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NCT Jaehyun’s 2nd drama 'Bungee Jumping of Their Own' canned, fans say ‘let him act’

Some NCT fans were however relieved since they considered the original supposedly LGBT+ friendly film to be homophobic

NCT’s Jaehyun had previously landed the main role in the K-drama remake of the Korean film ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’. Fans were further impressed as the film has an LGBT+ storyline with the main character that Jaehyun was cast as being gay. With LGBT+ issues still being considered taboo in South Korea, K-pop agencies usually order their artists to play it safe. But recently, we have had several K-pop idol actors like SF9’s Rowoon, SHINee’s Minho and A.C.E’s Jun playing LGBT+ characters and fans were excited for NCT’s Jaehyun. Unfortunately, it might not happen.

On December 9, a month after the casting news, it was reported that the remake of ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’ had been canceled. The original is a 2001 film directed by Kim Dae-seung known for films like ‘Blood Rain’ and ‘The Concubine’. ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’ follows the tale of a high school teacher, Seo In-woo, whose girlfriend Tae-hee dies in a car accident. Years later, he starts noticing a male student, Hyun-bin, who reminds him of Tae-hee and falls in love with him. With NCT’s Jaehyun set to play Hyun-bin, fans were looking forward to the drama.

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‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’ gets canceled

The teacher, Seo In-woo, was supposed to be played by Lee Hyun-wook, known for his roles in ‘Mine’ and ‘She Would Never Know’. However, during the pre-production of the remake, Kakao Entertainment shared that the original scriptwriter was worried about the changes being made for the remake drama. They explained, “We have finally decided to stop the production in respect of the writer’s opinion based on his beliefs.” Filming had fortunately not started as the ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’ drama was set to be released in the second half of 2022. However, this is NCT Jaehyun’s second acting project that has been canceled.

Jaehyun could have had 2 acting credits

Jaehyun had previously landed his first acting project with the lead role in the K-drama ‘Dear. M’. It was supposed to be a sequel to the popular K-drama ‘Love Playlist’. Filming had finished, trailers had been released and the drama was set to air in February 2021. But one of the cast members, Park Hye-soo got embroiled in a school bullying scandal. This was during the same time several systematic attacks happened against K-pop idols as alleged victims spread rumors that they had been bullied by them. School bullying is extreme in South Korea and has harsh punishments. And like most of the rumors surrounding the idols, Park Hye-soo’s case turned out to be false. However, we still do not have a release date for ‘Dear. M’.

'I'm glad Jaehyun dodged that'

Some fans were relieved since 'Bungee Jumping of Their Own' was considered pedophilic and had a homophobic ending. The relationship was between a teacher and his student. On top of it, the film gave the message that it was okay for the teacher, In-woo, to fall in love with his student, Hyun-bin, because he was a reincarnation of his dead girlfriend, Tae-hee. Additionally, the open ending hints that the two commit suicide together to be reincarnated as a man and woman.

One fan tweeted, "How are people not slightly relieved about this news though? The original story was actually homophobic. They’d rather commit suicide than have a gay relationship??? Aside from the fact that it also has pedophilic angle??? Hello, I’m glad Jaehyun dodged that." Another wondered if the show was canceled because the writer was homophobic and was against the positive changes that the drama's production was making, "No shade to jaehyun at all i luv him pero the original writer is a WEIRDO and mej homophobic at predatory talaga yung original story kaya mej relieved ako na jaehyun is freed from this ahswgsgw and like i guess the new prod is trying to make it culturally approp pero ayaw niya?"

'Will always be supporting'

However, NCTzens (NCT’s fandom) shared their frustration on Twitter as Jaehyun could have finally got his first K-drama. While the NCT member has shown interest in acting he has yet to release a drama or a film. They trended Jaehyun as they sent him supportive messages like, “I feel so bad for our best boy~ to our yuno, hope no one will ever take away that smile.. please dont worry too much.” Another fan tweeted, “I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending :(.” One shared, “Jaehyun is just so unlucky with dramas!! Let this boy act.”

Another added, “Pls la can we j have jaehyun to act peacefully for once.” One NCTzen shared, “Jaehyun is always working really hard behind the scenes and acting is obviously something he’s passionate about. And he’s good like. Very frustrating and sad that external factors are the thing that stands in between him and a debut. Anyway will always be supporting.” Another posted, “ARE YOU RESLLY TELLING ME THAT JAEHYUN’S DRAMA GOT CANCELED?! CAN THE UNIVERSE HUST LET HIM ACT?! HE OBVIOUSLY WANTS IT SO BADLY.”