The WTF-ery of the Cheese in the Trap production team apparently refuses to stop even after the drama’s finished airing. One would think the production would do everything possible to avoid further uproar with anything involving male lead Park Hae Jin, but alas that line of thinking appears to be wishful and completely out of reach of an increasingly bizarre and deranged Cheese production team. The official OST was released recently and included a collector’s edition photo book that normally would make die hard fans who shelled out money to buy the OST super happy. In this case it led to reopening the can of worms that was still squiggling around Park Hae Jin’s male lead role getting significantly downgraded in screen time and story line.
Aside from appearing on the drama poster that is used on the cover of the photo book, Park Hae Jin is missing completely from the entire collection. The books includes tons of filming stills of cast members Kim Go Eun, Seo Kang Joon, and Lee Sung Kyung but zero pictures of Park Hae Jin inside. The Cheese production claimed Park Hae Jin’s team only gave permission to use the cover photo, but Park Hae Jin’s side immediately shot back that the Cheese production only asked for permission on that one photo. I’m fairly certain who I believe in this he said-she said contradiction – it doesn’t rhyme with Cheese and supportsĀ the side that is not a raging collection of douchebags. I genuinely wished this wasn’t still happening because as much as it was a shitty thing that happened to Park Hae Jin his popularity and name recognition rose because of it, but the continued dismissal and disrespect for his hard work in this drama is still a bitter pill to swallow.
Park Hae Jin was standing behind Kim Go Eun in the original of the picture above but has been photoshopped out.
In the original script reading pictures, Park Hae Jin is on the far right of the frame, but in the picture that made it into the photo book he’s been cropped out in the collage.
this is beyond f-up, seriously W T F? what kind of beef did they have..
Talk about not taking the high road.
why are they doing this to him? take note future male leads of this production team/direction – they may screw you the way they screwed park hae jin. i’m outraged and i am not a fan of any of these actors.
the ‘will screw you up’ reputation has already attached to Seo Kang Joon too – two prospective male leads (In Siwan and Choi Woo Shik) have turned down the lead role in Entourage following the mess with Cheese.
I suppose they don’t want to risk having their screen time cut for his sake or tvn being the one with the favoritism, even though ISW was already the lead of one of tvn’s biggest and most critically acclaimed hits.
Did they not know how popular cutie Park Hae Jin is? Talking about shooting yourself in the foot.People tuned in mainly to see him..I know i did.
Someone needs to be fired for their sheer stupidity.
I am more into SKJ’s Company dirty play to made profit back to His company. their assumption maybe made SKJ’s more screentime = more love call = more projects = more profit. Change Plot without reason , there is might be some reason behind.
i am so curious why the PD is so Quiet, she prefer to quiet. from last Lee Dahee in East of Eden and Han Yeseul in Spy MyungWool if this happened, the production team has always a counter attack .
tell us your Story behind this PD nim
OMG so rude…. And TVN is just letting this all happen??
What is really going on? Did he piss someone off or something? I thought they ended well. What in the world happened? He’s still actively promoting this crap of a drama too. Wth is right!!!
Honestly, I don’t get what happened??
This is insanity! It’s as if the conflicts that characters had with Yoo Jung are manifesting in Park Hae Jin.
It’s either he did something fuxked up behind the scenes or the PD is just a bitch, either way there is always two sides to story .
I’m seriously scratching my head. What in the *bleep* happened?
It’s not like this is the first time he’s acted in a drama. Dude’s old enough and been through the drama conveyor belt enough times to be considered an industry veteran. You’d think he’s experienced enough to handle whatever insider political f&ckery there may be in a production. I’ve never heard of controversy surrounding his past roles. His acting record has to mean something, right? I haven’t liked all of his past dramas, but as far as I know, he takes acting seriously and puts out good performances.
But at the same time, it doesn’t make logical sense that the PD/writer/crew/team would screw with him just because. For shitz and giggles? Or because fate somehow gathered a mob of psychopaths to run the show? Doesn’t add up. Back in the day, the PD helmed Coffee Prince, so she’s not exactly without credentials either.
Something definitely happened behind scenes. Only we’ll never know the truth. My sympathy is with PHJ, but at the same time, my brain doesn’t want to blame the production team 100%. Whatever the case, it’s a pity this happened to his first show as male lead; I’ve been looking forward to him headlining a drama, and was going to watch CITT once the show finished airing. Only now I know to stay away. =(
This isn’t his first headlining role. He’s had tons of dramas (both in Korea and China) where he was the male lead.
Still, this is sooooo messed up. Are they paying him back for making them BEG him to take on the drama? But even that’s just crazy!
I heard rumors that someone higher-up (higher than PD, maybe the team leader she mentioned) offered him a sponsor deal and he refused and this is retaliation.
LOL Why the hell would PJH need a sponsor? He’s pretty much the show moneymaker machine. If true, that person needs their head checked.
about sponsor even lee youngae marrieed her sponsor.
so that things might be happened.
unbelievable but that is true according Knets
if PHJ was the one who did something wrong, there is NO WAY CJ E&M/the production would not have at least leaked the news by now.
True. They would do damage control. It has gotten so out of control. Crazy. I hope he comes out of this unscathed.
I do not think there was anything he did initially. if he actually did, they would never stay this quiet and not publicly pointing the finger at him. I think this is all the retaliation after the fact with all the uproar and him publicly talking about it. It seem this is more like a rebel from production team against the viewers and fans.
