Girls' Generation Seohyun left in the lurch as leading man drops out of Korean TV drama
Doctors tell 28-year-old, who is suffering from an eating and sleeping disorder, to leave series and take ‘a mental and physical break’
An eating and sleeping disorder has forced South Korean actor Kim Jung-hyun to quit his leading role in the MBC television series Time, which had its premiere in July. “Kim has been receiving treatment while shooting the drama – he did not want to cause harm to the drama,” Kim’s agency, O& Entertainment, said.
“The actor and crew tried their best to keep going until the end, but Kim had to quit midway [through] after his doctor told him [he needed to have] a mental and physical break.”
MBC said: “He is doing all he can for the remaining part [of his filming]. Kim has been acting with enthusiasm and has succeeded in his role thanks to an outstanding character portrayal. We hope to see him again soon after he recovers.”
The drama is halfway through its run, with 16 out of the 32 episodes still to go.
The character of Su-ho, played by the 28-year-old Kim, is terminally ill, so when the actor leaves the character will die and not be replaced. Instead, the storyline will be changed.
Kim Jung-hyun has been acting with enthusiasm and has succeeded in his role thanks to an outstanding character portrayal. We hope to see him again soon after he recovers
Previously, the actor was reported to have been in trouble because of “attitude problems”. During a press conference, he remained expressionless throughout and even refused to link arms with his Time co-star, Seohyun, of the K-pop band Girls’ Generation.
The actor was having problems before the press conference, his agency said.
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This article was originally written by Dong Sun-hwa for The Korea Times.