SBS Sageuk Joseon Exorcist Cancelled With Only 2 Episodes Aired After Losing All Advertisers and Filming Sponsors Due to Netizen Furor
There are too many different elements at play with the controversy around Joseon Exorcist, some understandable and others just nonsense of letting the jingoistic minority perform cancel culture on things that likely happened in history they simply don’t like/accept. After airing only 2 episodes, SBS has announced that it will be cancelling the remainder of the drama after first considering ways to resolve the netizen problems with it, the network is in discussion through the night and will make a final decision by the morning. I’m so disappointed, rather than individual viewers simply NOT watching, the collective mob has descended so a drama has no way to keep filming regardless of the harm to the cast and crew who worked hard on it. The problems netizens have with the drama are: King Taejong was shown slaughtering innocent people due to a hallucination which besmirches his good name in history, the food eaten at a Joseon border town to China was Chinese items mooncake and thousand year old eggs, Jung Hye Sung’s hairstyle and outfit look like C-drama period styling, and a sword used looks like Chinese style weapon.
The first issue has historians and even the descendants of the Joseon royal family upset and demanding retraction/cancellation. This could be fixed by re-airing the first two episodes and making all characters including the King fictional to Joseon history. The latter three are just stupid K-netizen pride and hatred of all Chinese things frothing at the mouth and I just can’t. But JE truly has no viable way to continue because all advertisers were pressured to and did pull their advertising and the filming sponsors (hanboks and location shoots) will not allow lend itself to the drama anymore so realistically there is no viable path forward left. I don’t think the drama can finish filming and sell itself to a streaming network like Netflix either, it has Kingdom already and probably won’t touch this touch potato lest K-netizens threaten to boycott Netflix as well. I am truly dismayed at what happened here, no wonder more and more people are genuinely aghast at this expanded “it offends ME and I think it’s wrong” cancel culture happening in developed countries.
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Damn. Knetizens are some of the most unreasonable people. Do they forget this is people’s bread and butter, months of hard work was put into creating this show and now they get nothing? Also shows how spineless those adverstisers are, just how much are popple going to cater to knetizens. Those issues can be fixed easily but no, its gotta be cancelled
thanks god never been born as Korean…the blood of Korean is just so freaking stupid,useless and easily intimidated..whether its the North or the
South just the same idiot!!
Yo, be frustrated with what’s going on but remember it’s just a tv show. And, you’re referring to a COUNTRY and an ENTIRE group of people. As you said you’re not Korean which means, like most of us (myself included), you don’t fully understand the cultural significance and nuances of the situation. Keep going down the path of your comment and you’ll find yourself dangling very close to sounding xenophobic.
@Nik – not just xenophobic but let’s call a spade a spade here, it’s racist.
I think cancelling the entire drama without giving them a chance to fix the issues, was unreasonable and unfair to the (Korean) cast and crew though.
I have been saying this ever since “Cancel culture” started: it IS a slippery slope. Sure something really offensive is canceled today and you agree with that so you are happy. But months or years from now things will be canceled that you like for reasons you disagree with and all of a sudden it’s the end of the world. Should have remembered that when it started!
Don’t like something; don’t watch it! Don’t dare decide for me if I can and worse yet don’t steal away the livelihoods and artistic visions of other just because you are offended! Your feelings do NOT give you power over the lives of other people! This is sickening and infuriating to the highest degree. I hope Netflix can buy it or something and show it to those of us who will appreciate it.
right.. but youre saying that out of ignorance for everything else that has been happening for OVER a year or so.
Chinese dramas and medias have increasing poaching korean cultural foods and traditional clothing as their own, calling Korea a national of copycats. Chinese celebrities have been dressing in hanboks on national tv, and stating that hanboks, the traditional korean dress, is merely an extension of their own clothing and stating that Korea has no original culture, when chinese have stolen Korean TV shows, like “I live alone” and “Three Meals” without any credit, acknowledgement or TV rights to Korea. It got so bad that the Chinese UN ambassador filmed a video of him eating kimchi and stating that it was “their traditional food.”
There is numerous reasons that Korean netizens are furious about China and for the writers and costume designers to do this, in spite of everything, is really a slap in the face to the viewers.
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2020/12/13/culture/features/china-hanbok-kimchi/20201213145800805.html
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20201217-how-kimchi-rekindled-a-decades-long-feud
One simple question….how does kicking in the belly of their own people help the fight against China? The actors will bounce back, SBS will bounce back….you know who won’t….production staff. This silly culture cancel propaganda game has no winners. None.
