Update: Park Eun Suk Apologizes For Portrayal Of Character In "The Penthouse 3" + Production Team Addresses Controversy

Updated June 14 KST:

Spoilers

On June 14, the production team of SBS’s “The Penthouse 3” shared a statement regarding the way Park Eun Suk’s new character Alex was depicted the drama.

They stated, “We were not intending to mock a specific race or culture.”

Original Article:

Park Eun Suk shared an apology about his character in “The Penthouse 3.”

On the latest episode of SBS’s “The Penthouse 3,” Park Eun Suk appeared as the new character Alex, who is the brother of Park Eun Suk’s other character Logan Lee.

After the broadcast, many international viewers pointed out that the character was portrayed in a way that can be considered cultural appropriation.

On June 12, the actor posted the following statement in English on his TikTok account:

Regarding the drama “The Penthouse” character Alex, I’d like to let everyone know that none of the appearances that were driven by the character were falsely intentional to harm, mock, disrespect, or discourage the African-American community. I’d like to apologize to the people who took offense by the character’s appearance. It was more admiration of the culture than mockery, but now I’m aware that the approach was more CA [cultural appropriation]. It was a wrong attempt for character development.

Again, I’d like to apologize to those who took offense; I as a minority myself should’ve known better. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to grow in awareness.

I hope you have the sincerity in your hearts to give the benefit of the doubt, that Alex’s appearance was rather a character approach who admired the culture and wanted to “be” like, not intentionally portraying mockery.

Below is a clip of the character in the drama (relevant part begins at the time stamp 2:40).

Source (1) (2)