Hit K-Drama “When the Camellia Blooms” Under Massive Fire For Using Real Footages Of Actual Accidents
The final episode of the hit K-Drama series When the Camellia Blooms, which raked in a significant viewer rating of over 20%, is now under fire for using real footages from actual accidents that happened in the past, without consulting the involved victims first.
As a way of conveying the idea that miracles don’t exist, but superheroes in average people do, the final episode of When the Camellia Blooms shared a news footage from 2015, covering a car accident from which a group of good samaritan citizens helped rescue a high school student stuck under a vehicle.
The said victim of the accident, now a college student, came across the scene and uploaded a petition on KBS’s website asking for the production team to delete the scene and apologize for using a footage from her accident without her permission.
Hello, I am the victim of the accident that took place near Masan station on July 3, 2015. I overcame the accident and and began attending college. However, the accident remains a huge nightmare to me. While I did not watch the drama, I heard from a friend that an actual footage from my accident was used in the final episode of the show… Since I saw the said footage, I have become traumatized by memories from the accident again.
— Victim
The petition pointed out it was entirely thoughtless and unprofessional of the production team to use her footage without considering how she as the actual victim might feel about seeing it on national television again.
It horrifies me to think that the moment of my accident is being used like this. It horrifies me to think that people watch that moment and talk about it. How could a national broadcasting station like KBS do such an inconsiderate thing to a victim? The accident has always remained a nightmare for me and my family. I still have scars left all over my body from that very accident. I still have to deal with people looking at my scars. I still have remaining surgeries to go through because of the accident. If the production team had any idea, the footage would not have been used.
— Victim
Unfortunately, this is not the only case for which the production team of When the Camellia Blooms faces criticism. Concerned viewers voiced their frustration with the production team after noticing that in its previous episodes, another real footage from a different accident was used.
This news footage from 2019, covering an accident of a construction elevator falling and killing three on site, was used multiple times to explain the background of why one of the characters has a physical disability.
Netizens are finding it extremely disturbing that the production team had no issues with airing footages that could be hurtful to those who were actually involved.
When the Camellia Blooms production team is yet to respond to any of the growing criticism — all the while viewers continue to express great disappointment in the series.
