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‘We sincerely…’: KBS shares updates on police case against The First Night With the Duke for UNESCO Heritage Site damage
KBS' apology statement could not stop people from reporting the Byeongsan Seowon case to the police. The broadcasting agency apologized again in an attempt to do damage control.
The damage to Andong's Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy occurred during the filming of 2PM's Taecyeon and Girls' Generation's Seohyun's romance fantasy The First Night With the Duke. KBS was under fire after a witness claimed the drama's shooting staff nailed and destroyed the wooden pillars of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Following the escalation of controversy, on January 3, KBS issued a formal apology statement and also recognised the gravity of the situation. They also assured the public of contributing to the restoration of the treasured South Korean site. However, things did not end at that. A police complaint was filed against the broadcasting company detailing how the team had left 2 to 3 centimeter nail marks on wooden pillars of Mandaeru Pavilion while hanging prop lanterns on December 30. A picture of the crew members handling the lanterns was shared by the witness, an architect named Min Sa Hong.
To control the situation, KBS apologized once again saying, "We sincerely apologize for causing significant concern and disappointment to the public due to the cultural property damage during the drama's filming." They also agreed to cooperate with the investigations conducted by the police or any other relevant authorities. They further assured of educating the drama production team regarding being mindful of not causing any harm to public properties while filming.
However, they mentioned that the pictures of the nail marks on the Byeongsan Seowon that have been circulating widely in social media were not the ones created by the crew of The First Night With the Duke. As per KBS, the nails they placed were "in about 10 spots, including eight beam ends at Mandaeru Pavilion and two beam ends at Dongjae Hall."
KBS also clarified that they were not mentioning that to justify their act and said, "Even if there were pre-existing nail holes, driving in new nails and adding pressure constitutes damage to the cultural property. We sincerely apologize for this." The public is outraged at the alleged destruction of Byeongsan Seowon, which was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. As per architect Min Sa Hong, the public is sensitive towards these locations that hold a lot of importance to them. Mentioning about the incident in his Facebook post, he wrote that in traditional Korean homes, driving a single nail requires careful consideration.
As per, KBS they are ready to co-operate to solve the issue in any way possible, be it in investigation or restoration process. They informed that the drama’s representatives were in talks with the Byeongsan Seowon officials, along with conducting on-site inspections, and coordinating the necessary restoration procedures.
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