By Park Ji-won
JTBC's upcoming TV series "Snowdrop" has also faced a backlash from audiences for allegedly distorting history, following a similar controversy over SBS' "Joseon Exorcist."
Some reacted furiously about the forthcoming drama after its synopsis was leaked online. According to leaked information, the drama, set in Korea gripped by pro-democracy protests in the 1980s, tells the story of love between a North Korean agent and a female South Korean college student.
Their discontent comes from lead characters. Suho, played by Jung Hae-in, is a pro-democracy student activist who turns out to be a North Korean agent who infiltrates South Korea to instigate chaos and political instability, during which he falls in love with the other lead role Young-cho (BLACKPINK's Jisoo). People reacted poorly to the way the male character is described and claim the plot is an apologism for the South Korean spy agency, which had tortured and even killed student activists at the time.
Tens of thousands of people left comments on the network's website, calling for the cancellation of the series claiming that it distorts the history of the democratic movement of South Korea by including false information.
"There are still victims out there who are suffering from the torture done by the spy agency and they are fighting for their honor and compensation. The drama is mocking history and democracy. Stop the production of the series and apologize," someone surnamed Yoon commented.
A petition was also submitted to the presidential office calling for a halt to the series' production and its cancellation, already attracting more than 92,000 votes.
"History proved that there was no North Korean involvement in the democracy movement. But the drama adopted a North Korean spy as a lead role. It is also trying to defend the spy agency which tortured and killed under the name of the government … The synopsis itself mocks the victims and cannot be approved under the name of the drama … The production of the series should be stopped and canceled," the petition wrote.
Meanwhile, JTBC made a case for the TV series: "The drama is not distorting the pro-democracy movement and beautifying the spy agency. It is a black comedy drama satirizing the political situation between the two Koreas under the authoritarian government back in the 1980s. Also, it is a romance drama showing young people who sacrifice their love."
The controversy came amid the cancellation of SBS' original series "Joseon Exorcist" for allegedly distorting history after releasing its first two episodes. The network canceled the show and discontinued production last week after receiving angry responses from viewers for portraying highly regarded historical figures as incompetent and insane, and using Chinese props and designs for a Korean period setting.
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| Poster for JTBC TV series "Snowdrop" / Courtesy of JTBC |
Some reacted furiously about the forthcoming drama after its synopsis was leaked online. According to leaked information, the drama, set in Korea gripped by pro-democracy protests in the 1980s, tells the story of love between a North Korean agent and a female South Korean college student.
Their discontent comes from lead characters. Suho, played by Jung Hae-in, is a pro-democracy student activist who turns out to be a North Korean agent who infiltrates South Korea to instigate chaos and political instability, during which he falls in love with the other lead role Young-cho (BLACKPINK's Jisoo). People reacted poorly to the way the male character is described and claim the plot is an apologism for the South Korean spy agency, which had tortured and even killed student activists at the time.
Tens of thousands of people left comments on the network's website, calling for the cancellation of the series claiming that it distorts the history of the democratic movement of South Korea by including false information.
"There are still victims out there who are suffering from the torture done by the spy agency and they are fighting for their honor and compensation. The drama is mocking history and democracy. Stop the production of the series and apologize," someone surnamed Yoon commented.
A petition was also submitted to the presidential office calling for a halt to the series' production and its cancellation, already attracting more than 92,000 votes.
"History proved that there was no North Korean involvement in the democracy movement. But the drama adopted a North Korean spy as a lead role. It is also trying to defend the spy agency which tortured and killed under the name of the government … The synopsis itself mocks the victims and cannot be approved under the name of the drama … The production of the series should be stopped and canceled," the petition wrote.
Meanwhile, JTBC made a case for the TV series: "The drama is not distorting the pro-democracy movement and beautifying the spy agency. It is a black comedy drama satirizing the political situation between the two Koreas under the authoritarian government back in the 1980s. Also, it is a romance drama showing young people who sacrifice their love."
The controversy came amid the cancellation of SBS' original series "Joseon Exorcist" for allegedly distorting history after releasing its first two episodes. The network canceled the show and discontinued production last week after receiving angry responses from viewers for portraying highly regarded historical figures as incompetent and insane, and using Chinese props and designs for a Korean period setting.
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