The whole claiming kimchi thing started out as a misunderstanding, and because Koreans can’t read Chinese and Chinese people can’t read Korean, there’s tons of misinformation. A lot of Chinese people don’t care or think about the Hanbok thing, or claim it as Chinese. This Chinese youtuber pointed out the DIFFERENCES in Hanbok and Chinese dresses and Koreans misunderstood it as her claiming the dresses were the same. The same happened to Kimchi.
All of it is a misunderstanding, but if China really decided to double down on it… that would’ve been a mistake.
Nvm, I just read up on some stuff lol
Idk what the government is trying to do
their next target would be the casts of JE ?? just look how they bullied shin hye sun now. isn’t it kind of hypocrite? they enjoyed watching mr queen. but now they want to boycott her after enjoying her works. why hate now? why not before? coz they just want a target to be bullied. i don’t know other inetz.. but i see this a a bully opportunity
they should be ashamed with their bully and cancel culture attitude..outsiders look down on them.. but i don’t think they care
Dang, so much bad news everywhere. Cancel culture…yep…people are hurt now and can ruin you…so better do things right with facts, not alternative facts.
What the heck, I can’t believe it went so far that the drama had to be cancelled like that! What’s wrong with people nowadays, having such a selfish attitude and zero tolerance for anything! It’s like a bunch of whiny and spoiled kids who gets their ego bruised for the smallest thing and screams bloody murder. Why would the advertisers and sponsors take it seriously and withdraw like that, that’ll only enable this entitled attitude and inflate their ego even more. What will be next?
People on this sites must be stupid. There are bigger reasons why this drama cancelled. Imagine that’s your country that got its history distorted in grotesque way. Oops I forget people here only care about oppa’s drama doing well and have forgotten their own roots and will not protect it when outsiders want to distort it using money. People here can be bought using money. Or those visitors of this site are c themselves
Cancel culture is toxic, you miserable ignorant dweeb.
You sound stupid. And stop changing your username, will you? You were bashing SIG in his article and now you’re here spewing more nonsense. Did you think no one would notice just because you changed your name from jcw to hearmeout??? Not very smart, this one.
People like that will self destruct eventually. Don’t time waste engaging with them. Attacking someone’s looks with such venom & ferocity suggest they have serious mental health issues. The notorious adyjunjihyun was the same. She never came back to this site again.
Yup. Sounds like a local SK working class person who may have suffered poverty with unfair competition from rich privilege people who can buy their way out of anything with money or use personal connections to get out of MS. This is the biggest emo trigger as clearly seen. Fans who are non-Korean won’t be harping on this issue coz it’s not in their DNA/culture. Kumbaya for this ahjussi to get well mentally. He had to serve 2 years in MS maybe bullied in the army and now hates anyone who didn’t serve. SIG might have stolen his gf or loved ones hence all bitter towards this actor’s looks. Lol.
I notice he won’t attack Kimchi Ajumma directly though she gushed about SIG. Maybe he thinks she’s a female older Korean so that’s off limits in terms of hurling insults. He mostly left nasty remarks below international fans’ comments defending SIG. User most likely a struggling middle aged frustrated Korean office worker who hates international fans worshipping Korean oppas. He mentioned your sister office worker, does she still work in office or working people like you and me.
I can’t agree more. People here don’t think about the root of Korean culture and just care about their selfish desire. And trying to sugarcoat their reason by using word “cancel culture”. They should know that if this kind of history distortion by China keep happening, there will be no Korean drama as they have known anymore.
I feel so bad for all the cast and crew. I hope there will be a major backlash against the backlash. I understand the backlash, but the issues could be easily edited or fixed without changing the story. Maybe a title card can be inserted in that says “we made these following mistakes. We’re sorry.”
It’s not like Taejong goes around slaughtering innocent commoners after that hallucination moment. Aside from the first 15 minutes, the portrayal seems nicer than his depiction in Tree with Deep Roots, which highlighted his despotic ways and how he killed all his in-laws and his son’s in-laws and oppressed Sejong. Are they going to retroactively come after that drama too?
I hope they can air what they’ve already filmed even though they can’t film anymore because all their location shoots and costume-provider dropped them.
Writers should now write costume dramas with fake dynasties and rulers or maybe stop making so many sageuks revolve around royalty. What about regular nobles or all the people who never get to exchange a single word with a king or prince?
