The finale of the KBS drama "When the Camellia Blooms" ranked a viewer rating of 20% for using the actual footage of true to life accidents that occurred in the past. The drama is now under fire because they did not inform the victims before using the video.
The final episode tackles the idea that there are no such things as miracles and only superheroes exist in some people. The drama showed the news footage from 2015 of a car accident. Fortunately, there are kindhearted people around that helped save the life of a high school student who was stuck under the car. The high school student from the accident is now a college student. She was shocked when she saw the scene. She decided to upload a petition on the official website of KBS. She asked the production team to ask for forgiveness for using the footage of her accident without her consent and erase the scene from the show.
Below is the statement from the victim:
Hello, this is the real victim from the car accident on July 3, 2015, that happened near the Masa station. I overcame that traumatic experience and started studying in college. The accident that happened is still unforgettable and painful for me. I did not watch "When the Camellia Blooms". But my friend told me that the actual footage from my accident was shown in the finale of the show. The painful memories from the accident came back to me and I feel traumatized again after watching the footage.
I am terrified because the traumatic accident was used for entertainment purposes. I am alarmed that viewers watched that scene and talked about it without knowing the truth. A national broadcasting station like KBS should inform the victim first. I and my family have been dealing with this painful experience for a long time. Do you know that I still have scars and marks from the car accident? Every day, I still face what people are saying because of my scars. I still have to undergo some surgeries because of that accident. The footage will not be aired if only the production team tried to contact me.
- VictimThe petition conveyed a clear message of violating the privacy of a victim and the production team is unprofessional. They used her footage without informing her and knowing what she will feel if she sees it on screen.
The production team of "When the Camellia Blooms" also faced criticisms for using another footage of the real-life accident in 2019. Some netizens felt alarmed in the previous episodes of the drama and informed the production team. News footage that showed the accident on a construction site wherein the elevator fell and killed three workers. One character in the drama has a disability and the footage was shown many times in connection to it.
Concerned viewers felt bothered about why the production team didn't care about the victims after airing true to life accident footage. The involved victims must have had a hard time after watching it on national television again. The production team is not yet releasing a statement regarding the controversial footages. The drama is receiving violent reactions from disappointed viewers.