Lol Cheese in the Trap gate or Park Hae Jin gate is still going? Are they trying to ruin him or help him? Cause so far he looks like the winner since they keep getting him more support. His agency cracks me up by the way they retaliate. They don’t filter lol I just need him in a better drama with a better production team. You would think he killed that PD’S puppy or called her a bitch or something.
I don’t beleive for a damn second that PHJ didn’t do anything to piss someone from the production off. Maybe it wasn’t his fault and he was right all along but there’s a reason this keeps happening. I doubt a PD can be powerful enough to even eliminate him off the drama’s photobook. The production in general must be pissed. Can’t say if it’s PHJ’s fault but it does make me think.
I feel like this is CJ E&Mās retaliation after PHJ aired his side. The higher ups probably didnāt appreciate that he talked to the media about the behind-the-scenes brouhaha. They probably expected him to just keep quiet. What I want to know is the PDās side of the story, and why she chose to disregard PHJ, while catered to SKJās request to put adlibs to the script. Iām willing to bet that the conflict really originated from the PD and not from the actors.
yeah, the conflict either originated from the PD/director/or higher ups at CJ E&M. someone is really petty amongst them.
I agree. I think this is about him speaking out. When you get screwed in k-drama land, you are supposed to suck it up and take it. He didn’t and now we see how it’s gonna go.
ThePD had to apologize to the web toon originator/writer for changing her storyline as well as to the cast, audience and PHJ. PHJ, wasn’t the only one who got #%&!!!
What kind of insult could be so egregious to cause this kind of retaliation? For the PD and TVN potential law suits will be on the horizon from the writer….advertisers. Loss of future revenue from lack of viewership….lack of source material and second and third tier actors. Let’s face it, this PD should have enough of a thick skin working in this industry with every kind of Diva out there…
My thoughts are that this situation was not PHJ. Maybe she “liked” SKJ too much? Regardless, the PD is “cooked.”
Unleash the netizens!!!!
as I said above, if PHJ was the one at fault, we would have heard about it by now, however indirectly. Do we really think CJ E&M or other parties wouldn’t grab any chance they could to establish him as the one in the wrong, if he was?
This kind of public speaking-out has never happened in his decade-long career, it’s not a habit with him. That’s why it’s getting taken more seriously.
Damn, the disrespect is never ending. I can’t imagine what happened to piss off production crew this badly.
I’m kind of shocked. Why do this kind of thing??
Park Hae Jin had to have done something really really bad, because all this brouhaha doesn’t make sense otherwise. I’ve been silently following the updates, and the only side I’ve been hearing from is Park Hae Jin’s side, the production team did not even comment on the whole issue and just released a basic apology. And I believe if it was a minor issue TVN would have intervened and whipped everyone’s ass back into shape. Even his co-stars didn’t comment on the issue, and I don’t think any PD or scriptwriter would want to put such a collosal mark on their resume due to a simple fight or disagreement, after all they were not blind or sleeping when they chose him to be the male lead. So I believe he did something bad and is pretending to take the highroad, but this is very risky and could backfire on him, because other PD’s and production crew might not want to work with him after this, especially if he actually did something wrong. And no matter the amount of fans he gains he might be blackballed in the industry (seeing as the kdrama industry seems to be a tight knit community) and have difficulty finding acting jobs.
Then again, this is all speculation on my part, and I could be totally wrong.
my speculation is that park hae jin probably upset or offended some ‘higher up’ and they retaliated by reducing his screen time and messing up his character arc in ‘cheese in the trap.’ in any case, it’s upsetting that they messed up ‘cheese in the trap’ in the process and not to mention they were using park hae jin to promote the drama and even sell the drama to other countries…park hae jin has done plenty of dramas with no indication of any problems with the production staff even when it was a dud like dr. stranger – i would put this on the ‘higher up’ who didn’t have the decency to handle things better
Bingo. I want to believe whatever story PHJ has been telling but the more things are uncovered, the more I find it hard to believe he’s the innocent one in all this. How is it possible that the production house, the PD and even tvN as a channel isn’t giving their side? There’s obviously a lot more to this than what meets the eye and I refuse to jump the mass bandwagon in blaming the production for everything when it’s starting to look to me that PJH might have some fault in the whole ruckus. It’s the first time something like this is so blown over in the media and to go as far as excluding him from the OST photo book in an attempt to disregard him? That surely means he has pissed someone even before speaking out to the media and might have felt getting public sympathy was his best way out. Obviously we are all speculating and there can be even more to the story but it’s getting weirder and weirder by the day. Who in their right minds will believe the PD’s hate for PHJ alone can continue to ruin the little bits that remains of CITT? Even the cast is mum on the subject. And if I were brutally honest, PHJ may have gained a lot of fans but whether his words are true or not, it surely wouldn’t go down well with the industry biggies.
Goodness, why must he have done something wrong?? He rejected some sponsor deal and someone higher up is angry.
If he has made mistake, he will not be still so popular and getting offers.
Park Hae Jin had to have done something really really bad
….and do we really think we would not have heard about it by now, or that news of his doing something would not have leaked, if he was the one in the wrong?
The production is silent because they have nothing to attack him with. And they have told lies on the subject of the drama controversy before, like claiming at first that they stopped communicating with the webtoon author after episode 6 because of ‘confidentality’ reasons and then claiming in their official apology that they “forgot”.
also he already has an offer for a jtbc drama later this year so he hasn’t been blackballed by the industry even if he chooses never to work with tvn again.
