by shaming him (SKJ) isn't going to help the situation. How to ensure the production team redresses the issue is more important.
That said...the producers kind of run the show, so they get the last word on how this all goes down. Too bad a lead actor, and a respected and loved one at that, was made to look so disrespected. Which might not even have been the intention of the production team...it just happened that way.
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Elle
February 27, 2016 at 5:12 AM
The thing was PHJ shot all those scenes and they were left on the cutting room floor for filler. It's a waste, and the production crew knows this. The whole affair stinks of executive meddling (which backfired spectacularly considering all these netizens raising a stink and calling for blood).
It's disrespectful to not answer your lead actor when he attempts to approach you and ask why you're cutting his scenes. I'm sure PHJ would have made a more placating statement had he known the new trajectory his character would be taking. That he (and Soonkki) are as in the dark as the rest of us is just... ugh! I can't even.
That said, I would never ever blame SKJ. He marches to the beat of his agency's/the director's drum, as do most actors worth their salt. No one should have to fault him for that.
Even if he did have misgivings (and I suppose he would have) about reshooting scenes and his extended screentime, he would not be allowed to voice them out now. Agencies are basically the mouthpieces of the actors under them. I doubt PHJ himself would have done the interview without his agency's blessing.
Btw did you see the picture PHJ's agency uploaded on Instagram of PHJ and SKJ arm in arm like bros? That was so bittersweet. I have no doubt they bear no ill will towards each other, and I hope their fans will (eventually, once this blows over) feel the same.
pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 5:14 AM
Dragging yet another actor down by shaming him (SKJ) isn’t going to help the situation.
well, you chose to drag Park Hae-jin's performance to praise your fave...... double standard, much?
merrym
February 27, 2016 at 5:21 AM
Awesome breakdown, @Elle. And of course, I'm happy about the instagram post and if the two male actors can stay friends or whatever. Because basically:
PHJ's scenes getting shafted/sidelined/wasted = production team's fault.
SKJ acting his butt off and stealing some scenes = nobody's fault.
PHJ's character/portrayal considered boring or creepy by some = PHJ's fault (sorry, but my opinion).
PHJ has killed it in some other roles he's done. Just wished he never had his skills put in question with this drama and all the shafting. Hope this ends on a positive note for all. Peace out...
pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 5:24 AM
@Elle - yeah, that's one thing I think they wanted to make clear - their problem isn't with SKJ at all, it's with the people behind those decisions and the people who carried them out.
It's unfortunate that SKJ is, in a way, the face of the problem and that the vast majority of viewers have started to get sick of his screen time as In-ho, but the actor shouldn't be blamed.
merrym
February 27, 2016 at 5:25 AM
@pogo you keep making this personal when it's not. I have nothing against the PHJ actor in general. But for me, he just didn't push my buttons with his portrayal of Jung though his acting was awesome. He was just really not making me want to watch his scenes.
We keep saying his scenes got cut short, discarded or even overlooked, but the many scenes he did show up in - were not very inspiring or stimulating. Some called it boring, while the character itself bordered on creepy and not even worth delving into.
For you it might be the exact opposite. Which is why we are all entitled to that thing called 'personal opinion'.
pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 5:28 AM
SKJ acting his butt off and stealing some scenes = nobody’s fault.
I'd severely contest that, considering that in one sense, the 'stolen' scenes are the ones that were first shot at Park Hae-jin's expense and then reshot with SKJ. That's squarely the production's fault.
I have a hard time naming any scenes he actually has with another actor that he can be said to have 'stolen' - he's good in his role, but not nearly as strong as either Park Hae-jin or Kim Go-eun, and even Lee Sung-kyung matches him with consummate ease once she's allowed to tone down the OTT aspect of her performance.
pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 5:31 AM
@AidaZen - your personal opinion is exactly that, yours. You'd do well to remember that it doesn't apply to the viewership at large, and stop presenting it as representative of majority viewer sentiment when all the evidence says otherwise.
And I merely pointed out the contradiction between your own comments. If you've chosen to take it as a personal attack, that's on you, not me.
merrym
February 27, 2016 at 5:37 AM
@pogo I'm getting to understand your viewpoint more and more. I totally hate the price that had to be paid (in terms of PHJ getting to feel wronged)...BUT does it make me inhuman to say I enjoyed watching one scene from SKJ's Inho more than I enjoyed 10 scenes from PHJ's Jung?
Lol this comment from @samoa just cracks me up...and kind of answers my last question. Well, whatever.
