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[HanCinema's News] "Insider" Stumbles Following Buddhist Temple Controversy

"Insider" has proven to be yet another public relations fiasco for JTBC. The network has been under bitter attack for the past week by Buddhist organizations who were insulted by a fifteen minute scene in the first episode featuring various monks at a temple engaged in illegal gambling. The legal thriller deals with corruption in official settings, and while Buddhist monks are not the greater antagonists of the series, their depiction as such was a major insult to practitioners of the religion.

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An official apology by JTBC alongside the removal of the offending episode from streaming platforms has only done so much to stem the controversy. The sheer length of the scene will make the promised reupload that much more awkward. The negative attention is especially bad for JTBC as the network had already endured a similar controversy earlier this year with "Snowdrop" regarding South Korea's democratization movement.

In terms of ratings "Insider" does not appear to have been significantly affected by the controversy. Its first episode held 2.6% ratings, the second 3.3% ratings, the third 3.4% ratings, and the fourth, released on June 16th, had ratings of 3.3% again. For the sake of contrast, "Jinxed at First" in a similar timeslot on KBS had ratings of 3.9% and 4.3% in its first and second episode on the fifteenth and sixteenth. "Insider" succeeded "Love All Play" which ended with ratings of 1.3%.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Insider" is directed by Min Yeon-hong, written by Moon Man-se, and features Kang Ha-neul, Lee Yoo-young, Kim Si-eun-II, Ye Soo-jung, Moon Sung-keun, Sung Ji-ru. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2022/06/08~Now airing, Wed, Thu 22:30 on JTBC.

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