PHJ may have indeed done something wrong and the production team may be righteously pissed off. However, this book was for the fans, and whatever beef they had with PHJ they should have kept between them and him. This move only serves to make them look petty and childish, and raises support for PHJ.
Totally agree with you on that binmom. I can’t believe they would take it out on the fans! It’s unbelievable. And stupid.
This is the scariest piece of speculation I’ve heard.
Something bad is happening to someone.
He protests.
Speaks out that his screen time is cut. His scenes were shot but not used.
We see the evidence in less screen time and a narrative that makes no sense.
And the speculation his he has done something wrong because bad things are happening to him.
I just don’t see the logic.
I find the conclusion scary.
I understand how a person reputation can be ruined without them even leaving their home.
THANK YOU.
I find it most frightening of all that there is a minority making baseless assumptions that PHJ must have done something wrong for this to happen – as if we’ve never heard about those in power flexing their muscles and abusing the underdog before.
There is every reason to believe PHJ is being sidelined for speaking out against his mistreatment by the production team, and no reason to believe that the production team/CJ E&M are in the right – just look at the multitude of facts stacked against them already. Like someone above thread has pointed out, if this was a case where ANY dirt can be found on PHJ, you can bet the Cheese production team would have released it already. They wouldn’t sit back and tacitly admit to their wrongdoings in the aftermath of the screen time fiasco if PHJ had done anything wrong. Why is this so hard for people to understand?
So very true…their victim blaming mentality is wild
This is basically victim-blaming at its best.
PHJ is not a powerful, well connected A+++ Korean entertainer that they would not want to mess with. If he did something so messed up, you think they would not have revealed at least the gist of what he did to reduce the extreme anger towards them?
I don’t think you’ve been following the news here in Korea at all. The other actors, the PD, staff members, AND CJM have ALL commented on this.
If PHJ had done ANYTHING wrong they would have already released it. He finished filming first and after he left they started re-filming scenes with Seo Kang Joon BEFORE the drama aired because this is all pre-produced. PHJ literally found out AS the drama was airing like everyone else.
Nah, I think all this happened is because someone backing Seo Kang Joon who saw this as an opportunity to promote him in a lead position especially when they realized in the earlier episodes that fans seems to like In Ho. that “someone” may thinks that its ok to push Seo KAng Joon forward as a so called lead, and the fans won’t be any the wiser…
Like any other k-drama, the K-actor/actress don’t have a say and they will keep quiet and just accept it, else risking not getting other job in the future. But since like you said, kdrama industry seems to be a tight knit community…Anyway, that “someone” didn’t bank-on that PHJ will speak out and give interview, and also informing that a numerous of his scene was not included. PHJ did say that the missing scene will enable the audience to understand Yoo Jung better and all and he ask why is that scene not included.
Anyway, that “someone” may have gotten angry that PHJ dare to do the interview, and out of petty retaliation due to all this brouhaha, they didn’t invite PHJ to the retreat @ Thailand and now they purposely didn’t put any picture of PHJ even thou PHJ is the main lead of CitT. But to cover their ass, the production team for the book may have been “advise” to just ask PHJ reps permission to use that just 1 photo for the cover and not ask about other photo coz they don’t plan on using any other of PHJ photo.
Then, later, if reporter ask, why no picture of PHJ, they can say, Rep of PHJ only gave permission to use only that one photo. Seriously, do they actually think that PHJ reps won’t retaliate?
If its not out of petty, than all this may have been that “someone” so called trying to teach other future actors/ actress that may want to follow PHJ voicing out; that this may happen to you too.. You know, to keep the other actor/ actress to toe the line..
Well if they are trying to teach him a lesson they failed. PhJ is reaping the benefits. He is known for being a kind and straight up dude. China only bought the rights to the show because of PHJ. He has waaay more star power then they realized and now top tier actors are backing out of this production teams projects.
Just wtf oO Why would they have done that oO I wonder what really happened ><
And even on that cover picture, it's like he's in the back… separated from the other 2
The sad thing is he’s still promoting the drama overseas even after having been completely disrespected, while the rest of the cast go on to bigger things they gained from this drama.
What a f*up way of promoting the actor and the drama, using all type low, dirt media play. And the viewers falling head on into it.
Wow… I’m speechless.
How could they do this? Did they think no one would notice?
Their disrespect towards PHJ is disgusting.
I really hope that one day we find out what the heck happened behind the scenes of this production.
I just finished CITT like 2 hrs ago. None of the OST stucks in my brain though (not my kinda songs..lol). Also, no PHJ on the photo book..?? Really?? No male lead character? No handsome face of PHJ? Are they insane? There is no way I want to spend money to buy it.
To me it simply means that he won’t get any royalties from the sales. I tried to look at all this brouhaha from “creative” perspectives but no matter what I do I still get to money..
How petty, right to the very end….
it would be the ultimate revenge if that Entourage drama flops hard lol.
what the actual fuck? what has Entourage got to do with any of this? how “lol” is it that other people’s hard work and dedication be sacrificed as some form of moronic revenge in your eyes because of what happened to PHJ? you’re the one to call the production petty… how ironic.
*sigh* Netizen sentiments toward entourage are pretty negative and its not that hard to understand why. You better believe actors’ managers and agencies are advising them to stay away from it due to negative association to very recent and basically ongoing drama related to CITT. It’d be one thing if SKJ and his character weren’t a big part of the controversy.
If TVN is smart, they will postpone production of the show.
It reminds me of how the badly received last episode of How I Met Your Mother completely destroyed the chances of an already announced spin off show about Barney (a popular character on the show) of ever happening. TVN f***** up.
