"Real Men" Under Fire in the Aftermath of a Soldier's Death, Netizens Demanding Cancellation

MBC‘s reality show “Real Men” is under scrutiny in the aftermath of a soldier’s death during service.

In April of this year, Private Yoon died from physical abuse from his superiors while serving his mandatory military service. Postmortem, it was found out that he has been abused since near the end of last year. Five sergeants and corporals were arrested and charged with abuse. 

As the trials for the accused are happening at the moment, netizens have taken up to voice their concerns about the military-variety show, “Real Men.” 

These netizens criticized “Real Men” for romanticizing Korea’s mandatory military service, only showing good and at times too-perfect instances of military life. They argued that in reality, abuse is rampant in these divisions, and the government uses “Real Men” to cover up the flawed military system.

Meanwhile, other netizens have taken the side of the variety show, saying that the program is not responsible for Private Yoon’s death, and should not be blamed for what happened.

Representative of “Real Men” announced on August 4 that they are not considering cancellations, although they express their deepest condolences to Private Yoon’s family and friends. 

Source 1