Exploitative Auditions Revealed

Kim Soohyun's "Real" is back under scrutiny, and what's being revealed is more disturbing than anyone imagined. From nightclub auditions to exploited actresses, the truth behind this production is shocking viewers worldwide. The film's casting process required women to audition at the Octagon club in revealing outfits, with many feeling uncomfortable as cameras filmed them without clear direction. Meanwhile, celebrities like Suzy were misled about their roles, and actress Han Jieun found all her scenes cut—except the explicit ones.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kim Suhun's twenty seventeen film Real, which he both starred
in and produced, is facing renewed scrutiny as more unsettling
details come to light, from the exploitation of actresses to
troubling audition practices and accusations from those involved in the production,
the truth behind the movie is far darker than anyone realized.
On March twenty eighth, after days of cryptic posts seemingly

(00:22):
aimed at Suyun, Sully's older brother, Choi Gonhi made serious
claims in an exclusive with Sports Kyung Young. He demanded
answers from Suhyun and his cousin Li Sa Rong, who
had taken over as director mid production, replacing Lee jongsub.
He raised three key concerns, all related to Sully's explicit
scene in the film. First, he questioned why this scene

(00:43):
wasn't originally included in the script. Second, he stated that
Sully had been persuaded into filming it herself instead of
using a body double. Lastly, he pointed out inconsistencies regarding
the body double's supposed absence due to illness, as testimonies
from staff and actors who were present at Sully's funeral
suggested otherwise. He also hinted at having discovered even more

(01:06):
disturbing information at the funeral, but chose to focus on
these three points. As Suhun's agency is still working on
confirming the accusations, more details about the movie are emerging.
Much of the focus has been on the intense backlash
Sully faced due to the way reel was marketed. The
media fixated on her explicit scenes, particularly the fact that
she didn't use a body double for the topless scenes.

(01:29):
When these scenes were leaked, many believe intentionally, it only
fueled the controversy. Sully was criticized no matter what. If
she didn't do press alone, she was seen as dumb,
but if she appeared alongside the cast, she was considered
unworthy of being in the film with them. The harsh
criticism she face took a serious toll on her, with
many blaming her for the movie's failure and attacking her

(01:49):
with cruel words. This understandably affected her mental health and
contributed to her struggles with self harm. Through all of this,
Suyon never defended her, leaving her to shoulder the critic alone.
With the recent developments surrounding Suyan, including his past relationship
with actress Kim Sarin and the revelations of Soli's brother.
Many are now questioning whether Real was truly his passion

(02:13):
project or something far more sinister disguised as art. In fact,
Suyun's attitude toward women was evident in how he handled
the female celebrities in the movie. The media initially hyped
up the fact that big names like Iu, Suzie so
He of Wonder Girls, nine Muses, Kyungri and Minha, and
Sistar's daw Salm were involved, making it seem like a

(02:34):
major draw, but when the film was finally released, people
quickly realized their appearances were nothing more than blink and
you'll miss a cameos. So He showed up for about
five seconds as a silent cleaning worker. Dasam portrayed a
rehabilitation therapist who can only be seen in the background
of a single scenes. Kyungry appeared for four seconds as
a waitress. Iu was briefly seen as an award ceremony assistant,

(02:56):
while Suzi had a similarly short moment as a tattoo artist.
When someone pointed out on the coup that these well
known women were reduced to background characters in roles that
served no real purpose. Many netizins agreed and wondered what
this set about Suhun's views on women. They commented things
like you can clearly see what he thinks of women
and three seconds and five seconds is ridiculous, But the

(03:18):
way they appeared as if it was some special feature, Ugh,
it sucks. This issue became even more apparent when people
discuss Susie's experience, which seemingly led her to cut ties
with Suhyun entirely. During a promotional interview, su Hyun shared
how he casually asked Iu and Susie to make cameos,
expressing gratitude when they agreed, But what he left out
initially was that Susie wasn't properly informed about her role.

(03:42):
She traveled two hours to the set, only to find
out she'd have to sit through a six hour makeup
session so they could draw tattoos all over her body
just to appear on screen for a few seconds. By
the time she realized it was too late to back out,
she went through with it, filmed her brief scene, and
then confronted Suhyun afterwards. He recounted this moment like it
was some amusing story laughing as he recalled Susie telling him,

(04:06):
you never told me this was part of the plan.
After that, Susie seemed to distance herself completely. She skipped
the real premiere and never publicly mentioned him again. But
as bad as it was for him to waste these
women's time just to use their names as a marketing ploy,
that wasn't even the worst revelation about this film. After
Sully's brother spoke out, more unsettling details about the movie

(04:26):
and how it was made began to surface. One major
issue was the original casting call, which specifically sought actresses
in their twenties for the two lead female roles, along
with several supporting parts. However, the way the film was
cast and the entire production process started raising serious questions.
The call specified that actresses who weren't comfortable with scenes

(04:47):
requiring being unclothed were not eligible for the lead roles.
They also sought actors aged nineteen to thirty three, including
both newcomers and experienced actresses. Then, another post from twenty
fifteen resurfaced online, shedding more light on the audition process.
It described how the auditions were held at the Octagon
Club and all the actresses were asked to show up

(05:08):
in club attire. The post claimed that during the day,
young women lined up outside non Yon Intersection in revealing outfits,
waiting to audition. While inside the club, actresses danced on
tables and hung from the bar, doing whatever they could
to impress the casting team. The person who shared this
account remembered camera operators filming the scene, but wasn't sure