I think, it’s an alarm for the writer and PD nim. Just bcuz Mr Queen got high rating despite the backlash . They could easily edit ep 2 before airing. But they kept continuing. So…
I feel bad for everyone in that drama. I loved it tho. Sigh. The time and energy they had spent for it.. sigh..
Omo, i mean, just bchz Me. Queen got high rating despite the backlash, they thought, this drama wont get much problems too. But koreans probably are just in a sensitive state towards the history.
Whoa Whoa koala, I know you are upset but I don’t think it right to curse K-netz for their “stupid hatred and pride” I am sorry, It sad all over but it is their drama and their history and their culture I think it not something that we can judge or even curse just because we sad one drama get cancelled.
Oh my, I was so excited to watch this one. I hope they can find new sponsors and continue filming. I haven’t watch the first 2 episodes but if I’m not mistaken there are always disclaimer at the start of historical adaptations/sagueks. Will not that suffice? How about creative freedom? The writers/costume designers etc definitely did a lot of research etc on this one. Imagine the effort they put into this…..if people want accurate retelling of history I think they should go to the library and read history books..hay
The use of the word cancel culture tells me that someone is thinly veiled pro-CCP. but it is good that some of us can read thru an article and find it’s true angle within few words. nonetheless i am completely neutral as european myself just an observer
What a jump from “do not just deprive actors and crew of livelihood for otherwise fixable reasons” to “thinly veiled pro-CCP.”
Now that you mentioned the ccp thing, i guess the tensions here (Asia) might be one of the reasons for the outrage over the inaccuracies in the series.
Funny you should see someone worrying over the livelihood of a whole production crew and cast and just go DING DING DING COMMUNISM. Honestly, that says more about you than the one who made this article ?
Why? Why? Why? I was just starting to enjoy watchin’ this. Ok, they said we are going to edit the previous episodes so it will be less offensive. I was looking forward to that as well. Then they said cancel the show? Honestly, in these couple of months especially, I can surely say K-netizens are super sensitive. Anything gets on their nerves and its super depressing seeing these negative headlines where this and that is offensive. I really dislike this cancel culture. I feel so bad for the cast who were doing well portraying their characters and if they will be compensated for their hard efforts. Its scary how much power they have over these things and very much concerning.
Just to add: I really wish they were given the chance to change the storyline using fictional characters. But given the controversy around this, and I guess with the factors considered, it is disappointing they have to go this route. Hopefully the cast can find a new project to earn some income.
There has been a simmering tension between SK and China this past few months, what with the whole kimchi and hanfu argument between knetz and cnetz, but these issues later got blown up even bigger when Korean journalists picked up on them and posted them on their news platforms. Basically, this is a very sensitive time for Koreans with hostile undercurrent and I guess this drama became the turning point that made them explode in anger.
Not just SK, while we are busy with covid, China is busy with militarization of the disputed areas ??♀️. While I really wish they will continue filming, finish it and hopefully Netflix will pick it up, I would be infuriated as well if I am watching our culture/history being altered/recreated in favor of China (intentionally or not)…
Distorted history would be a big mistake eventhough its just a drama.i really want this drama can continue, but the way writer distorted history is too much and i think, us as international viewer cannot comment about their culture because we also had our own culture.
On behalf of Arts, am sadden and disappointed. One of the main reason KDramas has been so successful was the varieties of stories they present to viewers. And with this event, they are literally made writers/pds to be conscious with whatever they are working with, confining their imagination and limiting the stories we can enjoy because of fear it can be discontinued anytime.
and before someone come at me, i’m in no way invalidating anybody. i’m just really sad of this turn of events.
Why is only SHS catching flak for Mr. Queen? She didn’t star in it alone, did she?
Heard on Twitter that these upcoming projects are now getting the side-eye either because of supposed Chinese investment, adaptation of a Chinese work or involves historical figures:
Snowdrop. Jirisan. My Roommate Is A Gumiho. The Golden Hairpin. When The Day Breaks.
Abt Snowdrop,i remember there was an article from K-netz complaining abt it’s plot ..And blinks were than saying, they were hypocrites ,ate up CLOY and even gave it highest ratings but are after Snowdrop now…
I laughed cause they would be surprised to know that CLOY was also criticised and even a lawsuit was filed against it..
However what worked in CLOY’s favour was, that thing was totally fictional and required suspension of belief from the viewers. It tried to distance itself from the politics as much as it could..
But snowdrop’s plot is again based on a real issue and they kind of trying to romanticise that by distorting the facts.I mean falling in love with a spy who sneaked into ur country?? I don’t think that’s what happened in the real incident.I honestly see trouble coming for Snowdrop, especially now when JE got cancelled and NK launched another missile..Blinks would go mad..