Hope those CD and photo book don’t sell well !!!!
@thomas&lisa, I was hoping the same thing too.. but I feel so sorry for the singers as ‘the casualty of war’ here. I think if they sell the photo book and OSTs separately, the book won’t sell that well though.
Perhaps production team had a conflict with the writer and so they retaliated by ruining her character – Yoo Jung gets the brunt of it. But once Park Hae Jin spoke to the media about it, the team got angry and offed him. Because I don’t think PHJ’s side would have dared release so many things when they are in the wrong – it is not like they don’t know anything about the industry. Unlikely that it was his attitude problems also, because he had really good reviews in the past.
I think team production got pissed off when PHJ told media about the real situation. But whatever happen behind the scenes, they should be professional. Wish the best for all of them.
Lols this is so ridiculous that it is just downright funny. I have tried to believe that the entire episode is just a small issue with lots of spices added by the media. Perhaps everybody are still friendly behind the scenes? But the OST pictorial book without the male lead? Whatever beef anyone has with anyone, this is just pure absurbness. This is not only extremely rude to PHJ, it is the epitome of complete disregard for CITT (and of course PHJ’s) fans. I genuinely hope the sales flop and they incur losses from this.
Come to think of it, this is a reenactment of the CITT episodes. PHJ (ie Yoo Jung) only appeared in the trailers (cover page) and not exactly in the actual episodes (book contents).
todo el mundo solo veia cheese in the trap por Yoojung (Park HaeJin)
realmente no entiendo porque lo tratan asi , si fueron las fans de el drama , del webtoon las que comenzaron a enfurecerse por el cambio tan drĆ”stico de las escenas …
Espero que park haejin les de una patada por el culo a todos estos estupidos , como pueden tratarlo asi , el es un gran actor …. no se quien este haciendo esto pero que pena realmente espero y Park Haejin no se tope como gente como esta en el futuro .
PARK HAEJIN <33333
Two sides to every story but i work occasionally with some korean ent companies. Very unusual what they did but for the fact production remained defiant to the end gives a huge hint that the lead actor must be terribly unpopular with everyone despite his very public “nice guy” persona. Also promotions help him more than production. The level of popularity he has on cf and endorsements front in Korea is something he has never experienced in domestic mkt till now and all this controversy and just mking bad guys from what seems to be the obvious is boosting him alot. Shades of grey – dun believe all you read and media play. Im definitely more inclined to believe behavior of masses. .. i.e none of his costars stuck up for him. Even kim go-eun who needs no tv station backing as shes a predominant film actress
PHJ isn’t as innocent as it seems. some people like to take everything at face value because thats the easy thing to do and make a hero out of their oppars. its very obvious that even if PHJ is not at fault completely, there is more than what meets the eye. not everything is black and white and certainly in the ent industry. no one spoke out for him, not even his costars. now he’s out there promoting the drama like he’s some sacrificing hero but he’s the one benefiting from it all while other cast members have moved on to other projects. am i to really believe he is selflessly promoting even after complaining PUBLICLY about what the production did to him? and that too when other actors arent even bothering? puhlease, he and his agency are milking this sympathy wave and its starting to be too obvious now.
No, you’re not supposed to believe that he’s selflessly promoting – you’re supposed to have enough common sense to recognize that this is called a contract. He evidently had something in that contract that keeps him promoting the drama. To say that he’s “benefiting from it all” is bullshit, though. You don’t think an actor with enough residual popularity from Stars and now from CITT can hold his own concerts, fan meetings and other promotional activities overseas without using the drama as a jumping point? Uh.
I have no interest in PHJ as my “oppar” – I just find it laughable that you take his co-stars not speaking out for him as some sort of proof that he’s super shady. Do you honestly think people are so selfless that they would sacrifice their own budding careers to antagonize the production team and get themselves blackballed, particularly since most of them have FAR less solid careers than PHJ?
Your comment gives us a new perspective. I have several questions, in case you can enlighten us.
1)What can force an experienced actor to bash his on-going work?
2)Is there a chance of conflicts between his agency, the cable and the production team?
3)Is it possible for a veteran PD to just do whatever she likes (because she was in love with a young actor’s golden eyes) while a network and several sponsors are involved?
4)Is it possible for a younger actor to be nothing more than the easier one to be manipulated into acting in some extra scenes while the rest of the parties involved are in a huge conflict?
5)How about the royalties from the Chinese market? Is it possible that the whole dispute between the actor, the channel and the production team is happening over that money?
Some other comments as well as yours help me confirm my personal thoughts that seemed a bit far fetched until now. Perhaps “Show me the money” is the issue here, or perhaps not?
Sorry, but regardless of who he pissed off, (which I don’t believe he did) why destroy the work of the originator of the Webtoon?
No one has the right to hurt others ( which by the way the PD has already apologized for….) because they have thin skin or desire better outcomes for SKJ? Sorry, but TVN needs a lawsuit or or two and that PD and team need to rethink their career choices.
Professionalism counts and so far, I see nothing professional in the way any of this was handled by TVN. Bravo PHJ! For speaking out! i am a fan of the webtoon and am outraged that at the very least, the story was altered bc of a PD’s ego!,
This book / cd went into production long ago . Most likely when the changes started in the drama around ep6 . So what ever happened took effect then . My assumption is that he did not make himself easily available due to prior commitments . Now other male lead was all willing to step in .
this is so weird.
