The controversy over the glamorization of grooming has led to the halt of the drama adaptation of 'The elementary school student I love.'

On the 4th, the production company Meta New Line announced through a notice on its website, "Meta New Line has decided to take the concerns raised socially seriously and to halt the planning and production of the drama based on the webtoon 'The elementary school student I love.'"

It added, "Furthermore, I sincerely apologize to the author for any new burdens caused by the original work produced in 2015."

The production company also stated, "We will humbly accept changing social sensitivities and trends, and use this incident as an opportunity to be more careful and responsible, striving to create healthy and meaningful content in the future."

Previously announced for adaptation, 'The elementary school student I love' is a webtoon serialized from 2015 to 2020. The story revolves around an elementary school female teacher who develops an interest in a male character she meets in an online game she accidentally starts after breaking up with her boyfriend, later discovering that the character is actually her elementary school student.

However, upon the announcement of the drama adaptation, criticism arose over the work’s setting distorting the power relationship between students and teachers and consuming inappropriate relationships between students and teachers as a fantasy. The Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations (KFTA) demanded the withdrawal of the drama production through an official statement on the 1st.

In this context, the KFTA stated, "Teachers must build trust with students and engage in education with high morality and professionalism," adding that "the narrative that abuses this position to share personal feelings with minor students is not romance or creation, but the glamorization of a crime."

It also stated, "If this work is aired, it has a high risk of obscuring the seriousness of grooming crimes occurring in reality and promoting light consumption of such issues," and added, "The psychological and emotional damage to child actors who would have to act in these roles is unavoidable. Exposing children to danger for commercial gain is another form of violence."

[Photo] Source of original webtoon.

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