I Live Alone issued three statements and apologized over controversy surrounding Jun Hyun-moo's impromptu trip to Kazakhstan, but it appears more time is needed to win over viewers.
A recent portal site is running a user poll under the headline, "What do you think about 'I Live Alone' Jun Hyun-moo's impromptu trip controversy?" As of the 13th (11:25 p.m.), interim results published show that of the 2,212 participants, 1,595, or 72%, responded "viewer deception disguised as spontaneity." By contrast, 617 respondents, or 28%, said it was "staged for the sake of entertainment."
Comments also continued to criticize the production team's "impromptu trip" setup. One user who received the most agreement said, "They could just say they went on a trip. Why call it 'impromptu' and act it out?" expressing doubts about the broadcast process that made it look as if the destination was chosen on the spot and the production team's subsequent explanation. Another user similarly left a comment saying that if it was staged for the broadcast, an explanation was needed so viewers would not be misled.
On the other hand, some say responsibility for this controversy should not be focused solely on Jun Hyun-moo. Responding to calls for a direct apology from Jun Hyun-moo, one user said, "Jun Hyun-moo probably did what he was told. He didn't plan it himself, and he seemed to try to be spontaneous about the details," arguing that responsibility for the production process and the performer's responsibility should be distinguished.
The controversy began with Jun Hyun-moo's Kazakhstan trip episode broadcast last month. The program emphasized that Jun Hyun-moo chose his destination at the airport in an "impromptu trip," but questions about the authenticity were raised after revelations about the production team's prior preparations and local filming cooperation. In response, the I Live Alone production team said on the 4th that while Jun Hyun-moo decided the destination and tickets that day, they judged that Kazakhstan was a likely choice, so they had preissued staff tickets and requested local filming cooperation.
They said that while they did not receive financial sponsorship or production funding from the Almaty city tourism authority, it is true that they received help with administrative procedures needed for overseas filming and cooperation for on-site operations. They apologized for the confusion caused by insufficient prior explanations. Regarding violations of local regulations that arose during a rental car driving segment, they acknowledged the production team's lack of regulatory knowledge and insufficient preparation and bowed, saying they would review production methods from the ground up.
Since then, I Live Alone has continued broadcasting normally and returned to its original flow, including releasing behind-the-scenes footage of the rainbow members' filming sites on its official social media channels.
However, despite three statements, the ongoing user poll currently shows that responses saying "viewer deception" exceed 70%. Of course, since the poll runs until Oct. 5, the final result could change, but public sentiment is chilly. Especially notable is that criticism is focusing less on whether preparations were made in advance and more on the program's emphasis on "spontaneity" in the broadcast, raising questions about whether I Live Alone can dispel remaining distrust and win back viewers.
[Photo] I Live Alone logo capture, Nate portal site
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