"Stop the drama and punish them," 청와대 petition rises
A scene from the KBS1 drama 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' where a horse falls heavily to the ground, raising suspicions of animal abuse. Photo by KBS1
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] As it became known that the horse used in the filming of the fall scene in the KBS drama 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' died within a week, protests demanding the cancellation of the broadcast are pouring in.
On the 20th, a petition titled "Please stop the serialization of the KBS drama that treats animals as props for filming and punish them" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.
The animal organization 'Animal Freedom Coalition' released footage from the filming of the KBS drama 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' / Photo by Animal Freedom Coalition
The petitioner explained, "In episode 7 of the drama, to film the scene where the main character Yi Seong-gye falls off a horse, the production team forcibly hung the horse on a wire, lifting the horse's body at a 90-degree angle," adding, "The horse, which toppled headfirst to the ground, lay motionless alone for a long time, and it was not confirmed whether the horse was alive or injured."
They continued, "Animals were treated as props for just a one-second cut," urging, "Please stop the drama serialization and punish them." As of 10 a.m. on the 21st, just one day after the petition was posted, it had received support from over 38,000 people.
On the official KBS Taejong Yi Bang-won website, netizens are also flooding the site with protests. On the viewer board that day, many posts condemned the production team for inadequate animal safety management during filming, with comments such as "Please cancel the drama," "The license fee is a waste," "There is no respect for the sanctity of life," and "Killing an animal just to shoot that trivial drama. Like demons..."
On the 20th, a petition to stop the broadcast of KBS's 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. / Photo by Blue House National Petition Board capture
This controversy was revealed on the 19th through a statement by the Animal Freedom Union. The Animal Freedom Union stated, "The scene in Taejong Yi Bang-won where the horse was forcibly knocked down is clear animal abuse," and pointed out, "This clearly exposes the ongoing issue of animal abuse on filming sets that has been continuously raised."
In the video posted along with the statement by the Animal Freedom Union, a horse carrying an actor runs through a forest, gets caught on a wire, and falls. Due to the impact, the horse spins once in the air, falls headfirst to the ground, and the actor riding the horse is also thrown forward, rolling on the ground. The video ends with nearby staff rushing urgently toward the actor and the horse after witnessing the accident.
After the video was released and the 'animal abuse' controversy grew, the production team of 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' issued an official statement that day, saying, "The fall scene is a very difficult shoot, so the safety of the horse is fundamental, and the safety of the actor riding the horse and the staff filming it must also be considered," adding, "For this reason, the production team prepared and checked in advance for any possible accidents that might occur."
Posts condemning the fall accident at the filming site were also uploaded by netizens on the KBS viewer feedback board. / Photo by KBS official website capture
They continued, "Despite these efforts, during the actual filming, the actor fell far from the horse, and an accident occurred where the horse's upper body hit the ground hard," adding, "Immediately after the accident, the horse stood up on its own, and after confirming there were no visible injuries, the horse was sent back."
However, it is known that the horse died about a week after filming. The production team said, "As viewers' concerns grew, we checked the horse's condition and unfortunately confirmed that it died about a week after filming," emphasizing, "Through this accident, we confirmed that there was a problem with the method of filming the fall scene. We will find other filming and expression methods to prevent recurrence of the accident, and seek ways to ensure animal safety on set."
Animal rights groups have classified this accident as 'animal abuse' and plan to file a police complaint against KBS. The animal organization 'Kara' stated on its official Instagram on the 20th, "The horse that ultimately died is clear animal abuse," adding, "We have sent an official letter and Kara's animal appearance media guidelines to the KBS production company. The person responsible on set will be reported to the police for animal abuse."
According to Article 8 of the current Animal Protection Act, causing injury to animals for purposes such as gambling, advertising, entertainment, or amusement, or selling photos or videos of such acts, is defined as 'animal abuse.'
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