Real SBS Weather Forecasters Speak Out About Netflix’s “The Glory” Scenes That Caused Misunderstandings About Their Job
Netflix‘s K-Drama The Glory was all the rage earlier this year—to the point where adding “Yeon Jin” to the end of sentences became a trend.
This trend refers to the protagonist Moon Dong Eun (played by Song Hye Kyo) addressing her enemy and childhood bully Park Yeon Jin (played by Lim Ji Yeon) by name throughout the K-Drama. In particular, the scene where Moon Dong Eun claps for her enemy while saying, “Bravo, Yeon Jin!” became viral.
In the show, the bully Yeon Jin grows up to become a weather forecaster who marries a rich man. Even as a grown-up, Yeon Jin bullies staff members at her workplace, making them write her forecast for her and put on her heels for her.
Recently, current SBS weather forecasters Nam Eugene and An Su Jin shared how The Glory didn’t accurately portray their jobs. On an episode of SBS Power FM‘s radio show Cultwo Show that aired on June 2, the two shared that they were frustrated because they felt misunderstood after the show.
First, they addressed the ghostwriting scene in The Glory, where Yeon Jin made a staff member write her reports for her.
To be honest, it’s not impossible to hire a writer to write the script for you. You can pay someone to do it. [However,] There are no broadcasters or weathercasters who do so.
— Nam Eugene and An Su Jin
They also addressed the scene where Yeon Jin made a staff member put on her heels for her—clarifying that weathercasters rarely wear heels in the first place.
We actually wear sneakers to work. We don’t wear heels because our feet don’t show, only our upper body shows. It’s uncomfortable wearing heels… When there is a typhoon, we need to run. In that case, heels are uncomfortable.
— Nam Eugene and An Su Jin
Then they talked about the scene where Yeon Jin tells her husband, Ha Do Young (played by Jung Sung Il), about her schedule change. Yeon Jin reveals that she got “pushed out” to report the early morning news “because of her age.” The SBS weather forecasters claimed they were “very upset” at this scene.
An Su Jin, currently reporting SBS’s 6 a.m. weather forecast, clarified that the early morning news is not for forecasters who are “pushed out” of schedules just because they are older.
I’m in charge of the early morning report. When Yeon Jin said she got ‘pushed out because of her age,’ I thought people might misunderstand that I’m doing the early morning news because of my age… Everyone reports at times that fit our images the best.
— An Su Jin
Lastly, they addressed the salary of weather forecasters brought up in The Glory. In the show, Yeon Jin argues with a fellow forecaster and reveals she gets a monthly salary of ₩2.20 million KRW (about $1,680 USD).
This broadcasting station may pay me only 2.2 million won a month, but my husband spends 220 million won.
— Yeon Jin in The Glory
Nam Eugene and An Su Jin responded to the salary mentioned in this scene, claiming this is not necessarily true.
This is a sensitive topic. We’re freelancers, not full-time employees. It depends on the broadcasting companies and the time slots. We both work at SBS but we can’t say we get 2.2 million won because each program we’re in charge of is different.
— Nam Eugene and An Su Jin
Previously, another SBS weather forecaster Yang Tae Bin addressed the salary portrayed in The Glory, sharing that although salaries differ by person, ₩2.20 million KRW (about $1,680 USD) was what she received in her college years.
Although it varies by company, the type of news, how many years you worked, and person, weather forecasters generally receive more than that… To be honest, the amount shown here is the amount I made when I was in college… For reference, SBS tends to give a lot. It’s hard to reveal it fully, but I receive at least more than twice the salary shown here.
— Yang Tae Bin
Meanwhile, Lim Ji Yeon reported the weather on JTBC‘s Newsroom, acting as Yeon Jin after the show ended, exciting The Glory fans. Many praised her professional delivery of the forecast, and the clip went viral.