The most weird is about a interview where Kim Go Eun seems to throw shade against PHJ…
What happened? At this rate I would go “fuck everything, I’m not going to promote this drama in China or Japan anymore”
http://www.allkpop.com/article/2016/03/questionable-post-on-kim-go-euns-fan-cafe-causes-controversy
ah, the drama is starting to be uncovered more and more now. even the actors are starting to talk, i see, and its not in favour of PHJ like most expect it to be. innnnteresting.
and nah, he wont say fuck everything. he’s the one benefiting with it most for carrying the image of a hero who despite getting harsh treatment, is still sacrificing his time and effort to promote the drama. its going amazing for him (for now at least), so why will he stop?
I think KGE was speaking more out of resentment at the controversy the drama ended up mired in than actual negative experience while shooting with PHJ. Besides (as far as I read the interview) she wasn’t saying anything technically wrong, and her tone was neutral. It’s just that anything she says at this point will be heavily filtered by the scandal, even though her words are technically harmless
If PHJ behaved out of line at any time during production, CJ would surely have released it by now as not doing so only ruins their name further. I’m buying the whole PHJ-is-not-innocent thing as much as I bought the whole excuse about forgetting to contact Soonkki (when she repeatedly asked them for scripts!). At this point, I just want PHJ, KGE, and the rest of the cast to move on to their next projects and leave this mess behind.
Wtf people why park hae jin , what did he do to deserve this
definitely… milking it for all its worth. What is interesting is that shouldnāt the big 3 be busy courting him now with his āincredible fameā across Korea and China and the only casting offer made out in in the news is JTBCās? http://www.soompi.com/2016/03/09/park-hae-jins-agency-warns-against-imposters-and-fraudulent-events/ To be honest he was at max a B-lister in the drama world (leads on cable drama) when this whole CITT blew up. Wanna know who the real victim is … Seo Kang Joon. if theres anyone who walked into this mess not knowing what happened, its him. The production and this out āIām a victim PHJ saga” is responsible for killing his career instead. Did he ask to add scenes? No. Did he ask director to not include PHJās scenes, no.
stop crying, SKJ is already casted in an upcoming drama that has great cast line. Meanwhile PHJ will be blacklisted
SKJ is already cast in another drama Entourage so his career will be fine.
Your words just don’t make sense. If PHJ did anything wrong, you think the production company and TVN would not jump at the chance to get back to him in a media play?
Like you said, PHJ is not that powerful in the industry. There is no way he can make the whole production remain silent on this matter if he is at fault.
Look what Kim Go Eun endured when she did say something. People all pounced in and basically gave her hell. And you wondered why when everyone went on their reward vacation, no one bothered to say āWish PHJ was here to join usā. In fact no one from the cast or production of CITT has ever mentioned they remained tight with the actor ever. Also – have you ever wondered why since PHJ and Yoo Jae Suk (Koreaās nicest MC) go such a long way back in Family Outing yet never has he appeared once on Running Man? Was he never asked or just TOO BIG to appear in it? Just saying… TVN has bigger things to do than pander to one manās ego. Also they are trying not to flame it as the āvictimā will have to counter and the saga will never end. They have big name writers to pursue and big productions in the pipeline. TBH Iāve never seen such a solidarity front on vindictiveness towards one person at all. To ask the question āWhat did he do?ā is a very good one.
Your reaching is pathetic, tbh, just stop trying. I didn’t know you were there at the production team vacation and was privy to all the actors’ private conversations, enough to note that no one wished PHJ was there. And Park Shi Yeon hasn’t been invited to Running Man either and she also goes a long way back to Family Outing – are you going to say that she has a shady history with production teams too?
I mean, the guy only invited the film crew of CITT to do a CF with him – looks like they must’ve been on terrible terms, yep.
What if I was… fangirls **
+1
Oh poor little boy Seo Kang Joon. His career is in danger now!!! Oh wait, he’s lining up another project as a leading man, meanwhile PHJ might be blacklisted in the future for speaking up his mind.
SKJ fans love portraying him as the victim, huh?
I agree. I worry about Seo Kang Joon more. Park Hae Jin had problems before in South Korea when he didn’t do his military service due to some sickness, that’s why he went to China to make dramas and became popular there. So I wonder what really happened.
This whole thing can be make into drama and I bet the ratings can be higher than Descendants Of the Sun.
Bottom line,none of them are 100%professional.None.Actors and actresses also.While tvN And the production teams taking the top awards as the least professional ever.PHJ,he is the victim but he and his company failed to resolve it quietly like what many agencies do.He let the cat out,fanning the fire.He is at fault?In a way,yes.
SKJ and his company,I think second worst after tvN and The production teams.After all,he as a fellow actor,should pity on PHJ and reject any nonsense requests from production or his company.This make me question his real intention.Want to overtake PHJ? Hmm, in any ways, I concluded that he is either too greedy or he is sooo blur that he doesn’t know what is happening on set.Hence,just do what production asked to-puppet.
This is totally unprofessional!
