The Remarried Empress Cameo Photo Reignites Costume Backlash One Week After Launch

A single set photo of Lee Junhyuk in a blue suit with silver epaulettes has pulled The Remarried Empress back into the costume debate. The image, posted to an online community on the 11th, shows him in period dress talking with Lee Jong-suk, who plays Heinrey, on the Disney+ series' set.

Lee Junhyuk is making a special appearance as Warton III, the late king and elder brother of Lee Jong-suk's Heinrey. He is paired with Kang Han-na, who plays Christa, empress of the Western Kingdom. The photo shows his face as striking as ever, but the glittering decoration across the outfit stands out even more than usual, and it split reactions: excitement about the cameo on one side, complaints about the clothes on the other.

Commenters wrote things like "Is this a children's musical? What is that outfit?" and said the color and fit were both a disaster. Others suggested a high-collared shirt underneath would have helped. Several argued that only Lee Junhyuk's looks kept the look from collapsing, with one saying that if even he can't pull it off, that says everything.

A costume debate that started the week before

The complaints did not begin with this photo. Since the series dropped last week, viewers have criticized the costumes and props of its leads as tacky and flimsy for a romance fantasy reportedly made on a budget of tens of billions of won. Some compared the look to the MBC reenactment show Surprise.

A necklace worn by Lee Se-young, who plays Rastah, also drew suspicion that it was a roughly 2,100 won item from the Chinese shopping site Temu. The production team denied it, saying the piece was bought at a vintage shop in Europe and has no connection to Temu.

What theqoo users said

1. 1

   "The Remarried Empress with Lee Junhyuk, seriously, I'm losing it!"

2. 2

   Even in that outfit, his face still stands out. It's insane.

3. 3

   His face is just the best, ah.

4. 4

   Who cares about the costumes when his face is that good?

5. 5

   Another photo, and everyone's going wild over this one shot, lol. He's so freaking handsome.

6. 6

   Let's give him a country!

7. 7

   Could he be playing the King of the Western Kingdom?

8. 8

   Huh? I think it's fine. Isn't over-the-top the whole point of the romance fantasy genre anyway?

9. 9

   If the costumes are this excessive and chaotic, they should at least tone down the colors or add some weight in post-production, and it doesn't look like they did. Honestly, apart from J, it feels like such a waste of the actors' faces, sob.

10. 10

    What is the production team doing? The costumes look cheap overall.

11. 11

    Looking at that photo, it gives municipal theater troupe vibes, the kind where the costume team has no big budget but tries their damn best to earn the municipal name, figuring the flashier it is on stage, the better, sob.