"@all SKJ fans, when you feel proud your bias gained something due to other actor popularity and hard effort, there is something wrong in your upbringing-consult your parent after this ok."
Elle
February 27, 2016 at 5:55 AM
Nope, PHJ's acting is not boring, or wooden, or anything remotely resembling bad. It's too bad you found it that way, but pogo is right that this runs counter to the majority of Korean and Chinese netizens' opinions. They're the target markets and they've voiced extreme displeasure at the production team's treatment of PHJ while praising his behavior and his acting. There are rumors that the local distributors for countries where CitT was already exported are negotiating for Jung's delete scenes.
I do understand the misgivings about Yoo Jung, who is a very YMMV character, but I think that's because he's so out of place in the setting: a male lead with a personality disorder surrounded by normal people (who are bullies and backstabbing assholes, so yeah... most people in the real world are terrible). I have no doubt he'd be more at home as a brooding vigilante hero in an action/noir drama.
I have so many triggering memories of high school bullies that I don't find myself minding at all when Jung sets up their comeuppance. Sang-chul, in particular, had it coming. Jung should have reported Mr Rapist a long time ago though.
The contrast between PHJ's acting and SKJ's is in their characters' personalities. Jung is restrained (to the point of emotional suffocation - which is how I see his character), and so PHJ's performance is subtle and limited to minute changes in his facial expression. In-ho is loud and brash, and SKJ's expressive acting reflects this.
What's missing are the pieces that will let us make sense of Jung. And those pieces have been removed from broadcast by the production team. PHJ's (nuanced) acting has nothing to do with this. It's squarely the CitT production team and CJ's fault. They have a good source material to draw scenes from, and they let it go to waste.
KK
February 27, 2016 at 5:56 AM
@AidaZen PHJ doesn't feel wronged, he WAS wronged. End of. And since the majority of the webtoon audience feels pretty upset all the way around no matter who their fav character, actor, or ship is...I'd say this drama started strong and ultimately failed.
merrym
February 27, 2016 at 6:40 AM
@KK, even if we choose to believe PHJ was wronged by his director, writer and everyone else involved in the drama, it all boils down to the fact he was hired for a job and his 'bosses' simply chose to under-utilize him as was expected by the 'fans'.
Basically, the production bosses simply wanted the drama to go a certain way because they saw benefit in it. I guess that's called business. Doesn't make it ideal though.
Much as I respect all actors, I do get to say when or not I enjoyed their performance. The less I saw of Jung, the happier I was. Sad for him but true.
Sorry if some are taking it personal like I have anything against the guy. Don't even hate/know him that well enough to make a judgement call.
When people call themselves Jung/PHJ fans and try to shove him down our throats, no one complains. But when Inho gets one extra scene or the actor SKJ is left looking good in an episode, it's an uproar. And people still pretend everyone can keep their own opinions? Yeah right.
pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 6:50 AM
@AidaZen - When people call themselves Jung/PHJ fans and try to shove him down our throats, no one complains.
You know, if you're reduced to making strawman arguments in the attempt to defend the pathetic behavior of the production and downplay the reason for the fans' annoyance in the first place, I'd suggest a little continued reflection on the simple fact that your opinion is not representative of general opinion at large, and on why you have such a problem with the fact once you've understood it.
Dani
February 27, 2016 at 9:39 AM
the less of Jung the happier I was
Said you. And not many of that you.
Many of fans wants more Jung. That's why the uproar. Jung didn't do anything for you. Well, that's your problem, not Jung's, and not us.
The fans has spoken, that they want more of Jung's character. And no, not the piano boy brooding while throwing trash.
Petra
February 28, 2016 at 1:07 PM
@AidaZen
Lol. PHJ never had his acting skills put in question because of this.
I'm glad you liked SKJ's performance but your SUBJECTIVE preference doesn't relate to the real world where a heavy, heavy majority of Korean and Chinese (buyers) are impressed with PHJ. If your theory made sense, ppl would not be angry and yelling corruption.
There are rational SKJ fans here and have been throughout the show and the forum and their points been welcomed.
I like SKJ performance here but to say it outshone PHJ's and had a bigger impact on the audience at large is not true. I read Korean and even in the early scenes, everyone was talking about how good PHJ was in that role. They said SKJ had surprisingly improved as an actor and praised him for that. NOT that he outshone PHJ or KGE.
You're saying your minority view was enough to warrant pushing out the majority view AND ruining the storyline, but that makes no sense. No wonder you don't understand the hubbub.
