Netizens are currently on the warpath against the production of “Penthouse” Season 3 for its portrayal of a character named Alex, who sported dreadlocks and spoke in an African-American slang during a recent episode of the show.
Unlike previous complaints, most of the criticism came this time from international viewers of who deemed the portrayal as disrespectful and a form of cultural appropriation.
Korean actor Park Eun Sok played the character in the series and was introduced as a man who came from the United States. His introduction to the series was expected to add more complications and twists to the already controversial material.
While SBS has yet to comment on the concerns of netizens, it can be recalled that writer Kim Soon Ok admitted that there are many aspects of the show that are unbelievable and unrealistic.
After learning that she earned the nicknames “Anything s possible with Soon Ok” and “Soon Ok’s mythology”, she acknowledged that there she has killed off and revived multiple characters of the show and thanked the viewers for supporting the series despite its shortcomings.
“The actors are like gifts. They add the sense of reality to the drama with their acting and also put so much effort to express their emotions of the character while being sincere," she said.
After the success of the original run of “Penthouse”, SBS greenlighted the production of Season 2 and 3 due to strong viewer support. Kim So Yeon even picked up a Best Actress win for her portrayal of the character Cheon Seo Jin on the drama.