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Ok Taecyeon and Seohyun's The First Night With the Duke faces legal action over UNESCO Heritage Site damage; KBS apologises
KBS has reacted to the alleged destruction of a UNESCO World Heritage Site during the shoot of The First Night With the Duke in Andong.
2PM's Taecyeon and Girls' Generation's Seohyun's romance fantasy The First Night With the Duke has come under fire after claims of staff damaging a UNESCO World Heritage Site during its filming were made. The property is Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy, near Hahoe Village in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On January 2, a representative from the National Heritage Administration told HeraldPOP about receiving complaints through the National safety report system. He revealed the filming permits being delegated to the local government. As per the rep, Andong City issued the permit for the shoot but the production team violated the permit conditions. There is also said to be an eyewitness claming that the production crew of the new KBS2 drama were nailing the pillars of Byeongsan Seowon for shoot purposes.
The witness, an architect, identified as 'A', shared the incident on Facebook, saying, “When I visited Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy that afternoon, I saw staff nailing into wooden pillars. Despite my protests, they reacted angrily.” To showcase the authenticity of his claims, he also posted a photo of the set of The First Night With the Duke, where the drama’s staff can be seen hanging lanterns on pillars of Byeongsan Seowon.
A further said that they contacted Andong City’s cultural heritage department and media outlets to report the incident. That was when they found out that such incidents are not uncommon. “In some cases, modern heritage sites have even had pillars or walls dismantled for filming purposes,” A said. A also mentioned its emotional value to Koreans and that in traditional Korean homes, driving a single nail requires careful consideration.
Following the escalation of controversy, KBS assured of investigating the claims and releasing an official statement soon. In the statement issued soon after, the agency apologized for the mishap, "KBS recognizes the seriousness of the situation that occurred on-site and deeply regrets what has happened. We are currently working to fully understand the details of the incident and are discussing the best possible methods for restoration."
It was also revealed the drama’s representatives were in talks with the Byeongsan Seowon officials, along with conducting on-site inspections, and coordinating the necessary restoration procedures. In an attempt of damage control, KBS has been discussing measures to prevent such incidents from happening again and addressing any additional damage that may arise.
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