In the episode broadcast on May 16, after signing a support contract with the Korean Film Council, the character Hwang Dong Man (Koo Kyo Hwan) blew candles on the congratulatory cake prepared by his girlfriend Byun Eun Ah (Go Yoon Jung) at a comic book shop.
However, instead of hoping for success, he started crying and confessing his past mistakes.
He choked up and said that he finally understood the feeling of despair of those who once wished others to fail, and only after he himself fell into difficulty did he truly understand their pain.
Realizing her boyfriend's fear and emotional instability, Eun Ah tried to comfort him. She pulled him into her shirt and hugged him tightly. She said: "If you want to run away, I will find a way. If you say we should run away forever, then I will also run away with you forever".
Lying in her arms, Hwang Dong Man softly replied: "I like that.
Immediately after the episode aired, this scene sparked controversy on social media.
Many people think that if the director wants to show a moment of healing and comfort, he can completely do it in a more effective way. The staging of the hug has blurred the initial intention because it is considered to have the element of "serving men".
However, deeper criticism lies in the fact that the female lead is turned into the "mother" image of the male lead, even though in the story he is almost 10 years older than her.
Many Korean female audiences believe that this is a repetitive motif in the works of screenwriter Park Hae Young, including the movie "My mister" (starring IU, Lee Sun Kyun).
Korean netizens expressed fatigue with the trend that they consider problematic: always putting the pain of male characters at the center, while female characters only exist as tools to comfort or "healing" men.
However, the wave of criticism mainly came from Korean audiences. Conversely, many foreign viewers praised the way the film portrayed the intimacy and emotional connection between Eun Ah and Dong Man in the above scene.
We are all trying here" tells the story of Hwang Dong Man (Koo Kyo Hwan), a person who believes he is the only one who has a failed life among successful friends. Tormented by suffering, jealousy and envy, he begins his journey to find peace for himself.
Hwang Dong Man has dreamed of debuting as a film director for 20 years, while Byun Eun Ah (Go Yoon Jung) is the producer of Choi Film company, known as the "axe". The two are the only shelter of each other.
The film has aired to episode 9 with an unfavorable rating, only reaching over 3%. However, the work still has its own favorite audience with positive reviews of the content.