I don't know if you know there is a whole art to storytelling but there is. Dramabeans has writers, film critics, editors who comment regularly and we have already weighed in on this.
This is not a fan war. This is a war on drama creators who insult the intelligence of the audience.
Dani
February 27, 2016 at 9:34 AM
Maybe because you can see and read that In Ho fans are indeed petty, and maybe do not even know what good acting is. I mean comparing SKJ acting with PHJ and KGE, is really not apple to apple.
He has so much to catch up, and so much to learn. Shoving him in front of our screen is not the way. And the pettiness of the fans will get the backlash to him too.
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JISG
February 28, 2016 at 9:02 AM
Oh I have one for reasons why we you don't like InHo:
"That's because you're not classy and don't like classy things like classy piano playing classy music, PEASANTS!! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO CHOPIN IS?!?!"
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KK
February 28, 2016 at 12:36 PM
Instead of wrecking people's lives as people say he does, why didn't Jung just choose to go around wrecking pianos? That could be his form of therapy and release of suppressed emotions. Or maybe this time I'm just speaking for myself.
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Petra
February 28, 2016 at 1:12 PM
Wasn't Chopin that bullied Piano kid who crushed InHo's hand with a baseball bat? You know, the one Jung gets blamed for?
Lol. Just kidding. But I believe that's what Inho mockingly called him in the webtoon.
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Kween Ramyeon
February 28, 2016 at 10:30 AM
Oh I forgot, here's another:
"Yoo Jung's character is a walking blackhole".
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pigsnout
February 28, 2016 at 7:42 PM
lmao what? Seriously the excuses are the funniest.
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198 missjb
February 27, 2016 at 5:18 AM
If it's about acting PHJ got less screentime though, It's better they focus on the woman's story... There is so much more to explore about the woman and their char and their conflict are more interesting to explore than the boys. Lee Sung Kyung (if she is not overact) and Kim Go Eun are both blow out of the boys, especially if the director and writers give them a richer material. Their acting range is way better than the BOYS!! ^^
seriously... And the boys who act as Sangchul is awsome to, especially in that last scene with Jung.... So glad he has a moment to shine.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
February 27, 2016 at 5:36 AM
I know, it's particularly disappointing that Kim Go-eun's first experience of working on television, had to turn out like this.
I've been a fan ever since Eun-gyo and was thrilled when she was cast as Seol, but knowing that she is also part of the cut scenes with Park Hae-jin, just leaves a very bad taste in my mouth because she's been cheated out of her screen time too, if not to the same extent as PHJ.
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KK
February 27, 2016 at 5:38 AM
...it's not about acting.
If it was about acting Jung's childhood wouldn't have been cut (which is crucial to understanding Jung) unless you think PHJ was made to portray a child.
This is about how a webtoon writer and lead actor were mistreated by people they trusted who didn't even communicate with them properly. It's a matter of disrespect.
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Petra
February 28, 2016 at 1:21 PM
I'm going to have to agree that they should have focused more on the women. They should have continued to show it from Seol's perspective. That was so much fun in the beginning.
I'd have appreciated a small foray into Jung's mind only because we got so little of it but Seol was the main character and should not have been reduced to the object of someone's (unwilling) crush.
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199 samoa
February 27, 2016 at 5:28 AM
@all SKJ fans, when you feel proud your bias gained something due to other actor popularity and hard effort, there is something wrong in your upbringing-consult your parent after this ok.
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200 Den
February 27, 2016 at 5:45 AM
I've been leaving comments in tvN's yt, fb, & twitter. I feel like I shouldn't really take it that far since I still have hopes that they haven't gone that crazy as to continue on their less Yoo Jung screentime rampage, but better that they know that not only the local and Chinese fans who are wary of the controversy surrounding CITT.
I haven't gone far as to say that CITT has been a disappointment to me (although, yes, for the last two episodes I've only been replaying the few scenes of our main couple and been skipping the rest). I'm ever optimistic and I'm really thankful that this show made me feel a lot of things and got me through stressful work days. I'm not ready to throw this show out the disappointing endings bin (like Personal Taste or AM1988) so I'm still a little excited for Monday and Tuesday to come. Although instead of champagne to celebrate my CITT love, I'm bringing out my AM1988 bottle of soju. Just in case.
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pigsnout
February 28, 2016 at 10:08 AM
I don't think it's wrong to do that.... surely as international fans, we can also say we are disappointed? And let tvN know that?
It's also wrong to compare this situation to Reply like some of us are doing, that's not fair to the Reply team or PD because the husband hunt was there from the beginning.
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