K-pop survival show 'Kingdom' apologizes for unfair stage design budget among its artists

Mnet's K-pop survival show, “Kingdom: Legendary War,” stars six boy bands competing for the throne. Courtesy of Mnet

By Lee Gyu-lee

Mnet's K-pop competition show, “Kingdom: Legendary War,” is on a bumpy ride, even before the show's premiere on Wednesday: first with host U-Know Yunho's withdrawal, and now with allegations on favoring some of its competing artists by allocating higher stage design budgets.

The network released a statement, Monday, apologizing for allowing some of the teams to go beyond the standard budget on their sets. The show, a sequel to "Road to Kingdom" (2020), invites six K-pop boy bands ― BTOB, iKON, SF9, The Boyz, Stray Kids, and ATEEZ ― to compete for the best-performing group.

“As it was the first round of the competition, we have set the budget for the artists' set, but we apologize for not arranging detailed guidelines on what is allowed and what is not,” it said. ”Regarding this issue, the production team is taking it very seriously.”

However, adding that it values the artists' creativity for their performances, the network said, “We are still debating whether to set guidelines concerning every detailed matter regarding the set design…. We are doing our best to provide the best environment for the artists.”

The allegation was raised when a local newspaper, The Daily Sports, reported earlier in the day that the filming of the show's first competition was temporarily halted after one of the team's performances.

The newspaper said the team's stage set featured distinctively extravagant props and effects, apparently exceeding the 5 million won ($4,400) budget for stage setting allowed for each group. The managers of the other groups made complaints to the production team and suspended further shooting, asking for “fair conditions” for all competitors.

The show has already made unwanted headlines with controversies regarding two of its cast members: Stray Kids' Hyunjin and TVXQ's Yunho.

Hyunjin, who was supposed to compete on the show along with the group, announced an indefinite professional hiatus after admitting in late February to having bullied a schoolmate in middle school.

“Hyunjin will not engage in any form of activity as a celebrity for the time being, and instead he will reflect on himself,” the artist's agency, JPY Entertainment, said in a statement. “He will reflect on himself for hurting many people with his blunt and inappropriate remarks, and he will apologize to them while trying his best to help them recover."

About a month later, Yunho, one of the show's hosts, alongside his bandmate Changmin, also announced his withdrawal from the show, after being caught violating social distancing rules at an escort bar in Seoul.

He was booked for having drinks at an unlicensed bar with his friends past 10 p.m. The current social distancing rule in the greater Seoul area restricts restaurants, bars, indoor gyms, and other multipurpose facilities from being open after 10 p.m.

"Yunho's agency, SM Entertainment, told us he would not participate in filming 'Kingdom' until the results of the police investigation come out," Mnet said in a statement last Wednesday, informing interested parties that Changmin will be the only host.