It’s no secret that Korean drama industry is a harsh working place. It’s common for artists and crews to work several days with only a couple of hours of sleep.
Apparently now , some of the big names started to speak out about it, just like what Lee Jun Ki, Kim Sun Ah and co-star Park Gun Hyun did.
On June 16, Kim Sun Ah who is filming I Do, I Do wrote on her Facebook ,” I didn’t sleep for 30 hours straight. This’s a sad reality of making a drama. When will this situation improve ? Please, cheer up for actors and crews, they usually don’t sleep at proper time as well as don’t regularly because of filming schedule”.
Her co-star, actor Park Gun Hyung also wrote on his twitter on June 20 , ” I only slept 4 hours from Sunday until today. At the moment, my shooting scene is over. Kim Sun Ah, Lee Jang Woo and other staffs have to stay longer. I’m so sorry that I leave first”.
Meanwhile, Lee Jun Ki who’s filming his drama Arang and The Magistrate pointed it sharply ,” My American friend thinks that Korea is the best country because he can order anything at any time, restaurant opens 24 hours, so does valet parking, replacement drivers and people are full of energy”.
He continued ,” Korea surely is energetic nation. But, there are staffs who work 24 hours without sleeping. It also happens to the actors and actresses. I don’t think it’s right. How people keep their health for long time ? Will we have to go to another hell now ?”
Duh, what he said is spot on !
But, the good news is Korean lawmakers are reportedly discussing the scheme to limit daily filming hours into only 18 hours a day during the ‘Public Hearing for the Re-revision of the General Arts & Culture Standard Contract”.
Since there’s a lot of components to make a drama, from producers, writers, scripts and broadcasting companies, it’s surely not easy to make a change.
But they have to, for the sake of their industry !
Source : Newsen
I hope the filming would take no more than 12 hours, Yes i love THEIR dramas, but i would rather get 1 episode a week and know that they are healthy than them stressing and working sleepless nights just to get satisfy me. I LOVE all three that are taking a stand “more so KSA” but they need a break.
The implication is that the contracts are standardized by the government and currently the government allows an almost slave-like relationship between industry owners and workers. That the law is to change to require contracts to limit working time to 18 hours is ludicrous; 18 hours is still way beyond reasonable. Workers should not work more than 9 or, perhaps on the outside, 10 hours per day and people need to have at least one day off per week. Additionally, safely should be a priority. Stunts should be done by trained stunt people and the actor or actress should be able to decide individually what goes beyond their safety limit. I hope that all actors and actresses, especially those who have strong box-office attraction, will stand together to get these changes made. It may take a lot of internal strength, but they may need to walk off the set when the time limit is met. They need to realize that they are not doing this just for themselves but there are many who are not top stars who are working in the industry who also want to go home to families. People need family time. The relationship between employer/employee and that between owner/slave must not be crossed. People who work for a firm are not owned by the company. I am so shocked by the revelation of the hours — even if the employees enjoy doing the work, working these long hours smacks of abuse. People outside the industry should also support those who are attempting to create change from the current situation.
Sorry for writing again. This is a heavy topic that does not easily leave my mind.
Out of curiosity, I looked up what the situation is in the US. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has a standard workweek of 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (just like everyone else). There is also a requirement for a 12-hour break between shifts. There are provisions for over time pay and a tiny bit of flexibility on the 12-hour break (10 hours between shifts if working outdoors but only once in a 4-day period). Meal breaks are also required. Fines for violation of the rules are spelled out. http://www.sag.org/productioncenter/television/fact-sheet)
Actors have the right to say no to any scene they think might be dangerous. (if you go to this link, you need to select the 3rd item: Safety Bulletins and this is on p. 4 of the download; the link:http://www.sag.org/search/google_cse_adv/safety%20on%20set%20-%20use%20of%20stunt%20performers )
Regarding the population in general: The song which says: “8 hours for work, 8 hours for sleep and 8 hours for what you will” was written in 1865. The first federal laws requiring a standard 8-hour day were written in 1868. However, most Americans did not get an 8-hour a day, 5-days a week (standard 40 hours) workweek until the 1930s.
From a traditional perspective: The 10 commandments, from Moses’ time, gave at least one day of rest to all and that has always been a tradition throughout Judeo-Christian history. The idea that people are working 7 days a week seems barbaric.
Korean situation: My friend pointed out to me that this is not just in the screen production industry but throughout the culture that people work excessive hours. I thought Korea was more advanced. I cannot see Korea as a modern nation, or a compassionate nation, when there is an owner/slave relationship between employers and employees.
If you care about your employees, you cannot suck the life out of them by not allowing even proper sleep or family time. A 40-hour workweek is enough.