Another Exposure Controversy for MBC

MBC TV is embroiled in an “exposure” controversy again.

The November 14 episode of Sweet Spy (an MBC drama aired on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:55 p.m.) included the accidental exposure of a male extra’s buttocks and genitalia. As some male actors sat side-by-side and helped wash each other’s backs, the private parts of a male extra passing behind them were exposed.

After the airing of the drama, viewers posted critical opinions on the program’s Internet discussion forum, such as: “I feel too uneasy to watch the program with my family” and “I wonder when MBC became a broadcaster of adult programs.” In July, MBC created a stir when musicians appearing in the show exposed their genitalia on its live music show Music Camp. The program was taken off the air soon afterwards.

Chief Producer Choi Chang-wook of MBC’s drama division explained, “We were so focused on the main actors, and our TV screens for monitoring and editing are so small (less than 10 inches) that we could not check the indecent scene before it was aired.”

The production staff of the program posted an apology on the show’s website yesterday, saying, “We did not produce the scene with an ulterior motive.” They also said that they have deleted the scene and posted a re-edited version for MBC’s video-on-demand service.

The Korean Broadcasting Commission said, “We will determine whether the indecent exposure scene breached regulations in a meeting scheduled for November 17.”

kimjy@donga.com