"Many Programs Lack Assistant Directors Due to Insufficient License Fees"… KBS Explains 'Byeongsan Seowon Damage'

KBS Drama Production Team Damaged Byeongsan Seowon Last Year
Drama Center Head: "Few Staff and Overwhelming Workload"
"Guidelines for Prevention in Place... We Apologize"

KBS, which caused controversy by hammering nails seven times at Byeongsan Seowon in Andong, Gyeongbuk, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, has explained that the main reasons for the damage to the seowon were insufficient license fees and labor conditions. According to the January meeting minutes of the Viewer Committee on the KBS website on the 12th, there was a question regarding the issue of the KBS 2TV drama 'I Took Namju's First Night' filming team damaging Byeongsan Seowon by hammering nails. This meeting was held on the 16th of last month.

UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, Byeongsan Seowon in Andong, Gyeongbuk. Official website

At that time, Kim Young-jo, head of the KBS Drama Center, said, "First of all, I am truly sorry for the damage to the cultural heritage, and we will strive to ensure that such incidents never happen again. There is no excuse for hammering nails," but he also explained, "Perhaps because the license fees are not coming in much, there are many programs without assistant directors. This drama also had no assistant director, and there was only one KBS staff member on site. Therefore, there was no KBS staff member capable of responding to such incidents, and since they were freelancers, their awareness of such matters was very lacking."

He added, "Byeongsan Seowon is a special case," but also said, "The drama production sites are extremely busy, the production budget is limited, and due to the 52-hour workweek system, things have to proceed very quickly, so the reality is that there is a risk of accidents." He continued, "When I was young and working as an assistant director, we actually filmed in palaces. We used to light braziers and carry fire there," and said, "Now, with increased civic awareness, filming in places like palaces has become very difficult."

He also said, "The production guidelines to prevent recurrence are almost complete," and added, "We will provide sufficient education to outsourced staff and strive to prevent such incidents. We would appreciate your understanding that KBS is also in a very desperate situation."

Last December, the drama production team caused controversy by hammering nails in several places to install filming props at Mandaeru and Dongjae of Byeongsan Seowon. At that time, architect Min Seo-hong posted on his social media, "I visited Byeongsan Seowon and witnessed an absurd situation. A public broadcaster damaged cultural heritage by hammering nails into wooden pillars for drama filming."

Min said, "A middle-aged gentleman was protesting to the staff, and I could not just stand by, so I also asked, 'Is it okay to damage cultural heritage like that?'" He claimed, "The staff who were working responded irritably, saying, 'We already got permission from Andong City,' and 'If you're curious, you can inquire at the station. How many times do we have to explain that we got permission?' and started to get angry in a brazen manner."

After understanding the situation, Andong City filed a complaint against KBS for damaging cultural heritage, and KBS apologized for the damage and discarded all the filmed footage. On the 10th, the police sent three members of the KBS drama prop team who damaged Byeongsan Seowon to the prosecution on charges of violating the Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Act.