KBS K-Drama "Young Lady And Gentleman" Faces Heavy Criticism For Airing Two "Unnecessarily Violent" Scenes

With actor Ji Hyun Woo snatching the daesang (Grand Prize) at the 2021 KBS Drama Awards for his lead role, KBS‘s weekend K-Drama Young Lady And Gentleman has become one of the leading series for the channel. And with its viewer ratings reaching an all-time high at 36% nationwide, Young Lady And Gentleman is becoming a must-watch for all K-Drama fans.

“Young Lady And Gentleman” Poster | *KBS*

The latest episode, however, has sparked heavy criticism from the viewers for being “too violent.” Some scenes, capturing the physical interactions between the characters Park Soo Chul (portrayed by actor Lee Jong Won) and Anna Kim (portrayed by actress Lee Il Hwa), were deemed “inappropriate, especially to air during a weekend evening for the whole family to watch.”

Actor Lee Jong Won for the role of Park Soo Chul. | *KBS*

The scenes included Park Soo Chul slapping Anna Kim, threatening to kill her if he sees her again…

Today… I’m not going to kill you. But the next time I see you, I might. So if you want to live, don’t ever let me catch you again. Don’t ever let Dandan see you.

— Park Soo Chul

…as well as him shoving her into a chair and making her beg on her knees for forgiveness.

Following the broadcast, viewers flocked to the KBS channel’s bulletin board and complained that the two scenes felt “unnecessarily violent and detailed,” pointing out that “violence is never the answer.”

“The scenes are too violent and unpleasant to watch.”
“Isn’t this supposed to be a weekend series?”
“The show is a bit too violent.”
“It’s 2022 and we’re still seeing women get slapped and bruised…”
“About that slap scene.”
“Violence is never the answer. Don’t try to give it reason, don’t cross that line.”
“Why is this episode so violent?”
“Some of the scenes are way too violent.”

Online communities have, too, voiced their concerns about the violence. While some tried to “understand” the scenes as being crucial to the plot and character development, most agreed that the scenes including violence may not have been all that appropriate for a PG-15 K-Drama.

“Anna Kim may have played Soo Chul dirty but he cannot go beat her up. Maybe to some people, there is a sense of ‘pay back’ in those scenes. But it is simply unacceptable for a national television channel to air such violent scenes in a weekend family K-Drama.”
“I didn’t find those scenes to be suitable for airing on a national television channel, on a weekend evening. And I honestly don’t understand those who want to defend the series saying she deserved to be beaten?”
“It’s the weekend. It’s a family K-Drama. It had no right to get that violent. It could have easily been avoided, too.”
“The scenes definitely felt unnecessarily violent. Yes, Anna Kim screwed up really badly. But slapping her and threatening to kill her…?”
“Like, whoa. KBS is a media company. Let’s keep that in mind before airing something like that. The reality may be much worse, but that doesn’t make this acceptable.”
“It’s more problematic because it aired on KBS channel. When I watch weekend K-Dramas on KBS, it’s most definitely not so I can watch some woman get beat up.”

Watch the full clip here.