#Korean drama series #historical distortion #vocabulary
For dark mode users,

Hello, reader! Today, we are covering:   

Index

Zoom In
The Internet Explodes over “Joseon Exorcist”

Today's Vocabulary
Peolleog (펄럭)


Don't forget to leave your feedback below!

The Internet Explodes over “Joseon Exorcist”
Writer: Dasol Um
Senior Editor: Regine Armann
Editor-in-Chief: Fred McNulty
Researcher: Yul Jun

[Illustration by 케이]
On March 26, Korea’s terrestrial network SBS announced the cancelation of further broadcasts of Joseon Exorcist (조선구마사), a 16-episode drama series of which only the first two episodes had been aired. It was the first time that a national television network canceled a series that had already started.

What was the reason behind the network’s decision? Online criticism arguing that the series misrepresented history in a major way.


Points of Concern
The series, set in the early 15th century under the reign of King Taejong (1367-1422), is about the royal family trying to protect the kingdom from evil spirits. The story itself is fictional, like many other historical drama series. However, the way in which it portrayed the royal family — real historical figures — was the cause of the controversy.

The first episode shows King Taejong slaughtering innocent civilians after experiencing a hallucination that was created by an evil spirit. Many viewers commented that they were disturbed by this scene that portrayed King Taejong as a ruthless tyrant.

What really blew up the internet was the “improper depiction” of Prince Chungnyeong, who later became the most admired ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, King Sejong.

The drama showed a scene where Prince Chungnyeong, who is often portrayed as a just, upright man in many history books, visits a gisaeng (기생, a female entertainer; similar to a Japanese Geisha) establishment to welcome Catholic exorcists who arrived from the Vatican. In addition to that, the house served Chinese, not Korean food, such as Chinese dumplings, mooncakes, and century eggs.

In regards to the Chinese props, the Hankyoreh reported: “It seemed preposterous: what royal dynasty would treat an arriving emissary to the cuisine of another country?” The production crew later tried to explain that these Chinese props were used to show that the gisaeng house was located near the historical Chinese border, but that did not appease the critics.

In the first episode, the exorcists and secretary-translators of the Palace also disrespect and underestimate Prince Chungnyeong, despite their lower status. The Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association, the lineal descendants of the Kingdom, later filed a complaint (Korean link) with the drama production team and asked them to remove this scene, on the basis that it is factually incorrect.

Five days after its debut, the show came to its end.

Actors who starred in the series made official apologies on their social media accounts, saying that they should have been more careful in choosing a drama to appear in.


Not the First Time
This is not the first time that a Korean drama series was under fire for alleged historical inaccuracies.

Mr. Queen (철인왕후), a historical comedy-drama series that was aired from December 2020 to February 2021 on tvN, was also highly criticized for historical distortion. Based on a Chinese web novel and scripted by the same writer who also scripted Joseon Exorcist, Park Gye-ok, the drama series was embroiled in controversy over the comical portrayal of King Cheoljong. Also, the dismissal of “The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty”, the annual records of the Joseon Dynasty that were kept from 1413 to 1865, in one of the drama’s episodes was suggested as a problem  the protagonist mocks the historical records as a mere collection of false information and rumors.

Some viewers filed a petition (Korean link) with the Blue House to cancel Mr. Queen after the first few episodes. The petition was endorsed by more than 14,000 users during the first week the show was aired, but the government did not cancel the show, claiming that would violate the television network’s freedom of expression. Also, the Korea Communications Standards Commission had received over 1,000 complaints (Korean link) about the drama series for the potential distortion of history three days after the drama was first aired.

Currently, with the cancellation of Joseon Exorcist and heightened criticism of the screenwriter Park, tvN decided (Korean link) to no longer make the episodes of Mr. Queen available via video-on-demand and other streaming services.

Also, Empress Ki (기황후), a historical drama series that aired in 2013 on MBC, was criticized for a similar reason. In Korean history, Empress Ki is recorded as a woman who encouraged the Emperor of Yuan (1279-1368) to attack the Goryeo Kingdom, the predecessor of the Joseon Dynasty. However, in the drama series, she was depicted as an ambitious hero who overcame her unfortunate circumstances and achieved success. 

