Being on the set of an anticipated film or series can be an exciting experience, especially when given a minor or extra role to be featured on screen. However, during the hustle and bustle of filming might turn even the most exciting of experiences sour when mistreatment happens among staff.
A viral exposé dated 26th May 2025, revealed that extras and staff behind Netflix’s “When Life Gives You Tangerines” (폭싹 속았수다)were mistreated during the course of filming. Revealed in a viral Twitter post, the individuals claimed that they were abused and mistreated and faced damages to rented cars and props.
Which started off as a thread from Twitter user @/kcanari, who was stating that rented props should be protected on drama production sets, turned into a viral exposé of mistreatment among the staff of the popular Netflix drama. Twitter user @/M_RBt_ commented on the thread, “I’ll tell you something funny. Since the filming crew can’t handle the old buses or large prop vehicles that we rent or build, they damage them even though we are almost always on site to manage/operate them (under the pretence of monitoring)”.
The user then went on to reveal that their experience was based on the behind-the-scenes of “When Life Gives You Tangerines”, also known in a Jeju dialect as “I Was Completely Fooled”. The viral post, which has amounted to 5 million views, has sparked others to come forth with their accounts of their time on set. Twitter user @/Ryu_dongsu recounted his sour encounter with the director of the drama, Kim Wonseok (김원석), ” He didn’t give me a cue sign and was messing around with me, so I said, ‘You didn’t give me a cue sign,’ and he got really angry and said, ‘What the hell is that guy doing? Why is that guy here?'”
The user then said he was called the next day by the film crew and was cursed at for the incident. Other than the damage to rented properties and mistreatment of staff, extras of the set also faced abuse during filming, with Twitter user @/bigpeach_jk recounting their time on set. “The production team didn’t want to spend money on actors or performers, so they went with the most cost-effective approach. They left the elderly performers alone in the cold winter and starved them”.
She also claimed that actors were required to shave their heads for wig installations and were not given winter clothes during the cold days of filming. With the Twitter threads continuing to amass views, production staff are yet to comment on the allegations.
Alyssa Gabrielle contributed to this article
