A popular Netflix drama starring IU and Park Bo Gum is now facing backlash over shocking treatment of extras and background actors.
On May 28, a post went viral online accusing the production of When Life Gives You Tangerines of serious mistreatment behind the scenes.
The anonymous poster claimed the working conditions were so bad that the drama gained a terrible reputation among background actors.
They wrote, “Among extra actors, this drama had a bad reputation for being the worst schedule to work on,” and shockingly added, “They even forced some of the cast members to shave their heads.”
The post claimed that even though this was a Netflix production, the team failed to provide basic support. “The production didn’t want to spend money on anyone who wasn’t a lead actor. They just focused on cutting costs,” the person wrote.
It was also alleged that during the cold winter filming period, elderly extras were left outside in the freezing weather and were only given 30 minutes to eat at a restaurant.
The writer added, “There was no food truck or tea table. The costume team didn’t even give extras thermal underwear.”
One especially heartbreaking claim said, “On a snowy day, extras were left waiting outside in the cold until one of the actors personally came over and brought them to a heater.”
The post also mentioned that in some cases, people’s hair was shaved or cut because the crew didn’t want to use wigs.
Although the identity of the poster has not been confirmed, many netizens believe the post is credible due to the detailed behind-the-scenes information shared.
When Life Gives You Tangerines follows the story of Ae Soon (played by IU), a brave and rebellious young woman from Jeju Island, and Gwan Shik (played by Park Bo Gum), a sincere and loyal man. The drama has been doing well internationally, ranking 4th on Netflix’s global non-English TV chart.
