by Ra Hwak Jin / Cha Min Kyung
◇ Actor Kim Seon-ho causes a scene with abortion scandal
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| ▲ Actor Kim Seon-ho in this photo provided by tvN (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
This week's entertainment scene in South Korea was in total shock all week due to an abortion scandal involving actor Kim Seon-ho, who instantly shot to stardom for his role in the tvN romantic comedy "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha."
The controversy started when an online post was uploaded on the afternoon of Oct. 17, which was the same day the last episode of "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" aired.
An anonymous writer, who claimed to be a former girlfriend of rising star "Actor K," wrote that she had allegedly been coerced by the actor to get an abortion while they were dating and was notified to be broken up with after erasing her child.
As the post went viral on the Internet, and many people started to speculate that "Actor K" referred to Kim.
While the 35-year-old actor remained silent, media interviews with the main cast, including Kim and actress Shin Min-a, which were scheduled to commemorate the successful ending of "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha," were canceled.
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| ▲ This combined image, provided by tvN, shows scenes from "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
In addition, the production team for KBS' entertainment show "2 Days & 1 Night," where Kim appears as a regular cast member, decided to drop out Kim.
Kim has now failed to star in all of his next scheduled films, such as "Sad Tropics" and "Dog Days."
On Wednesday, three days after the controversy erupted, Kim belatedly admitted and apologized, saying, "I hurt her due to my carelessness and inconsiderate behavior."
Kim's alleged former girlfriend then wrote she had received an apology from him and that "there were misunderstandings" between them.
She also said she did not want to see any more false information publicized or exaggerated stories about them reproduced.
"We will take all possible legal measures against malicious news reports, posts, and comments," a law firm in charge of Kim's former girlfriend said.
◇ "Squid Game" continues to be favored worldwide while other K-dramas such as 'My Name' starts to rise in popularity
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| ▲ This promotional image of Squid Game is provided by Netflix. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
The global popularity of Netflix's smash hit Korean series "Squid Game" has been ongoing for a month while other Korean drama series are rising in fame around the world.
"Squid Game" remains as the world's most popular Netflix TV show for 30 days as of October 21, according to rankings offered by streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol.
On the same day, other Korean drama series, such as "My Name," starring actress Han So-hee, ranked third while "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" ranked No. 7.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Netflix, shows the drama poster for "My Name." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
Bloomberg estimated the value of Netflix's "Squid Game" to be at 891.1 million dollars, according to documents the company obtained, while the production cost totaled to only 21.4 million dollars, showing how efficient the show has been for Netflix.
Bloomberg also analyzed that the outstanding success of "Squid Game" had a positive effect on the overall Korean entertainment industry.
In addition, "Squid Game" has been nominated in two categories at 2021 Gotham Awards, an annual U.S. awards ceremony for lower-budget indie movies and TV series. "Squid Game" is the only foreign-language show in the breakthrough TV series category, while lead actor Lee Jung-jae is one of two non-English performers to make the cut, alongside French actor Omar Sy from "Lupin."
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