SHS is active with Korean brands CFs while the rest of the cast are taking a break (except Na Inwoo). Kim Jung Hyun got some hate too (but his CFs are from Japanese brands & have been airing for over a year), and he’s not planning on coming back any time soon(he mentioned in an interview that he’ll be on a break for some months until he finds a project that manages to catch his eye), so he’ll just appear to thank his fans for the birthday event and gifts they are preparing for him, and then go off the grid again until whenever he chooses to return with a new project. KJH has been through worse and he knows how to deal with these obnoxious knets. He’ll let them whine until they get tired and fully ignore their tantrums.
What I don’t understand is why you want the rest of the Mr.Queen cast to receive backlash? You guys were so proud because, according to you, Shin Hyesun had been hardcarrying the show the entire time and the rest of the actors were only a decoration. You refused to acknowledge that without Kim Jung Hyun (and the rest of the cast) the ratings wouldn’t have been the same even though there was plenty of evidence, but now that things are getting ugly you want the rest of the cast to share the disgrace? That’s pretty awful of you. Why should more people get swept into this mess that is completely unfair in the first place?!
@Mimi
Are you high or just stupid? How the hell do you interpret me asking why is an actress from a now-hated drama the only one getting specifically targeted for appearing in that drama as me wanting all of the cast to receive backlash? Get the f~ck outta here with that cow dung. Your first paragraph would’ve sufficed. But you just had to be an idiot and spew sheer nonsense.
You guys? If you have beef with MQ/SHS fans, take your dumbass to them and stop humiliating your stupid self in my comment. Nincompoop.
@Mimi
I replied quite strongly to your very foolish comment but it’s not appearing. Maybe it will later. But I want you to know that you’re a total douche for twisting my words to suit your stupid agenda. Like I wrote in my not-yet-appearing comment, if you’ve got an issue with MQ/SHS fans, go and duke it out with them and take your idiot self outta here.
You have insulted me and in a very uncivilized way, btw. Why should I waste my time replying to someone like you? And yet, I will because I have manners. You could’ve told me that you didn’t want the rest of the cast to get flak and that would’ve been enough. No need for the insults. Whatever… go on your marry way and let’s never cross paths again.
If every Korean viewer stopped watching Joseon Exorcist and it got 0% ratings, SBS would cancel it. And that would be fine. One sells a product, the other has a choice not to buy it.
But that’s not what happened. K-netizens launched a pressure campaign to get every single advertiser to drop the drama, launched petitions to get it off air. That is the definition of a bullying tactic with the justification that the means are legit because their grievance is legit.
Has no one read 1984 and/or Animal Farm? Is liberal developed nations willing to let a mob mentality (might makes right) decide what can or is allowed to air on television as entertainment? Sure JE may be cancelled because it’s telling a story in ways viewers don’t like, but it should never be pressured to do so in ways that open the door to a slippery slope of mob mentality.
I fear the day that everyone who so easily castigated something as wrong has himself/herself doing something another doesn’t agree with and finds one at the receiving end of this method of forcefully being told to apologize and repent.
I am okay with things I do not personally agree with existing, I do not need to force it out of existence, I simply do not partake of it.
____________________________________________________________
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
?????. Well said. If you keep letting them win it will become a slippery slope. Its time for the higher authorities to step in with legislation to prevent further damage. They can start by removing anonymity to netizens trying to raise the mob. When keyboard warriors lose their invisibility, that is when the hunter starts becoming the hunted.
I think the Taejong slaughtering innocents was enough for SBS to cancel this drama regardless of K-netizen pressure on advertisers and sponsors. The descendants of the Yi family made a statement of their anger. It’s a bit of Lèse-majesté still in South Korean at least for the Joseon dynasty real kings. Going back to Goryeo, Gorguyeo, Shilla, Baekjae – you can make stuff up because who the heck knows as there are no full authentic annals. But South Korean culture and historical pride in the Joseon dynasty is basically inviolable and that’s where this drama went wrong.
The using Chinese influenced food, clothing, hair, and swords is just flat out wrong. Both Japanese and Korean culture were influenced by historical Chinese culture, and also transferred aspects of their culture back to China. It’s a fact but if the modern audience doesn’t want to see it onscreen I can accept that but it’s not a “distortion of history”.
Well said. ??????
An apt reminder… Unfortunately, i doubt many are taking the teachings/meanings of “1984” and “Animal Farm” to heart…
Assuming they read them in the first place.
