The hacked tvN Drama YouTube channel shows a video about cryptocurrency. Captured from tvN YouTube channel

Cryptocurrency-related videos replace drama content, confuse fans

By KTimes

The official YouTube accounts of tvN drama and Tving were hacked on Saturday and are currently undergoing restoration, an official said.

As of noon Saturday, the official YouTube channels of tvN Drama and Tving show a series of cryptocurrency-related videos and logos of the Ripple cryptocurrency.

All previously existing drama-related content, such as “Lovely Runner” starring Byeon Woo-seok and “Queen of Tears” starring Kim Soo-hyun, has been wiped from the channels.

Additionally, the channel IDs have been changed from tvN and Tving to Ripple.

A scene from the tvN’s series”Queen of Tears” / Courtesy of tvN

Tving and tvN estimate the hacking occurred around 7 a.m. that day. A tvN official said, “We recognized the channel hacking and are taking measures to resolve the issue with YouTube. We will do our best to restore the channels quickly.”

Tving and tvN informed their subscribers about the hacking through their social media accounts, urging them to avoid clicking on suspicious videos or links to prevent further harm. They cautioned viewers to be particularly vigilant.

As of this date, tvN Drama’s YouTube channel has approximately 7.11 million subscribers, and Tving has about 986,000 subscribers.

The hacking has left subscribers confused and frustrated. Comments on tvN’s social media include remarks such as, “I subscribed to the drama channel and turned on notifications, but suddenly saw strange foreign content. Now I realize it was a hacking incident,” and “I couldn’t find the behind-the-scenes video of ‘Queen of Tears’ and wondered why.”

Many international subscribers have also expressed their discomfort in English and Spanish.

A screenshot shows Tving’s official YouTube channel after it was hacked on Saturday. Captured from Tving YouTube channel

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by staff of The Korea Times.