'Yawang' Again Brought Under Fire for Putting Leather and Fur on an Environmentalist

Yawang has been brought under fire again for props that don't seem to match their settings.

Environmental organizations commented that Go Joon Hee's frequent use of animal fur and leather in her styles doesn't fit her role as an environmentalist.

Go Joon Hee appears as the administrator of an environmental organization in the SBS drama Yawang. Many viewers have pointed out, however, that she seems to wear mustang and leather coats far too often for an environmentalist.

Near the beginnings of Yawang, she even goes against the president of a giant organization, aiming to protect a mountain that is a reserve for salamanders. The clothes she wears in the scenes before and after the battle, however, don't seem to fit her values at all.

Han Jae Wook, representative of the National Environmental Organization Council, commented, "I haven't watched the drama, but it doesn't make sense for the administrator of an environmental organization to wear mustang. This isn't just wrong; it's an irresponsible distortion of reality. It's nonsense for an environmentalist to wear clothes made of leather from endangered animals like mustangs. There are many organizations that host movements against the use of animal leather like those from minks and other endangered animals; how do you expect them to attend such movements in such attire?"

He added, "Environmental organizations also campaign for the use of long underwear in order to save energy, and are boycotting products from SPAs like Uniqlo. It seems the actress was just wearing what was given her by other companies, but it's wrong to represent environmentalists that way in a drama watched by many viewers. I hope they produce dramas with correct views of what they're depicting."

Another official also commented, "Environmentalists are naturally led to don simpler clothes. It's not that they're merely against leather or animal fur; they're just led to avoid such clothing. I don't know what the producers were thinking when they used such a setting, but mustang leather clothes could never be matched with realistic environmental organizations."

Go Joon Hee's agency has commented that it's "attempting to correct the flaws."

Photo credit: Kim Byung Kwan, SBS