Amid allegations of mistreatment and verbal abuse on the set of "When Life Gives You Tangerines," Netflix has expressed its position.

On the 28th, a Netflix official stated to OSEN regarding the emerging controversy surrounding the production team's mistreatment on the set of "When Life Gives You Tangerines," that "Netflix is continuously working with our production partners in Korea to create a better production environment. We are currently verifying the facts of the situation and will carefully review confirmed details to prevent similar occurrences in the future."

Earlier that day, allegations of mistreatment directed at extra cast members on the set of "When Life Gives You Tangerines" emerged, primarily on X (formerly Twitter).

Online user A noted, "'When Life' was a notorious schedule among extras," adding, "They even forced us to get haircuts, yet nothing was provided. They left elderly cast members out in the cold during winter, making them go hungry without offering so much as a tea table or a meal truck, telling us to eat within 30 minutes anywhere in the area."

They continued, "Even in winter, extras were not provided with costumes; the wardrobe team didn't even allow thermal underwear. There was really no difference in treating us like slaves. We were left outside on a day when heavy snow was falling, and it was the on-site actors who took the initiative to bring us to the heater for the first time."

B's allegations, claiming to have been responsible for bus transport and maintenance, also followed. They stated, "(The director) did not give me the cue sign and yelled at me, 'What the hell is that?' I replied, 'You didn't give me the cue sign,' and he furiously yelled, 'What are you doing here?' The rental time had already been exceeded, and when I said I couldn’t do it without taking the bus, he was calling the subcontractors the next day to slander me."

They further expressed, "They always try to reduce the rental fees and pay low wages. They want to skip over the overtime pay as they see fit. Just because they are subcontractors, do they think they are not responsible?" adding, "They don't pay accommodation fees, and for meals, we were only given a cold Mom's Touch burger and a can of cola for dinner. There was no waiting room, so we were shivering outside for hours in sub-zero temperatures."

B also said, "In the beginning, I was treated kindly, using polite language while explaining, but I overheard a production assistant get onto the bus and tell the extras, 'Let’s do it properly.' When main cast members appeared, it was magical to see how the attitudes and expressions of the director and staff changed."

C stated, "I went as a mechanic and drove because they were short on people, but they didn’t pay me and only yelled at me. Who would feel good about that?" adding, "They seemed to have spent the entire budget of 60 billion won on actors' fees, trying to reduce the rental costs on us, paying low wages, and trying to skip overtime pay. How can we think positively about that?" Continuing, they revealed that while filming consecutively for three days in Jeonju, Byeongyo, and Andong, they were told they would shoot with different buses each time, were not provided accommodation, and received only cold burgers and cola for dinner while having no waiting room, causing them to tremble outside for hours in sub-zero temperatures.

Another individual, D, asserted, "While stenciling with a hardware store spray on the rented bus, I was caught, and the person responsible came back arguing that 'Couldn’t you just erase it with some excitement?'" adding, "There are always people like that in every location who refuse to listen to experts, thinking that their way is the right one, until accidents happen," also voicing dissatisfaction over the bus headlights being sprayed and unpaid overtime.

This is not the first time that controversies have arisen during filming. In 2023, one netizen reported through a community that while visiting the Gochang Academy Farm's green barley field festival, they encountered a filming crew on the side of the canola flower field. As they entered the canola flower field to take pictures and walked further, a staff member blocked their way, saying, 'You cannot go here because we are filming a drama.' As they turned to go a different way and raised the camera to shoot the canola flowers in the filming direction, they yelled, 'Do not take pictures.'

Additionally, on that day, comments poured in from others claiming similar experiences, revealing that the drama in question was "When Life Gives You Tangerines." As the controversy unfolded, the production company stated to OSEN, "We have made efforts to minimize inconveniences during the process of ensuring safe filming and preventing spoiler leaks, but we apologize once again for not being able to pay more careful attention to those who took the time to visit."

[Photo] Provided by Netflix

[OSEN]