No matter what happened behind scenes, this is just childish and ridiculous for professionals to do!
wow! reading up… i could only shake my head, that’s why sometimes i avoid reading commentaries but this issue has interested me that’s why.
first… from various dramas, i would buy OST because of the photobook as a souvenir from the cast. it was clear like the clear blue sky that PHJ was the lead and was axed in the later part of the drama. no offense to SKJ fans but his character is the soul of the drama and his pairing with HS was where the story started. If i am not mistaken and based on forums and comments, the sentiments (in general) remained the same, that the drama should have stayed with their storyline because it was what got people watching in the first place. it baffled me to no end how can they significantly diminish his role when people are clamoring for him… bad business decision, i guess. but outing an OST and photobook without him, even after the scandal, was a worst business mistake.
second, i cannot fathom why some people would like to think that PHJ is in the wrong because the production team and the other actors are not speaking up. for one PHJ would not receive any offer if he was blacklisted. i am taking the opposite of the logic presented. if PHJ is in the wrong, wouldn’t we think that the production or PD would have blabbered about it by now. no, they had been quiet. why, becaue they have nothing at all to counter the issues that have arised. even then PHJ had not issued damning statements but had been very professional in the way he issued his statements. reflects how and who he really is. i am not really a PHJ fan but i started a CITT fan. in the drama business, you do not mess with the higher ups or else. by now PHJ would have been subjected to various sidelining and intrigues but they can do nothing to him because they are in the wrong. they can only continue to out him from everything CITT.
+10000% agree
Don’t forget they also pissed of the webtoon writer
Leave the webtoon author out of it. Never have she once spoken up for PHJ either or why Yoojung/PHJ had decreased screen time. Her beef was another issue altogether and its that they followed TOO CLOSELY to her story and her desired ending. which basically means she was responsible in omitting the yoojung scenes in the 3rd and 4th volume of her webtoon since readers have confirmed this is the truth and by following it, the production also faced the wrath of the fangirls. This is all very screwed up.
Your argument doesn’t stand, Amelia Hart. Did you even watch the drama? Or are you just here for the PHJ hate parade?
The decreased screen time includes the cutting out of scenes from Yoo Jung’s childhood and his conversations with dad and uncle, all of which were IN the webtoon and were ALREADY FILMED but unceremoniously cut out of the drama. It has nothing to do with the 3rd or 4th volumes. What are you even talking about?
The fact that the webtoon author had issues with the production team might not be directly related to the PHJ screen time issue, but it DOES demonstrate that the production team has issues. If you have difficulty understanding this, let me know and I’ll bold and underline the relevant points for you.
Thank you @Lemon!!! Very well said!
Ditto @ Lemon. Can’t understand the victim blaming mentality going on, as well as the half-baked “facts” thrown out by people who don’t read the webtoon, didn’t read what Kim Go Eun really said in the interview etc.
Thank you!, he had to have done something, though he might not bear sole blame, but the fact that he’s trying to look innocent to the media is very fishy to me. I mean no one, either among the cast or crew is commenting on this issue, not even Seo Kang Joon who is being singled out and attacked by his fans said anything. So I believe something went down, and moreover he never told the media what caused the fight, or is he trying to imply that the Production crew just woke up on day, and decided to reduce is screen time drastically, and alienate him with no just cause? nope something went down.
And really, what’s wrong with the people saying Im Siwan and Choi woo Shik dropped entourage because of Soe Kang Joon, didn’t it occur to you that they might not have liked the script, or the role, or something, what does their refusing the project have to do with Seo Kang Joon. Please we are talking about CITT not entourage so please let’s leave that drama alone and try to be objective.
Good point.
Actually the cast and crew have been commenting but hey…whatever fits your narrative
Finally, someone with common sense. When it comes to CITT, so many commenters lack it big time, it’s getting hilarious.
Idiot Seo Kang Joon fucktards, didnt you even know, its his increased screen time that made this drama Cheese In the Trap very poor in ratings, and unpalatable, now its a whole mess! If the production just stayed in the course being professionals and let aside differences, things would have worked out well, instead they acted like brats they striped and cut the male leads scenes in favor of nobody second lead, that made the drama fucked up and have very poor ratings, that’s the real fact! I dont wanna see that Seo Kang Joon ever again in any drama!
Unprofessional is the word that comes to mind when I shut out everything else. Even if your lead actor makes Hellboy look like an angel, you do not cut him out in this way.
Did they think they could pull this off without a slightest scratch? This looks more like a suicide squad who’s bent on self destruction or one who hates PHJ so much that they will not include him no matter what the consequences are.
“The Cheese production claimed Park Hae Jinās team only gave permission to use the cover photo, but Park Hae Jinās side immediately shot back that the Cheese production only asked for permission on that one photo”
Need they ask for permission? I thought this and all pictures were taken from official stills and BTS. Anyone care to share?
Most likely yes. I would assume there is one contract related to the drama, but additional promotional material like photograph books are probably separate. Because it is commercial photography (not editorial), they would need a model release from every recognisable person in any picture. The details of the model release will vary. Someone like PHJ could ask for certain conditions of usage, e.g. “one time use” (publication of one photo book but not reprints, or use of image in other, future books/posters/etc.). He could also ask for remuneration since otherwise they could take one photo of his and use it until eternity to make money off him without paying a won.
Thank you for answering my question š
I am still getting this CD….though my heart sank from reading the news about park hae jin missing, wtf the production teams….the bully to park hae jin is soooooo real !!
Well he did try to talk to the production team before speaking up. He did try to get an explanation quietly and without making a fuss, but he was given none. I remember reading that very clearly in the first few articles on the issue. So I am not sure why he is being accused of being unprofessional. When the production team is being unprofessional and sabotaging his hard work, is he supposed to be a martyr and just quietly take it? Go on TV and say everything is all right? I am not sure what some of you people expected of him. And blaming PHJ for doing something that has yet to be revealed as justification for his ill treatment from the production team is pretty insensitive. For all we know the guy could be innocent, his work has been sabotaged and now he’s being blamed for some unspecific bad behavior we have no actual notion about. No better than accusing SKJ of having a sponsor. What could PHJ have done so terrible that the crew went as far as messing up their own drama and angering the public in an attempt at petty revenge?