(05:29):
if any actresses from that particular audition were actually cast
in the movie. She also mentioned that she received late
night calls from directors, production reps, and managers, which became
so overwhelming that she eventually had to change her phone number.
Another person who attended the audition shared her experience, offering
insight into her thoughts at the time. She began by

(05:50):
noting that the production company felt unprofessional, almost like a
fly by night operation. However, she acknowledged that it wasn't
unusual for companies to be set up just for a
specific project. The audition itself struck her as odd. According
to the poster, the women spent most of their time
just sitting around while the staff acted as though they
were at a regular club. They were told that if

(06:12):
they were having fun, they would be filmed. This made
the poster uncomfortable, wondering how anyone could be chosen based
on such a vague standard. The place was so dark
that it was hard to even make out faces, and
there were no name tags or numbers to help identify
the women auditioning, so nothing made sense. When it came
time for the audition, there were no real instructions or expectations.

(06:32):
Instead of a traditional audition process, there was a sudden
silence followed by a staff member giving a monologue. It
seemed random and without purpose, and the only time the
women auditioning were filmed was when someone appeared to be
enjoying themselves. According to the poster, normally auditions involved performing
prepared scenes or free performances, but none of that took

(06:52):
place here. Once the lights dimmed, people with cameras began
moving around, but by this point the poster was uncomfortable,
feeling annoyed and even scared when the camera got too close.
She considered leaving and eventually decided to do so. She
ended the post with inside the club, it felt almost
like a blind, aimless atmosphere, which made me feel uncomfortable.
It seemed like a very, very strange group The two

(07:16):
accounts from the auditions left people deeply unsettled, sparking wild
speculation about su Jun and whether there were more victims involved.
Some even suggested the audition might have had darker implications,
possibly linked to trafficking or something equally sinister, with a
few even drawing comparisons to the Burning Sun scandal. While
there's no evidence to support these theories, the way the

(07:37):
auditions were described certainly raised alarms. What stood out was
how the women weren't identified, didn't perform any scenes, and
were given no direction. This might make sense for extras,
but it was baffling for those auditioning for lead roles.
Someone with real audition experience also shared how things usually
go according to them. In legitimate castings, actors sign in

(07:57):
with their name and contact details to be considered for callbacks.
They're given a sample script to prepare in advance, and
when they auditioned, they faced the director, casting director, and
sometimes even the writer. Often there are other actors already cast,
and depending on the role, there could be a chemistry
test or rehearsals to see if the actor fits, and
none of these happened during this audition, which understandable feels

(08:19):
very shady. Another unsettling revelation came from actress hanji Uhn,
who played Han Yawan, a character that was essentially a
copy of Sully's. In a twenty eighteen interview with Star
News that has resurfaced just recently, she opened up about
the emotional toll that filming reel had on her. According
to g Un, she had landed the role after competing

(08:39):
against four thousand, three hundred applicants drawn in by an
audition notice posted directly by Suhyun on social media. The
casting call made it clear that being unclothed would be required,
which made her hesitant. However, with little information available about
the movie beyond Suhyun's involvement, she trusted his name and
went ahead with it. Filming the explicit scenes was already

(09:00):
difficult for her, as she felt uncomfortable and received a
little direction, but things took an even darker turn when
she finally watched the movie. To her shock, almost all
of her scenes had been cut, except for the explicit ones.
She later admitted how upsetting it was to see that
those were the only moments left in the final version,
leaving her feeling deeply frustrated. Starnws wrote in their article
it was not an atmosphere where she could openly discuss

(09:21):
or share concerns on set. She was distressed and tried
not to regret it, but suffered significant psychological after effects
for some time. The film's original director, Lee Jongsub, who
was replaced halfway through production by Suhun's cousin, has also
spoken out about his experience and his connection to Sully.
With Suhyun recently making headlines due to Saron's family's claims,
Jong Sub has also been increasingly vocal on social media,

(09:44):
frequently criticizing him. For instance, when a tweet surfaced about
Suhun demanding Saron repace seven hundred million one while allegedly
ignoring her calls and messages, Jong Sub responded with a
scathing comment. He wrote about the deep ties between South
Korea's media, powerful corporations and the elites they protect, saying
that the only way to break through the system was

(10:05):
by exposing its ugliness, a struggle few could understand unless
they had lived it. John Sub has repeatedly shared posts
about Suhun, adding remarks like the same slander tactics traumatic,
and apologized to the deceased. First, you're a human being.
Nothing has changed, You've just become more vicious. He also
opened up about his memories with Sully, recalling how she

(10:26):
would send him countless photos every day, asking which one
looked best. Though he playfully acted overwhelmed, he always told
her she was beautiful in all of them, making it
impossible to choose. He ended the caption with, even now,
I sometimes hear her persistent voice asking for an answer,
and I end up searching for the best picture with
a sorrowful face. Additionally, John sub spoke about his grief,

(10:48):
saying he had lost many close friends and felt like
he had barely survived. He admitted the world felt too
cruel to stay sane in. For Sully's fans, it was
heartbreaking to know she had felt safe with the original director,
only for him to be replaced by someone who may
have pressured her into filming an explicit scene. It also
raised unsettling questions just how powerful were suchion's connections and

(11:10):
how much darker could this story get. Sully's family continues
to speak out, while Nedisons keep revisiting old interviews and posts,
trying to piece together just how distressing the filming process
was for those involved. With more detail surfacing. It's only
a matter of time before even more disturbing truths come
to light.