"I Live Alone" controversy over an impromptu trip to Kazakhstan shows no sign of ending. Even a friend of Jun Hyun-moo explained the travel method at the time to lend support, but suspicions persisted, and after the production team issued a second official statement, criticism arose asking why Jun Hyun-moo should bear the blame alone.
The controversy began with the MBC "I Live Alone" episodes broadcast on the 14th and 21st. On the broadcast, Jun Hyun-moo used an unexpectedly free day to head to the airport, and at the site chose Almaty, Kazakhstan, as his destination and presented an impromptu trip that arranged flights, accommodation and a rental car on the spot.
But after the broadcast some viewers questioned whether all of this could have been arranged spontaneously when multiple staff move for overseas shoots. With criticism even about the local rental car procedures, the broadcast's shown "impromptu" nature turned into a debate over how spontaneous it really was.
The suspicions flared when it was revealed that Almaty city had introduced that the Almaty tourism bureau provided support for the shoot.
On the 25th the production team explained there was no record of receiving filming support or sponsorship for this Kazakhstan trip. They said the rental car was obtained by submitting an international driving permit and passport that the local company required just before departure. They acknowledged that they belatedly confirmed through the embassy that a separate notarization procedure was necessary after the broadcast and admitted that their verification had been insufficient.
A friend A who traveled with Jun Hyun-moo at the time also revealed on social media past experiences of impromptu trips they had taken together. They described in detail how they found a destination at the airport, nearly failed to get tickets, searched for seats online and even took different flights, explaining that it had inspired this broadcast. Jun Hyun-moo also left a "like" on that post. However, A's post was later deleted, and as additional suspicions continued online the controversy was not quelled.
In the end the production team issued another official statement on the 31st. This time they reiterated that they did not receive monetary sponsorship or production funding from the Almaty tourism bureau, while also stating that they received administrative procedures needed for local filming and on-site cooperation for filming.
Unlike the first statement that said there was no filming support or sponsorship, the second statement specifically revealed that there had been local administrative and filming cooperation. However, because the production team's denial of monetary sponsorship or production funding and the local administrative and filming cooperation are not necessarily the same concept, it is also necessary to guard against immediately interpreting this as an admission of fabrication.
Nevertheless, after two rounds of explanations the part viewers were most curious about—how much of the impromptu trip emphasized in the broadcast was real—was not clearly detailed, leaving questions. The problem is that much of the criticism during that process has been concentrated on the performer Jun Hyun-moo personally. Comments on Jun Hyun-moo's social media range from demands for explanations about the broadcast content to accusations using terms such as "staged" and "lies."
But the party that decides the composition, direction and filming methods of a broadcast is not a single performer. In particular, the party that issued two official statements after the controversy and explained the filming process was not Jun Hyun-moo but the "I Live Alone" production team. If there remain production process issues that should be explained to viewers, that responsibility should be addressed at the production-team and program level as well.
Questioning the broadcast content and turning a performer into a "scapegoat" are separate matters. If one wants to ask how the "impromptu trip" shown by Jun Hyun-moo in front of the camera was created, the questions should now be aimed not only at Jun Hyun-moo personally but also at the production team that planned, filmed and broadcast those scenes.
[photo] I Live Alone
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