It’s hard for me to think he would dare speak up and risk his career if he had done something really terrible that could easily be revealed to counter his story. So far these has been no such thing. We know what they did to him, but we don’t know what he supposedly did to them. Why couldn’t they tell, if that were true? Why embrace all this public outrage if they know very well they are justified in doing that to him. I don’t really get it. Korean Entertainment is not the kind of easy-going work environment that encourages free thinking and expressing dissatisfaction openly. You’re supposed to be humble and praise your co-workers even if you’ve been wronged. Speaking against your team can be career suicide and it’s no wonder none of his co-stars are taking any sides. What he did was a huge risk for him that could have back-fired, in fact it still can. It’s not called plying the victim card if you’re actually a victim.
By the way his face is plastered all over the subway stations in Korea now thanks to his influx of ads and campaigns. Lets wait and see what big major role gets offered to him since he basically exploded here. *Methinks its going to be a china production instead”
fuck that cult PD/CJ company. karma will get them for doing this to PHJ.
@Blue The same way you say that we blame PHJ unjustly is the same way you are blaming the production. The only way we can know who is less at fault is if Tvn releases their side if the story, and I very much doubt that is going to happen. So until I have heard the full story I am definitely not going to take Park Hae Jin’s word for it. He’s gaining to much from this media circle for me to blindly believe him. Call me cynical but I know that people can be that manipulative. Like I said earlier all this is speculation on my park and I could be completely wrong.
And to those that say that if Tvn had anything on Park Hae Jin they would have used it already, I don’t think that exactly right because there has been no precedent on this type of case with Tvn, because I can’t remember Tvn being embroiled in a scandal and they don’t seem like the type of station to air their dirty laundry in the public. It makes sense that they will want to reduce negative media attention on the station by giving no comment, so their other dramas will not be negatively affected, which is kind of smart. Because the last time I checked Signal is still doing well and Pied piper should be doing all right and moreover, they are casting new dramas and they basically have bigger fishes to fry.
Why does it bother you so much that PHJ is gaining public sympathy? If what happened to him is true and he did nothing wrong, then he should at least gain this much. Or else, this kind of situation will just end up repeating itself because no one took a stand for him and supported him and the public simply accepted what happened. Would it have been cool with you if netizens reacted how they usually do when an actor dares to express dissatisfaction towards a project he did? “He’s putting down the crew’s hard work!!!! so ungrateful!!! so unprofessional!!”. That would have been better, then? Provided he is not the one at fault here, public sympathy is a pretty good thing right now. Because actors have been abused by their drama production teams before and the public was never on their side, ever. It was sickening to witness. It’s the first time the public sympathizes with the actor, as far as I know. Why must it automatically mean he somehow engineered this whole situation so that he looks good in the public eye? Seems like quite the big gamble he took then.
Also, I am blaming the production based on what I have seen with my own two eyes, the shafting of the main lead and ruining a perfectly fine drama due to some kind of internal strife, going as far as cutting him from official merchandise. That to me is unprofessional, even if PHJ did something, disrespected someone, whatever, you don’t go ruining a whole project that was going well due to this. As of right now, there is 0 evidence that PHJ did something. So why would I speculate against him? It may very well be that we are not getting the whole story here. It doesn’t change the fact they messed up their own drama badly and disrupted the trajectories of their main characters in such a way that they didn’t feel consistent anymore. I cannot blame anyone but the production for that.
Your suggestion that Tvn is taking some sort of higher road in dealing with all this drama in the context of their petty actions regarding the drama itself seems incongruent to me.
yup right! i just can’t understand why, for all information that’s been available to the public, people would still find it in their heart to disregard those and try to blame PHJ. gosh, the guy was pushed to the wall, did not even speak ill of the production, since the drama will be released to china where they will be banking on his popularity on top of CITT popularity.
The endless controversies of CITT is really fishy, is this some kind of media play from PHJ or tvN? Bad publicity is still a publicity and this drama is getting so much hype even after it ended. PHJ is not that innocent for sure because he is a veteran actor, he has been in this industry for 10 freakin years. However, I think at some point he did make someone (probably very important) mad, thus resulted in his reduced airtime, omission in the drama pictorial book, etc. But we don’t need to worry about him since the public is on his side. His PR team might be having the best time right now, he is never been this famous even after his stint on You Who Came From The Stars. Now all eyes is on him, hopefully he pick a much better project next time.
Wow, just when you thought the Cheese production could not sink any lower.
It’s a David vs Goliath battle. If the stronger party is not coming out to defend itself, I would assume they are guilty. After all Korea is a conformist society, PHJ took a huge risk in speaking out. Public opinion could have turned against him if there were any dirt.
Give us the BTS lowdown instead of insinuating that he deserved the mishandling.
If you ask me, i don’t think he’s innocent.
The extent of the snub is too huge and that whole public sympathy thing just smells of good PR to me.
In any case, I did like him in the role and it’s a shame, regardless of whatever happened, he acted well and the drama suffered the brunt of it.
And I sympathize with SKJ -I believe he’s to much a newbie to exert any “backdoor influence” in my opinion. He was well liked enough right fr the early episodes and wouldn’t needed those extra screentime to move away from this drama in a good light . So all this victimize him more than benefit
The people victim blaming PHJ are ridiculous to me. I mean you would actually rather THINK UP a fantasy fault that he “probably” “Maybe” did to deserve all this? I mean this is taking it a new level. Use your imagination for good people.
