Premature to accuse JTBC drama 'Snowdrop' of 'distorting history': experts

Scenes from JTBC's new drama, "Snowdrop" / Courtesy of JTBC Studio, Drama House Studio

By Dong Sun-hwa

JTBC's upcoming TV series "Snowdrop" is undoubtedly one of the most-talked-about K-dramas this year, not only because of its star-studded cast, but also because of the controversy over its "history distortion."

After cable channel JTBC announced its premiere date (Dec. 18), the 16-episode soap opera is again facing a backlash online, with numerous people insisting that it glamorizes a North Korean spy and implies that North Korea was involved in the 1980 Gwangju Uprising ― a claim made by then-President Chun Doo-hwan in defense of his government's lethal suppression of the democratic movement.

The drama, starring Jisoo of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK and actor Jung Hae-in, was first accused of distorting history in April, when part of its synopsis and character descriptions were leaked online. According to the synopsis, "Snowdrop" is a romance story about North Korean spy Im Soo-ho (Jung) and South Korean college student Eun Young-ro (Jisoo). It is set in 1987, when Korea was under Chun, who seized power after staging a military coup in 1979.

Many raised eyebrows at the series for "glamorizing" North Korean spies, who have been responsible for the deaths of numerous South Korean citizens, and for suggesting that Chun's politically sensitive claim that the North Korean regime was behind the Gwangju Uprising was true. Thus, more than 222,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the drama to be banned.

"Our real history tells us that numerous students who were part of South Korea's pro-democracy movement were tortured and killed, after being falsely accused of spying for North Korea," one of them commented. "The creation of a character like Soo-ho looks like an uncomfortable twisting of our tragic history."

Another person wrote, "The 1980s cannot be explained without mentioning the pro-democracy protests. Why is Snowdrop trying to disparage our historical movement by featuring a spy character?"

The soap opera also caused a stir for its "positive depiction" of another male character named Lee Kang-moo, an official at the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP), the intelligence agency that worked for Chun. In its character description, JTBC described him as a "single-minded" man, prompting numerous people to criticize the cable channel for "beautifying a character who is part of an organization responsible for damaging Korea's democracy."

To assuage these critics, JTBC issued two statements.

"Soo-ho and Young-ro will neither lead nor participate in the pro-democracy protests," JTBC said, adding that its drama will not touch on sensitive issues related to the demonstrations. "We are actually planning to feature a character that is oppressed by the military government after being denounced as a spy. And we described Kang-moo as a single-minded person because he will turn his back on the corrupt organization to which he belongs."

Experts believe it is premature to conclude that "Snowdrop" has distorted Korean history.

"This is a sensitive issue, but as of now, we have too little information with which to judge the series, which has not even aired its first episode," drama critic Yun Suk-jin, who is also a professor of Korean Language and Literature at Chungnam National University, told The Korea Times Tuesday. "It goes without saying that writers and directors should take extra care and be more responsible when they are referring to a historical event in their work. But their artistic freedom must be guaranteed as well."

In fact, many believe that the cancellation of the SBS TV series "Joseon Exorcist" has had a spillover effect on "Snowdrop." In March, the historical-supernatural drama was terminated after airing only two episodes, as viewers boycotted it for "twisting history with its unnecessary use of Chinese foods and negative portrayal of Taejong (1367-1422), the third king of Joseon."

But Yun drew a line between "Joseon Exorcist" and "Snowdrop," saying, "The former caused a stir after airing its first episode and people raised issues with particular scenes. This was something understandable. But in the case of Snowdrop, we have not yet seen the drama."

In a recent forum, Jung Hyun-min, who penned the historical series, "Jeong Dojeon" (2014), said, "Writers may not be able to maximize their creativity if they face more restrictions than now. But I do believe that industry insiders need to be more careful when they are dealing with historical events."

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