K-dramas That Faced Sequel Demise: ‘Juvenile Justice,’ ‘The World of the Married,’ More

t's not everyday that a K-drama gets renewed for a new installment. Most of the time, it's only highly rated works that are green-lit for renewal like "Hospital Playlist," "The Penthouse" and more.

However, even A-graded series don't get to have this privilege as many producers prefer creating another internationally acclaimed work than risking the reputation of the project and then fail in the long run.

Here are three K-dramas that were approved for a sequel but canceled its production midway. Read on to know more.

'The King of Tears, Lee Bang Won'

The 2021 epic drama "The King of Tears, Lee Bang Won" starring Joo Sang Wook marked the return of broadcast network KBS2 to historical dramas.

During its premiere, the drama received great feedback from the viewers. It also scored high viewership ratings during its run.

Unfortunately, the entire production of the drama was under fire for animal abuse after a horse's legs were tied in order to film a scene.

The actor suffered from minor injury but the horse died in pain, raising concerns and public outrage. Due to this, "The King of Tears, Lee Bang Won" stopped broadcasting for three consecutive weeks.

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The director, martial arts teachers and horseback riding team managers of the series were all sent to prosecution as they violated the Animal Protection Act.

Originally, the series was confirmed to be released as a two-parter but because of the issue, the supposed second season, as well as the remaining episodes of the series, were canceled for airing.

'The World of the Married'

In 2020, Kim Hee Ae, Park Hae Joon and Han So Hee contributed to the skyrocketing popularity of K-drama works after they headlined the hottest drama "The World of the Married."

Not only in South Korea but in every part of the world, the drama received intense feedback from the viewers. For eight weeks, the drama took the viewers on a roller coaster ride filled with betrayal, spite and revenge.

Originally, "The World of the Married" was set to produce a second season with the first season having an open ending. Unfortunately, everything was scrapped, and two special episodes were released to appease the audiences.

The production team reasoned that the drama is better left with an open ending, rather than tying all the loose ends of every character as "The World of the Married" aims the storyline to be as realistic as possible.

'Juvenile Justice'

Another letdown in the K-drama scene is Kim Hye Soo's "Juvenile Justice," which was released in 2022.

It depicts the story of a juvenile judge who gives severe and maximum punishments to juvenile offenders. During its premiere, the series received great feedback.

It even topped Netflix's Global Charts, thanks to its gripping storyline and actors' high quality performances. "Juvenile Justice" also won the Best Screenplay award at the 2022 Baeksang Arts Awards.

Sadly, the Netflix series, which was originally scheduled for a second installment, was canceled for unknown reasons, much to fans' disappointment.

Many believe that it was because of the work's sensitive themes like rape, abuse and murder. Some simply believe that there has been scheduling conflicts among the crew and the actors.

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KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.