Okay lets say that PHJ did something to offend the higher ups. What could he have done to deserve this unprofessional childish acts? Because from what i know if it is related to offending sponsors that usually includes requests for sexual or other degrading acts. If He simply just offended the higher up he probably did bow 90 degrees or refused to dishonor the writer of the webtoon he respects so much. Since we are all speculating its okay for me to do so too right?
This is a clear case of a workers union needed for actors because production and broadcasting companies have too much power and its ridiculous.
The excuse is he is constantly playing a victim. How? by speaking up about his main lead scenes being cut? I mean i would have done the same thing if my name is being used to promote the drama. what else did he do? Defending himself that he is not a Diva who rejected a whole bunch of picture offers to be included in the OST album because he thought he only looked good in one? sounds reasonable to me. I actually dont see how this is playing the victim at all.
No actor is going to speak up for him because he is not suffering. The public believes him and they are on his side. Sound like an unnecessary situation to piss off a powerful production company for someone whose image isnt suffering. From what I heard a lot of the cast did not go on the vacation so since speculation is a theme here how about we speculate on that?
Now lets look at the webtoon author she must have pissed the higher ups too for them to screw with her after agreeing that they would take into consideration on her opinions too.
stop trying to drag someone’s name when you dont have proof to back it up.
Awww… I feel for the artists in this soundtrack. This is like my favorite drama OST ever (tied with Goong, that is)! The tracks give me so much feels and the artists are already becoming the spoils of this CITT war. *sigh*
And here I was planning to buy the OST too. It’s also my favorite OST, and I feel bad that Park Hae-jin’s BTS photos have been excluded. That’s really a bad business move on their part because fans like me who want the photobook for PHJ & KGE would now hesitate to buy because of the lack of photos from the LEAD ACTOR. I do love the OST so much so I’m really sad to hear about this.
Personally, I enjoyed the series and liked the finale. It’s my current favorite because PHJ was Yoo Jung and KGE was Hong Seol. Their roles and interactions made me fall for the show’s trap and it’s because of them that I wasn’t that much fazed with the BTS controversy that led a lot of people to not watch the last 2 episodes and give up on the show. I know there are a lot of expectations that weren’t met, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying a quality show even if they did make a big mistake in decreasing the lead’s screentime in episodes 13 & 14.
Seriously, how could anyone believe that this is PHJ’s fault? CJE&M knows that public opinion is against them and they should’ve made up for it by not doing this. They should’ve milked the sympathy for PHJ instead. #baffled
Anyway, Hope to see Park Hae-jin again soon and also Kim Go-eun.
PHJ’s side explained their side of the story.
http://www.allkpop.com/article/2016/03/park-hae-jins-side-explains-why-he-was-excluded-in-cheese-in-the-trap-ost-album
Glad you posted this. Basically, PHJ’s company requested his photos not be included on the OST because they didn’t want overlap with bts and other photos on the album of only PHJ’s music that they were producing.
Wow….I’ve never read such polarized debates/comments since Park Si Hoo scandal. Personally I’m more on PHJ side. With my years of professional experience at workplace, I believe higher ups with authority could power play much stronger against individuals and that’s why there’s law in the US to protect employees against abusive power. At workplace, when there’s certain investigation going against management abuse of power based on individual allegations, other relevant parties (potential witnesses) actually tend to shut up in fear of unexpected blackmail and retaliation or just bcos they don’t want to get involved in the mess. I’ve seen these situations in numerous cases in real life due to my position and connection with ppl at management level and also experience with EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity). It’s the human nature to shun trouble that’s irrelevant or not so much relevant to personal interest by not speaking up. I’ve seen in real life cases that discrimination or something unethical really happened in an organization and everyone’s aware of that but they just kept quiet when it was brought up in an investigation. I don’t think PHJ needed to risk possible backlash from the K ent and make scenes without really going through unfairness. Well, a lot of speculations from us outsiders. But there’re basic logic and principles about professionalism applicable to all industries and professions to sort things out. Based on the modern EEO regulations (at least in the States and many developed countries), whether an employer personally dislike an employee or not cannot constitute reasons to sabotage his/her advancing opportunities, specifically when actions involve violating work contract. In the context of CitT scandal, isn’t PHJ considered being hired by whoever (the production company or the cable TV) to perform his job? So he’s got contract to be the leading man of CitT. Why was his screen time reduced to be on par with or even less than the 2nd lead? That’s a violation of contract in the first place. Perhaps S Korea doesn’t have as good EEO law as other developed countries or the contract terms and conditions are not legally binding. Still, I see the whole episode an unethical/unprofessional power play from the production team. Even PHJ may not have been in good terms with the WHOLE or majority of the production team as some readers claimed in their comments, I still see the actions from the production team as unethical and unprofessional regarding how they put out the products.
Disclaimer: I’ve never been a fan of any cast of CitT. I actually found the drama pretty boring from the very beginning. LOL…I quit watching after just a few episodes. I do not bias towards any actor. None of them are my faves anyway.
Thank you! finally some logic!
Very possibly, the sidelining of PHJ’s character had to do with someone in the production team flexing their decision-making muscles. This person who wielded some power decided to focus on the younger actors thinking it was a smart money & ratings move. This would explain the deviation from the script and a switch to a focus on the younger leads. In this case, they would have initially brought in PHJ as leading man for star power but later on promoted the other actors instead. A miscalculated move because the reality is that many watched the show for PHJ.