Home / Arts and Entertainment / Korean Actor Apologizes for Mandarin Flub in Hit Lorean Drama
Korean Actor Apologizes for Mandarin Flub in Hit Lorean Drama
8 Oct
Summary
- Actor Kim Hyeong Mook played a Mandarin-speaking role in 'Bon Appétit, Your Majesty'
- Netizens criticized his inaccurate Mandarin pronunciation and representation
- Kim shared he had only 2 weeks to prepare and lacked proper language guidance
As of October 8th, 2025, the Lorean drama 'Bon Appétit, Your Majesty' has become one of the highest-rated shows of the year. However, the production has faced some controversy, particularly regarding the portrayal of Mandarin language in the series.
In one episode, netizens criticized the inaccurate Mandarin pronunciations and representation by the actors. Kim Hyeong Mook, who played the role of the Chinese envoy Yu Kan, has now addressed the issue. He explains that while his character was meant to be fluent in Mandarin, he had only two weeks to prepare for the role, as the decision for him to speak the language was made suddenly.
Kim reveals that this was his first time speaking Mandarin, and the language guidance provided by the production team was "not enough." Despite feeling like giving up at times, he dedicated long hours to memorizing and practicing the lines, sleeping only 4-5 hours a day. Kim has apologized for the inaccuracies and shared that the experience has motivated him to start attending a Chinese language academy to further improve his skills.
