"It was painful, and I cried a lot." The drama 'Won-gyeong' has remained a hot potato even after its conclusion. Situations around the exposure scenes of actors Cha Joo-young, Lee Hyun-wook, and Lee Yi-dam have led to speculations of body doubles and forced scenes. The soaring production costs and lack of communication have caused confusion.
# The start of 19+, production cost inflation
According to OSEN's coverage on the 21st, the bed scenes in the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama and Tving original 'Won-gyeong', which concluded on the 11th, existed from the pre-planning stage. However, the lack of communication regarding the '19+' rating, specifically concerning exposure levels, has caused confusion.
'Won-gyeong' is a work co-produced by Studio Dragon and JS Pictures. Like the majority of recent productions, 'Won-gyeong' was also primarily planned for global OTT release, represented by Netflix.
Netflix holds preferential rights for the global release of certain works produced by Studio Dragon. Generally, there is a strong preference for tentpole works that draw attention, such as 'Queen of Tears' starring Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won. However, in 2022, 'Won-gyeong' did not make it to the Netflix lineup.
According to OSEN's coverage, the total production cost of 'Won-gyeong' amounts to approximately 18 billion won. Recently, inflation on production sites has consistently been raised as an issue, with 10 billion won projects becoming the norm. Along with the industry's recession, there has been a significant burden of expenses. To share this burden, tvN and Tving decided to jointly plan 'Won-gyeong.'
# Lack of communication between bed scenes and exposure levels
When the project was planned in March 2023, 'Won-gyeong' already included bed scenes. This setting is meant to illuminate the marital relationship between King Taejong Lee Bang-won and Queen Won-gyeong. However, there was a call for a need for more liberal expression. Additionally, to differentiate itself from another jointly planned tvN and Tving project, 'I Don't Want to Lose,' 'Won-gyeong' was given the condition of being rated for viewers aged 19 and older.
According to broadcasting officials, filming for 'Won-gyeong' began in October 2023. Hence, the production team's official stance is that there was ample discussion regarding bed scenes and the level of exposure during the planning, casting, and filming processes. In an interview conducted after the conclusion, lead actress Cha Joo-young noted, "I am quite courageous when it comes to boldness. I have no hesitation as an actress," while Lee Hyun-wook, who played Lee Bang-won, stated, "I expected this would be an issue and approached filming with that understanding."
However, there seems to have been insufficient detailed agreement on the actual monitoring of exposure scenes. The actors remarked, "There were many discussions and agreements, but there are certainly areas where calculations were lacking," and "It is true that there were regrets regarding communication. I confirmed the level of exposure on screen after watching the broadcast." Nevertheless, they all agreed, "Many people worked hard for the sake of the project. We do not want the early exposure scenes to be in vain."
(This continues in "[Exclusive②] Not anyone's chest, 'Won-gyeong'")
/ monamie@osen.co.kr
[Photo] Provided by tvN and Tving.
[OSEN=Yeon Hwi-sun reporter]