Jung Jun-won, who appeared on Hangout With Yoo, became embroiled in an appearance controversy following the earlier attitude controversy.
On the March 1 broadcast of MBC's Hangout With Yoo, presented as the short-form drama "Shoot It," the leads of the new Friday-Saturday drama A Bona fide Killer, Kong Hyojin and Jung Jun-won, appeared to audition for director Yu Jae-seok's short-form drama.
As it was his first variety show appearance, Jung Jun-won looked visibly nervous throughout, seemingly unfamiliar with the setting. While Joo Woo-jae tried to ease the mood with a joke, saying "you'll be kicked out soon," to calm the fidgeting Jung Jun-won, it did not work, and Jung Jun-won could not even utter a single line in the segment meant to showcase his primary work of acting. Even though Yu Jae-seok managed the situation and gave him a second chance, Jung Jun-won ultimately could not deliver the line, drawing sighs.
An attitude controversy immediately erupted. Although it was his first variety appearance and could be unfamiliar, critics said he should have shown at least basic preparation and initiative, noting that members of Hangout With Yoo and Kong Hyojin actively stepped in to ease the mood and help him adapt, yet he failed to properly show even his main work.
Some defended Jung Jun-won, saying he may have frozen because he is naturally introverted, but they faced backlash pointing out that Yu Jae-seok and Joo Woo-jae are also introverted yet fulfill their duties, so Jung Jun-won should show comparable effort or initiative.
An appearance controversy followed the attitude controversy. After the broadcast, clips posted on YouTube continued to draw comments about Jung Jun-won's looks, generating another controversy. Commenters agreed that Jung Jun-won did not have the looks of a leading actor and blamed director Shin Won-ho, who first cast him as the lead in Resident Playbook. They reacted with comments such as "He wouldn't even be a supporting actor in the past," "I had almost forgotten but the stinky tofu face is back," "Why keep calling him a tofu face — being a tofu face doesn't mean being ugly," "I feel like the world is secretly filming me," "It's annoying that he keeps getting handsome roles," and "How on earth did he become an ambassador?"
Comments on the video surpassed 1,000, and while some pointed out the attitude controversy, most focused on criticizing his appearance. However, Jung Jun-won, who debuted in 2015, has grown through films such as Park Yeol, Little Forest, Believer 2 and dramas such as VIP, Hush, and A Model Family, and he secured the lead while fitting the characters in Resident Playbook and A Bona fide Killer. Judging lead or supporting status solely by appearance is a behavior that should be avoided.
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