“Time” Scriptwriter’s Whereabouts Resurfaces Amid Actor Kim Jung Hyun’s Apologetic Speech

When actor Kim Jung Hyun apologized for “times when [he] behaved poorly and did things [he] should never have done” at the “2024 KBS Drama Awards”…

…his said “poor behavior” at the press conference for and on the set of the 2018 MBC K-Drama, Time, resurfaced.

Actor Kim Jung Hyun’s Hotly-Debated “Apology” Finally Airs—Here’s What He Actually Said

After displaying blatant rudeness toward his co-star, Girls’ Generation‘s Seohyun, Kim Jung Hyun excused himself as being too immersed in his complicated, dark character. But in a 2021 Dispatch exposé, it was revealed that his relationship with actress Seo Ye Ji resulted in such behavior.

After a long hiatus and multiple apologies, Kim Jung Hyun eventually made his way back into the entertainment business. There is, however, someone who never recovered from what happened during the production of Time and Kim Jung Hyun’s actions throughout the shoot.

A viral post highlighting the whereabouts of Time scriptwriter Choi Ho Chul garnered a lot of attention following Kim Jung Hyun’s acceptance speech the “2024 KBS Drama Awards.” Before Time, Choi had successfully written the 2013 Secret and the 2015 Mask, becoming one of the hottest rising K-Drama scriptwriters in the scene.

So, the thing is, Choi Ho Chul isn’t usually the type to release script books, but right after Time ended, he released one. There were a lot of reviews saying the script book is actually packed with a lot of romance scenes.

— Netizen

According to this post and a TENASIA article from 2021, though, Choi Ho Chul has quit scriptwriting after Time and has forever left the career of K-Drama production.

While writing Time, scriptwriter Choi Ho Chul suffered a ruptured appendix but continued working with a drainage bag attached. Choi had to revise the script multiple times due to Kim Jung Hyun’s request to remove all romantic/intimate scenes. After Time, Choi stopped his writing activities.

— TENASIA Reporter Woo Bin

Under the post, K-Drama fans lamented losing a “classic romance scriptwriter” like Choi Ho Chul to the scandal and, inevitably, blamed Kim Jung Hyun for it.

• “Time scriptwriter was a classic romance scriptwriter. We don’t get those now… It’s unfathomable how exhausting it must have been.”
• “I’m boycotting Kim Jung Hyun forever, for f*ck’s sake. What’s his problem?”
• “Stop casting him. No one wants to see his face.”

• “I feel terrible for the scriptwriter… All because he was set up to write for the wrong male lead.”
• “It does kind of make me wonder, though. Kim Jung Hyun was a rising actor who hadn’t taken on too many lead roles before. How did he get away with power tripping this hard?”
• “Kim Jung Hyun and Seo Ye Ji made so many people suffer—especially the female lead for Time and the scriptwriter.”

Meanwhile, Seohyun sent a Bubble message to her fans that has since been speculated to be about the controversial speech. Read more about it here:

Girls’ Generation Seohyun’s Message Speculated To Be About Actor Kim Jung Hyun’s Speech