International viewers who support cancel culture in the West but froth about JE’s cancellation are hypocrites. Apparently only self-righteous SJWs have the right to demand that an offending artiste or production be cancelled? Its unfortunate for the JE crew, was intending to binge watch but I do respect the South Koreans’ patriotism. They take their culture and history seriously, a concept that duckweed SJWs fail to grasp.
Those whining about K-netz complaining should brush up on their knowledge about historical China-South Korea relations and keep up with current affairs. The issue goes beyond your superficial entertainment and has heavy cultural and political undertones. There has been simmering tensions over the years, with China increasingly seen as a big bully using its economic might to force others into submission. Add on the recent controveries over the stealing of Korean culture, after claims that kimchi and hanbok originated from China.
Should we permit anything on TV as long as it has rating and bring money? Are we limiting art because we’re culturally uncomfortable? Are we foreigners allowed to permit a drama about koreans when koreans are against it? So let’s permit a show with underage sex, one that offends black community, offend minorities…I don’t care what they think as long as it has rating and bring money……..totally disappointed
I guess this isn’t a good time to compare…remember Abraham Lincoln – Vampire Hunter…..bwahaha!
You need to take into account of the cultural differences as well as their current issues with china.
Besides ,that Abraham Lincoln …i mean..we know vampires don’t exist..so obviously that whole thing wasn’t taken seriously..
But here,they kind of distorted history by showing that the king massacred an entire village..I know it’s fiction and stupid to react in that way but it did kind of fed a bad image abt their king .
I mean, this drama has a mass zombie-like virus in their setting, we know this didn’t happen either.
ofc the king didn’t happen either,
they just mad because the great king was portrayed as “bad” people before even seeing the full drama,
it’s a zombie setting, anyone will act like lunatic
I suppose the producing company can clean it up, remove the offending parts and bits and pieces and sell it to Netflix.
The fault majorly lies on the writer and then the production team who gave greenlight to these scenes..Mr. Queen already had some of those issues but the writer thought he could get away with it this time as well. Honestly messing with King Sejong who literally created the hangul alphabets and is one of the most respected historical figure in korea was a bad decision…They should’ve sticked with fictional names .As for the things related to china, Vincenzo got backlash too but is still getting good ratings..thus i believe JE could’ve been saved only if they didn’t distort historical facts related to their kings.
K-netz are also at fault for bullying but I can’t blame them 100pc .
Poor Jang Dong Yoon..even broke his arm and Lee Yubi also got injured..This could’ve been their breakthrough drama..smh!! ??
I feel bad for the actors and everyone who put time and effort into making this drama. Korea ain’t no joke, the public does have a hold on companies, lol. If it was in America, they would have said “dont like, dont watch”.
Not true, after seeing so many cases of cancelled entertainers or personalities in the US. Many of those commentators who are up in arms over JE’s cancellation are probably part of the woke crowd who supported the toxic cancel culture in the West,just that the latter made for easy virtue signalling as it is positioned as taking a moral stance, however cue pitchforks when the same fate befalls their k-drama entertainment.
K netizens have a lot of power. That being said, in America, there have been several instances where controversial stuff was pulled from the air. I remember Blacklish NFL episode was pulled by ABC. Also Confederate from the GOT writers was reportedly in production hell b/c of the controversy surrounding the plot. Or Heathers which got pulled b/c of the shootings, although Netflix had a biggie with Cuties and it had calls/backlash against them last Summer, yet Netflix stood by their artist/film. In this case, SBS was a coward (they are messy), and didn’t stick by their artists/show. Had they done so, and gone back to re-edit the series after a one week hiatus as originally planned, then this would’ve died down after a week or two.
I hear SBS is publicly owned (?) and funded by taxpayers. They were at risk of losing their license.
ALL the sponsors (the real cowards) bailed out immediately the backlash began and the production had no money, no costumes, no sets to shoot anything.
The Blue House was being inundated by petitions from the masses.
The descendants of the Joseon royal family also demanded the series be cancelled.
Was there anything else SBS could have done, I wonder? I think their money was in it too and they wanted to re-work those scenes but the k-netz gave no quarter. They’ve had Mr. Queen taken down from streaming sites and I heard it might not be nominated for any awards. They’re targeting both JE and MQ cast. SHS has lost two CFs, so far. And now upcoming dramas that haven’t even aired yet are in the line of fire too.
