Chris Lee (L) and Kong Hyo Jin attend the Gucci Cruise 2017 fashion show at the Cloisters of Westminster Abbey on June 2, 2016 in London, England. (Photo : Getty Images for GUCCI/ John Phillips)
Just hours after the premiere of SBS's new drama, "Jealousy Incarnate," weather forecasters took offense at the supposedly unflattering portrayal of their profession in the series. The 24-episode drama stars Jo Jung-Suk and Gong Hyo-Jin.
The first episode of SBS's "Jealousy Incarnate," which aired on Aug. 24, Wednesday, showed a desolate weather forecaster, Pyo Na-Ri (Gong), who not only struggles with low income but also gets treated discourteously by news announcers. She is also a kind of person who takes on all the undesirable side work.
The first episode recorded a national TV rating of 8.1 percent. Following its premiere, weather forecaster "A" of a major broadcast network expressed her anger during an interview with a local news outlet Star News, as cited by All Kpop.
"Even though the drama is fiction, it has downgraded us too much," weather forecaster A said. "We gather information about the weather and even write articles. Our job is distinct from announcers."
The real-life forecaster added that a lot of things make no sense in the drama. She stressed that there are even institutes exclusively for weather forecasting majors these days.
"The part where those who do not make it as announcers become weather forecasters is exaggerated," she said. "Stuffing our butts with pads and trying to show our body line is portraying us without knowing our job."
The real-life forecaster goes ahead to say that after the said episode aired, many individuals have asked her about the job. She said that many weather forecasters were offended by it, considering that viewers might just believe everything they see in the drama.
Helmed by PD Park Shin-Woo, "Jealousy Incarnate" depicts the fierce competition and romance between an anchor, Lee Hwa-Shin (JO) and a weather forecaster, Pyo Na-Ri, inside a broadcasting studio, Drama Beans reported. It is written by Seo Sook-Hyang, whose previous works include MBC's "Miss Korea" (2013-2014) and KBS 2TV's "Romance Town" (2011).
Other stars include Ko Gyung-Pyo as Ko Jung-Won, Lee Mi-Sook as Kye Sung-Sook, Park Ji-Young as Bang Ja-Young, Seo Ji-Hye as Hong Hye-Won and Lee Sung-Jae as Kim Rak. It airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 10:00 PM (KST) on SBS.
Check out SBS's "Jealousy Incarnate" below:
