Cha Joo-young’s Nude Scenes in “The Queen Who Crowns” Were Forced by Production Team? “Verifying”
On January 16, Munhwa Ilbo reported that the drama “The Queen Who Crowns,” known for its explicit scenes, apparently lacked detailed descriptions of nudity in its original script.
According to the report, the actors only became aware of the high level of nudity during the storyboard discussions prior to filming. The production team allegedly raised the level of nudity using computer graphics (CG) and body doubles.
Episodes 1 and 2 of “The Queen Who Crowns,” which airs simultaneously on the cable channel tvN and the OTT platform TVING, include bold nudity and intimate scenes featuring lead actors Cha Joo-young and Lee Yi-dam. The two platforms adopted different editing approaches: tvN edited out certain explicit scenes to meet its 15+ rating, while TVING aired them unedited under its restricted 19+ rating. This led some viewers to label the series as an “erotic drama,” with comments expressing discomfort about watching the show with family.
Munhwa Ilbo reported that while the script for “The Queen Who Crowns” described intimate scenes, it did not provide explicit details about nudity. Discussions during the storyboard process reportedly focused on increasing the level of nudity, with the production team emphasizing its necessity.
Additionally, the media outlet revealed that the exposed bodies seen in the scenes were not those of the lead actors but body doubles. Cha Joo-young and Lee Yi-dam filmed the scenes while dressed, and the production team combined the doubles’ bodies with the lead actors’ faces using CG.
The agencies representing the two actors requested careful editing of these scenes prior to broadcast. However, the production team reportedly declined, arguing that the scenes were essential.
In response to the aforementioned claims, director Kim Sang-ho of “The Queen Who Crowns” insisted that it was not him nor the production team’s request to raise the explicitness level, but the channel that demanded such high level of nudity.
While doing so, he showed a cautious attitude, saying, “I don’t think I can speak directly about this matter.”
In response, a representative for the K-drama told media outlet SPOTV News that they are in the process of verifying the truth.
“The Queen Who Crowns” follows the story of Queen Wongyeong, who rose to power alongside her husband, King Taejong Lee Bang-won. The series has drawn attention with its intense ending scenes, achieving its highest ratings of 5.6% just four episodes in. Since its premiere on January 6, it has ranked first in its timeslot across all channels, including terrestrial networks.
The fourth episode, aired on the 14th, recorded nationwide household ratings of 5.6% and metropolitan area ratings of 5.3%, maintaining the top spot across cable and general programming channels in its timeslot, according to Nielsen Korea. The series also saw rising popularity among its key target demographic of viewers aged 20–49, with nationwide ratings averaging 1.9%, peaking at 2.3%, and metropolitan area ratings averaging 2.0%, peaking at 2.7%.
“The Queen Who Crowns” airs every Monday and Tuesday at 8:50 PM (KST). Notably, two episodes are pre-released on TVING every Monday at 2 PM (KST), drawing significant attention from fans.