KBS' Young Lady and Gentleman shocks viewers with a disturbing scene

K-drama Young Lady and Gentleman is receiving mixed reviews, after the latest episode portrayed a disturbing and violent moment where the lead character was locked up in a room by her father.

The KBS weekend drama, which stars Ji Hyun-woo and Lee Se-hee, started airing on September 25. The show is about a relationship between a young woman in her 20s, and a single father in his 40s. The 52-episode drama is currently on its 38th episode.

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Young Lady and Gentleman's potrayal of domestic violence disturbed several viewers

The Young Lady and Gentleman episode that has the internet divided aired on January 30. In the episode, the female lead Park Dan-dan, who is played by Lee Se-hee, officially starts dating Ju Hyun-woo’s character Lee Young-kook, after playing the cat and mouse game for a while.

While this eagerly awaited relationship pleased several in the audience, the same cannot be said of the characters in the show. Park Dan-dan’s father, Park Soo-cheol, was especially against his daughter’s relationship, so much so that he decided to take matters into his own hands and lock her in.

One of the chief reasons for the father’ abject disapproval of the relationship is that Lee Young-kook is 14 years older than Park Dan-dan, and is also the father of three children.

In a violent and forceful exhibition of this disapproval, Park Seo-cheol can be seen violently grabbing his daughter and pushing her inside the room. Not satisfied, he even goes so far as to put a lock on the door. Other family members are explicitly forbidden from letting her out.

Not all family members watch the scene quietly. Park Seo-cheol’s wife exclaims,

"Is this the Joseon era? Would locking her in a room solve anything?"

Despite her statements, the Young Lady and Gentleman’s lead is confined to her room until the next day. The father even forbids giving her food, saying,

"Don't even give her food. She will say she will break up with him if she gets hungry."

This archaic portrayal of domestic violence in Young Lady and Gentleman has upset several viewers, who claimed that there was no adequate trigger warning. Given how incidents like these are still rampant in society, many viewers claimed that this sequence may trigger people with traumatic experiences.

Some of the reactions (translated) include:

This type of sentiment still exists among the older generation who thinks this is reasonable, so it hits closer to home than murder, rape, etc that is clearly shown as wrong to anyone who sees it. I’m confused about how most of the characters don’t make any sense, they are incoherent, make the worst decisions, don’t express their opinions and let misunderstandings derail everything all the time… it’s so weird to me. Is this a common behavior in korean society? 🤔

I would just stand my ground and tell everyone we were in a relationship and for all to bug off. 🤣 She’s an adult, for crying sake! 🤟🏼

I just hope the writers don't have her and boyfriend give into the dad's demand in breaking up. Love must prevail, she not a kid she's a grown up woman for God sake!!!!!

Some other viewers, however, insisted that the discomfort felt by the audience was intentional, and was used by the director to hammer in the point that such acts of violence and punishment is harmful, even if it is done by one’s parents.

This is not the first time Young Lady and Gentleman has sparked a debate. The very first episode of the drama offended several viewers when they showed the characters meeting for the first time.

In keeping with K-drama tropes, this initial interaction takes place as children, but only for the female lead. Ji Hyun-woo's character is 27 years old, while the female lead, played by child actor Kim Min-seo is only 13 years of age. The age difference put many against the Korean show.

Several viewers have given the show an unfavorable rating because the age of 13 is considerably below the Korean and international consent age. Young Lady and Gentleman jumps a decade after the first encounter, putting the characters in their twenties and forties, respectively.