“Typical MBC nonsense,” viewers said.
1 hour ago
Public backlash has emerged after the beloved MBC TV show I Live Alone featured a Japanese publishing company that was recently embroiled in a scandal involving the alleged cover-up of a child sex crime.
The criticism stems from the March 13, 2026 (KST) episode, which showed Kian84 traveling to Japan with Kangnam to meet legendary horror manga artist Junji Ito, who inspired him to dream of becoming a comic artist.
In this episode, Kian84 revealed that Kangnam had gone directly to the company’s office without an appointment to arrange the meeting. Musician Code Kunst also shared that Kangnam personally contacted people late into the night to make the meeting happen.
When Junji Ito finally walked through the door, Kian84 jumped to his feet in disbelief. The moment the two met for the first time became the episode’s highlight, with a minute rating of 6.4%.
However, after the broadcast, criticism began to grow online that Shogakukan, the Japanese publishing company Ito is associated with, appeared on a Korean show being aired on a national broadcasting channel.
Shogakukan is one of Japan’s most iconic publishing houses, known for producing manga magazines such as Weekly Shonen Sunday—which features popular series like Inuyasha, Doraemon, and Detective Conan—as well as Monthly CoroCoro Comic, Gessan, Big Comic Spirits, Big Comic, Ciao, Betsucomi, and Petit Comic.
Although the company appeared simply because Kian84 visited it on his way to meet his role model, some viewers criticized the show, arguing that the production team appeared unaware of the recently exposed “Shogakukan incident.”
The controversy refers to allegations that the major Japanese publisher allowed a manga artist with a prior child sex crime conviction to return to the industry under a pseudonym, while editors allegedly pressured the victim in an attempt to conceal the case. The scandal began with Yamamoto Shoiki (real name Kurita Kazuyaki), the creator of Fallen Strategy. From 2016 to 2020, he was found to have repeatedly sexually abused a student who was 15 years old at the time. He was arrested in 2020 for violating Japan’s child pornography laws.
Rather than permanently expelling the artist, Shogakukan reportedly allowed him to return in 2022 under the new pen name Ichiro Hajime, serving as the story writer for the series Merchant Mask. Civil court proceedings later revealed that a Shogakukan editor attended a settlement meeting with the victim and offered 1.5 million yen, provided the crime remain confidential and the artist be allowed to resume publishing.
When the case became public, it sent shockwaves through Japan’s manga industry. Although Shogakukan later issued an apology stating it “lacked sufficient awareness of human rights,” criticism has continued, with many accusing the company of effectively aiding a sex offender.
That said, Shogakukan’s office appearing in the episode—regardless of Kian84’s intentions—has led critics to argue that showing the company on a major TV program was inappropriate given its connection to the scandal. Some have defended the show, saying the appearance was incidental and not meant to promote the publisher, but most have expressed concern about MBC’s lack of awareness of social issues.
| theqoo
- It had to be intentional.
- Wow, what the hell… Is it okay for a public broadcaster to do that? Have they lost their minds?
- Typical MBC nonsense.
- The whole Shogakukan scandal already blew up in Japan, too. So what are they doing? LOL.
- Typical duMB-C.
- Seriously, what’s wrong with I Live Alone?
- Not surprising from Kian84 though…
- Did they not know? They didn’t even need to mention the place. Yesterday’s episode was fun and touching, but the production team just ruined it.
- Of all places, it had to be Shogakukan? Wow… Are the people defending this just Kian84 fans? They’re not in their right minds.
Meanwhile, according to Nielsen Korea on March 14, I Live Alone recorded a 5.6% household rating in the Seoul metropolitan area, ranking first among Friday entertainment programs.
Watch the clip here: