‘River Where The Moon Rises’ Halts Filming Amid Bullying Allegations

The popular Korean drama River Where The Moon Rises cancelled filming on March 4 because of bullying allegations made against its star actor Ji Soo.

The incidents of physical violence and sexual assault allegedly took place when the 27-year-old actor was in middle school. The drama stopped filming as representatives of the TV network, KBS2, deliberated what to do about the remaining episodes. Eighteen episodes of the 20-episode drama have already been filmed. 

The actor’s agency KeyEast pledged to carefully consider the allegations and shortly thereafter the actor posted a letter of apology on his Instagram account, admitting his guilt and asking for forgiveness. In the letter he said, “I sincerely apologize to the people who suffered because of me. There is no excuse for my past misconduct. They were things that cannot be forgiven.”

He also apologized to fellow cast members for any problems his past behavior might now cause them.

Ji Soo previously appeared in the dramas Scarlet Heart Ryeo and Strong Woman Do-Bong-Soon, as well as the drama Angry Mom, which focused on school bullying.

KBS2 has not yet decided whether to continue filming with Ji Soo as the male lead or to announce his departure from the series. An online petition to have him removed from the drama has already garnered over 5,000 signatures.

River Where The Moon Rises is not the only Korean drama that has recently been affected by allegations of past bullying. 

The KBS drama Dear M is on hiatus after lead actress Park Hye-soo was accused of bullying during her school days. Park, who appeared in the 2020 hit film Samjin Company English Class denied the allegations and has vowed to take legal action against her accusers.

Naeun, a member of k-pop girl group APRIL, has also been accused of school bullying and this may affect her casting in the upcoming crime action series Taxi Driver, starring Lee Je-hoon. SBS, the network producing the drama, is investigating the allegations.

Accusations of past bullying have also recently affected the careers of k-pop stars such as Hyunjin of Stray Kids and singer Hyuna. After anonymous allegations were leveled in February, Hyunjin took a break from his career. The same month allegations of bullying were leveled against singer Hyuna. She has denied the allegations.

River Where the Moon Rises is based on the Korean folk tale Princess Pyeonggang and On Dal and also stars Kim So-hyun and Lee Ji-hoon. The drama was successful, reaching 10% in nationwide Nielsen ratings in February.