Vietnam broadcaster under fire for drama based on 'Descendants of the Sun'
A poster for the Vietnamese version of the Korean drama “Descendants of the Sun.” From Facebook (@HauDueMatTroiVietnam)
By Jung Da-min, Park Si-soo
A Vietnamese broadcaster is in the hot seat for alleged far-from-reality and inaccurate depictions of the Vietnamese military in a new drama series based on Korea broadcaster KBS's 2016 hit “Descendants of the Sun.”
The nation's defense ministry
fired a salvo at the broadcaster, Vietnam Cable Television (VTC), calling for corrections.
With 14 out of 48 episodes aired as of Saturday, the ministry and critics say military ranks, uniforms, the code of conduct in the barracks and other details are far different from those in the real Vietnamese military.
According to local media VnExpress, the defense ministry held a rare press conference last week, criticizing the drama's “irrelevant” depictions. It said the broadcaster had not sought the ministry's advice.
VTC apologized for the lack of attention to detail and promised to fix the inaccuracies. One Vietnamese film producer, who asked to remain anonymous, reportedly said the controversial scenes were inserted in reckless pursuit of making the drama as much like the Korean production as possible.
From the Vietnamese version of “Descendants of the Sun.” From Facebook (@HauDueMatTroiVietnam)
From the Vietnamese version of “Descendants of the Sun.” From Facebook (@HauDueMatTroiVietnam)