Some historians did not appreciate how the drama attempted to transform her into a national hero, rather than depicting her the way she was recorded in history. Lee Ik-joo, a history professor at Seoul National University, was quoted (Korean link) as saying: “It may be possible to feel pity for Empress Ki (because she was sold to Yuan), but considering that Yuan interfered with Goryeo’s politics, her actions cannot be praised.”

The producers of Empress Ki, however, said that there is no need for the viewers to be concerned over their drama because it is a “fictional story” not a “historical documentary”. The show ended nevertheless with record-high viewer ratings (Korean link).


Why Is This a Problem?
There are several reasons why many Koreans viscerally react to historical distortions in drama series, even if they are fictional.

First, some Koreans fear that people who are not familiar with Korean history can be exposed to incorrect information when watching such controversial historical dramas. Korean drama series are currently being distributed across many countries through transnational over-the-top streaming services, such as Netflix or Wavve, and unproven or wrong historical depictions can thus be transferred to a large audience.

For example, a line from Mr. Queen dismissively says that the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty are a mere collection of rumors (찌라시), although most historical records from that era in Korea are based on those records. Viewers who are not familiar with Korean history could take this at face value.

The Korea Business Daily also reported that (Korean link) some Chinese internet users have tried to justify that “Korea has been part of China after all” by referring to the scenes from historically distorted Korean dramas.

Viewers who did not yet learn or are still in the course of learning Korean history can also pick up wrong information from these sorts of drama series — especially since drama series, with their flashy visual effects and starring attractive actors, are more accessible and appeal more to young people than books full of text.

Also, controversies over such drama series often spill over into political conflicts with Korea’s neighbor countries. For instance, the controversy over Joseon Exorcist and Mr. Queen has affected many Koreans’ perception of China, according to reports.

The reason why people’s anger against China, in particular, is growing while watching these two critically acclaimed dramas is that they believe that China is somewhat responsible for the distortion. 

China has been investing a huge amount of money in the production and distribution of Korean dramas. For example, the Chinese company Tencent invested about 10 billion in the Korean drama producer JTBC Studio and iQiyi, a streaming service that is often dubbed as the “Netflix of China,” bought the distribution rights of some Korean drama series.

An official of the drama production industry, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Hankook Ilbo that (Korean link) “when non-Korean over-the-top services buy the distribution rights of a drama series, they pay more than half of the production cost of the series.” Hankook Ilbo added to the quote that this huge amount of investment could be the reason why more Korean dramas are showing Chinese-styled props and settings.

Koreans’ negative attitudes towards China have so far been expressed mainly on social media or online community forums. But now, with the controversies over historical drama series that use Chinese props or are based on Chinese novels, negativity towards the country is becoming more mainstream. 

UPI News reported that these negative sentiments could develop into a “No China” movement (Korean link), a boycott of goods and services produced in China.

Today's Vocabulary

Peolleog (펄럭)

Pelloeog is a sound effect for a flag or any piece of fabric “fluttering” or “flapping” in the wind. People often use this word when they feel a sense of patriotism or pride for their country. For instance, when Korea’s COVID-19 disease control system was praised by many non-Korean media outlets, pelloeog could be found in many comments by Korean viewers. 

Example:

A: 어제 방탄소년단이 빌보드 차트 1위했다는 소식 들었어?
B: 펄럭-

A: Did you hear that BTS topped the Billboard Chart yesterday?
B: *pelloeog*

KOMMON TEAM
바코🌊 기린🌴 기니👑 프레드🍰 Sunny🌞 케이☕ 코코🐦
🍀Invite your friends and join the conversation!

Add us to your contact list not to miss our newsletter! (hello@kommon.site)   
Wanna share this newsletter with friends? Share this link
Wanna help them get subscribed? Share this link  

The conversation's always better with more friends💑
💚 Support us! 💚

KOMMON
hello@kommon.site
 Unsubscribe😥