Mnet’s “I-LAND” Under Numerous Controversies Even Before Show Begins

One contestant’s future on the show is in jeopardy due to the show’s problems.

Mnet‘s new reality show I-LAND, is under controversy for several things even though the show has yet to begin airing.

According to an exclusive report from Sports Chosun, the production team of I-LAND have complained of unreasonable amounts of work and overwork, and also negligence towards proper safety on set. One insider commented on the conditions that the production team faced.

The production costs are lacking because of all of the transportation we need to arrange, items we have to purchase, props we have to move, and people we have to hire to move them. One of the staff had to drive until early in the morning, even though he hadn’t gotten proper sleep in the days before, and ended up being involved in a minor accident. However, as the name of the rental car is also made in the name of the staff, insurance premiums have to be paid by the staff member and they also have to pay the compensation for the accident. The higher-ups are not taking any responsibility or action.

The staff are also purchasing and transporting props. There are more and more complaints as the staff have to use their personal cards for these purchases.

— Insider

The biggest problem they are facing is a negligence towards safety for everyone involved — from staff to participants. The same insider shared details about dangerous set designs and even injuries cause by the lack of safety precautions, but not much change was had.

The stage at the set has a dangerous design where even the most skilled and agile dancers could injure themselves. Issues about the safety of the set were brought up in internal meetings, but they were ignored.

Because of this, 3 days before the filming began, one staff member fell off the stage, which caused bleeding, but no follow-up measures were taken.

On the day of the first filming, one of the participants was in an accident on stage, and had to be taken to the emergency room for a fractured arm, making it difficult for him to appear on the show.

After this, they did not take safety measures, but just modified the stage a little bit and received a written notice of security by some witnesses. In order to reduce their production costs, they are not using cleaning services or planning teams, and even outsourcing PD’s. But in the end, the outsourced PD’s boycotted.

If there is a shortage of manpower, the right thing to do would be to reduce the scale of the show, or hire more people.

— Insider

Finally, the insider revealed that staff on the show were ordered to collect petitions in support of Ahn Joon Young and Kim Yong Beom, who are currently under trial for their roles in the vote manipulation scandals surrounding the Produce 101 series.

I-LAND begins on Mnet on June 26.

Source: Sports Chosun