The 'Cheese In The Trap' Cast Vacation Is Shrouded In Controversy

"Cheese in the Trap" may be over, but the off-screen drama continues with its cast and production team. 

According to an article published by the Korean outlet, Asian Econ, several key actors will be absent from an upcoming cast vacation to Thailand.

Leading man Park Hae Jin, Nam Joo Hyuk, and Lee Sung Kyung will not be attending the 5-days, 3-nights trip to Phuket, due to scheduling conflicts.

Representatives for Park Hae Jin issued a brief statement, prior to the announcement of the trip.

"[The production] did not contact [Park] in connection with the incentive vacation," said a spokesperson for Park, in a quote published by Asian Econ. 

The swift response from his camp is notable because the 32-year-old actor recently expressed his frustration at the divergence of the series from the webtoon written by Soonkki and post-production editing which removed several of his scenes. 

While Park will be absent from the trip, his co-stars Kim Go Eun and Seo Kang Joon will be present. 

Audiences have alleged that Seo received preferential treatment over Park which culminated in the deletion of scenes depicting Park's character Yoo Jung and the addition of a piano cantabile plot starring Seo.

On March 2 at 2 p.m., Seo departed for Phuket, along with Kim Go Eun and the production team.  Star News reported that the entourage attempted to quietly pass through while discouraging reporters from speaking with the actors who were in attendance. 

"I was aware of the controversy and [told] the actors to avoid the reporters that were gathered at the airport," said an official for the production, in a quote published by Star News. 

Another source provided positive words about the trip to Thailand while acknowledging the scandal surrounding their journey.

"The incentive [trip] atmosphere is very good," said the unnamed source. 

"Cheese in the Trap' garnered solid ratings for a cable drama but the series received widespread criticism from audiences and critics, after diverging from the central plot of the popular webtoon.

The tvN romantic comedy completed its 16-episode run on March 1 with an open-ended finale.