'The Last Empress' Filming Not Delayed By Shin Sung Rok's Surgery
The filming of hit K-drama The Last Empress will not be delayed due to Shin Sung Rok's surgery. The actor recently suffered an injury on set while filming the TV series.
In his Instagram post, Shin assured his fans that he doing well and currently in recovery. He confirmed that he is coming back to work very soon.
"This is the emperor of the Great Korean Empire... Lee Hyuk. Everyone... I'm... alright... I'm recovering. I will return to filming soon. Director Joo Dong Min, the staff members, and I were all working passionately to create images you all would love, and I was slightly injured. Hehe. So please give us a lot of love... and we won't stop our passion," he wrote on IG.
On Wednesday, Shin's agency HB Entertainment confirmed that the actor sustained a fractured toe while shooting some scenes on Tuesday for the upcoming episodes of The Last Empress. Shin has undergone surgery and expected to resume filming within the week.
In the SBS drama, Shin portrays the role of Emperor Lee Hyuk, who is well-respected by his people but beyond the charming persona that he shows to the public lies an unpleasant personality. The plot of The Last Empress revolves around the love, scandal, betrayal, and revenge.
The previous episode left a cliffhanger in which Emperor Lee Hyuk finds out that his grandmother was murdered. He saw his wife, Empress Oh Sunny (Jang Na Ra), sitting beside the dead body of Grand Empress Dowager Jo (Park Won Sook).
In the upcoming episode, Oh Sunny is the prime suspect in the murder of the Grand Empress, who earlier asked her to leave the palace. The emperor also declares that Oh Sunny is no longer the Empress of the palace.
The series also stars Choi Jin Hyuk as Na Wang Sik, a.k.a. Chun Woo Bin, who works as a bodyguard for the imperial family. He intends to get close to the emperor to avenge the death of his mother. Lee Elijah is also among the cast members. She plays the role of Min Yoo Ra, the head secretary of the royal family and also the mistress of the emperor.
The Last Empress airs every Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 p.m. KST on SBS. It is currently leading the viewership ratings on its time slot. The show broke its own viewership record with its December 13 episode. It recorded a nationwide rating of 14 percent and 15.4 percent in Seoul, according to Nielsen Korea.
Meanwhile, Shin's accident while filming comes a few days after SBS has been accused of poor working condition on the set of the drama. The Hope Alliance Labor Union filed a bill of indictment with the Ministry of Employment and Labor against the network. The group listed down their complaints about long working hours and more. SBS has already released an official statement to address the allegations.
