kNaru0online
The musical 'Man in Hanbok' is facing a huge controversy over unexpected cast changes and the production company's refund policy right from its preview first performance. On the first day of previews, the 2nd, actor Jeon Dong-seok, who was scheduled to play the role of Yeongsil, was unable to perform due to worsening acute laryngitis just before the show. Jeon Dong-seok tried his best to perform on the first day, but it was determined that he couldn't proceed due to his condition, so he had to give up. Jeon Dong-seok himself went on stage and said tearfully, "I am so sorry. I was doing okay until 10 minutes ago... The actors really prepared well," expressing his apologies. Actor Park Eun-tae, who was in the audience, quickly took the stage to fill in. While the cast change itself was deemed unavoidable, the refund policy announced by the production company, EMK Musical Company, later became a major issue among fans. According to the audience, EMK stated for this performance: "Full refund if you watch only Act 1 and leave, no refund if you watch both Acts." The Korean musical market is characterized by strong ticket sales driven by specific actors, and it's common industry practice to offer full refunds for cast changes. However, EMK's unusually conditional refund offer sparked strong backlash from the audience. Many pointed out that it was unrealistic to give people the option to "leave after watching only Act 1," especially when the theater wasn't conveniently located. Audience members who traveled long distances to see actor Jeon Dong-seok on the first day of previews expressed their dissatisfaction, saying, "I bought tickets to see the actor, and it's absurd to tell me to leave after Act 1," and "Even for previews, shouldn't full refunds be standard for cast changes?" In their official statement, EMK Musical Company apologized for the inconvenience caused by the unexpected cast change and wished actor Jeon Dong-seok a speedy recovery, but did not provide a specific explanation regarding the controversial refund conditions. The domestic musical market clearly has a structure where the fandom of certain actors significantly influences the success of a production. Audiences choose tickets based on 'which actor is performing' rather than the work itself. Therefore, even when cast changes are unavoidable, guaranteeing a full refund has effectively become an industry convention of trust. Considering this trend, it's hard to ignore that imposing conditions on refunds like this could significantly erode audience trust. The controversy that arose from the very first day of previews has drawn attention to how it will affect future performances and EMK's audience response. https://naver.me/F4LnI1Io +) 218. Anonymous fan 10:18 I think the timing of the announcement is more crucial than the refund itself... It's 7:30 PM, everyone's seated, the doors are closed, and then around 7:32, the director and actor come on stage to say, "The cast has changed today, we're sorry." They should have at least let us know before we were seated so we could decide. And the refund announcement was rude too. Instead of a general announcement over the mic, they only told people who asked during the intermission individually. Many people didn't even know they could get a full refund by leaving after Act 1 until they had already watched the whole show.
"Audience is NOT happy with the ridiculous refund policy and late announcements. They feel EMK is treating fans unfairly and need to step up their game."
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