Is ‘Shining’ Promoting Dangerous Behavior? Viewer Complaints Rise Over Drunk Driving Scenes

Shining poster / Photo: JTBC

[Sports Today reporter Song Oh-jeong] A viewer complaint alleges that the JTBC drama “Shining” staged scenes that depict or suggest driving under the influence or while hungover.

The contested scenes appear in Episodes 7 and 8 of JTBC’s Friday series “Shining,” which aired on the 27th. The series shows a character who appears to have been drinking then getting behind the wheel.

In Episode 7, Yeon Tae-seo (Park Jin-young) is offered alcohol while dining with his grandfather; later, a soju bottle and paper cups are visible when he sits with Park So-hyun (Kim Ji-hyun). Despite those indications of drinking, the episode depicts him driving directly to Seoul.

In Episode 8, Bae Seong-chan (Shin Jae-ha) drinks beer with Mo Eun-ah (Kim Min-ju) and then shares wine with her. After saying, “I’ll leave quietly at dawn when I’m sober,” Bae steps outside the lodging while Mo sleeps. When he sees Yeon Tae-seo—who had been in a relationship with Mo—arrive, he takes the wheel in the early morning.

Shining still / Photo: JTBC

Following the broadcast, a viewer lodged a complaint alleging the program failed to meet its responsibilities as a public medium. According to multiple outlets, the complainant argued the production repeatedly staged scenes of driving under the influence or while hungover and treated those risky moments as devices to generate narrative tension and emotional conflict.

The Broadcast Media Communications Review Committee’s cable news team said it will review the complaint through standard procedures and decide whether to place it on the committee’s formal agenda.

[Sports Today reporter Song Oh-jeong ent@stoo.com]
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