That sucks, I was excited to watch this drama. When Koala reported that they lost all of the advertisers in one day, it only spelled doom. Really, the k-Netz were too harsh in this case, only 2 episodes aired. They could have given this drama a chance and only petitioned for a re-write. On the other hand, given how sensitive k-Netz are these days after the fiasco with Mr. Queen, I am wondering if anyone on the writing or production crew of JE would have thought to tweak the drama before airing??? As this is a tough lesson for future sageuks (if you mess with any aspect Joseon history (even in the name of making creative art)… your drama is sure to be done for).
I really feel bad for the cast and crew. Hopefully everyone involved will bounce back and let the future sageuks learn from this.
Truly heartbreaking.
I won’t talk about the king situation coz I feel that is understandable , I would assume it’s like someone made a drama about Mother Teresa slaughtering people, how would that look lol. But other issues they have are totally nonsense. Adaptation of culture has always been there and it shouldn’t be something that people should frown upon. Joseon has a distinct female attire and also qing dynasty. If you put a qing dynasty costume on a joseon princess, that is stupid. But The pre-joseon era costumes and pre-qing all have some sort of similarities and because back then also there was trade involved it is likely that both sides were influenced with each other in their clothing or food. This is not something that people should be upset about. I mean If dramas like jumong, ja myung go , queen seondok were aired now, will they be also attacked coz just look at their female costumes. If someone watches Chinese dramas or know a bit history, you’ll realise the costumes do look similar and there is nothing wrong in that. Also if you look at the historical maps of goguryeo ，it was much bigger than present day North-South Korea combined so obviously some influence with each sides have been there always in history. It’s like how almost all countries adapted western clothes. And what is this food thing , they were literally in a border town . Does no country have Chinese restaurants. That’s like saying back then in Korea only Korean influenced restaurants were there and we are talking about a border town for God’s sake. I mean they can show Korean eating Italian food in a drama , but if they eat Chinese food in Korean dramas, it’s cancel time or what . Isn’t there like fusion foods now, are there no Chinese restaurants in Korea , this hate is totally nonsense.
my thought exactly.. this a pre joseon.. so the hairstyle of jung hyesung must be still have the similarity with goryeo
yeah, I don’t get why people get mad about the costume and food, they were neighbour, why we should censor the fact that the culture was exchange hundreds years ago because it’s not in line with “culturally appropriate today”, smh
I wished the production were given a chance to just fix the problem. Or at least be able to sell it to Netflix but right now nobody wants to touch it for fear of boycott.
This is seriously alarming and which production who would work on sageuk should just write about fictional characters to stay safe. SBS is quick to ditch the drama for fear of repercussions.
This is really upsetting. I hope there would be no bad news to follow. It made me think of Faith PD who struggled with financial problems during production and ended his life.
If there’s a smart Chinese businessman seeing this, he should take the opportunity to build a film studio near Korea (so around northeast) with authentic Korean village theme (and no one even Korean can protest because that’s where Korean ethnics live in China). He then can offer to sponsor Korean studios to film their dramas there and you know everything that films in China is considered as ‘domestic’ so maybe the dramas can be broadcasted in China. And who can refuse the possibility their dramas will be watch in billions? I remember Descendant of the Sun was watched dozens billion times? Not even youtube has that kind of number. Come on, boss, I know you don’t want to miss this opportunity!
There goes a perfectly awesome saeguk! Any non Korean who have watched the first two episodes would be dying for more!! I’m really sad and disappointed about this cancelation???
Ps: this made a far better first impression on me then kingdom!(and trust me when kingdom came out i was really hyped about it) But this is like the next level of Korean zombie wave! Soo original, new, fresh, exciting, gruesome and gore galore!!!
I have high hopes that this will get aired somehow, if not on Korean TV then on Netflix or other streaming sites. I think they just need to clean up the part about the King and make it fictional, and they can leave the rest as is. They can even opt to change the title all together and leave Joseon out of it.
Culture’s Purpose: Showcase a bag of elements, so that other people will appreciate & maybe adopt whatever they find good about it.
Culture: A bag of elements that also incorporated elements from other bags(culture) over time. There is no such thing as a pure culture that didn’t incorporate(appropriate) elements from other cultures, over time.
Culture isnt: Just for bragging and feeling proud & superior to other cultures.
We have culture not to keep the culture to ourselves. We showcase the elements, so that people can learn from it and apply it to their lives and the things they make. When someone adopt or use an element of our culture, they don’t owe you royalties, payment or anything.
Most elements of a culture usually doesn’t have a copyright. So most of it’s elements are like public domain.
You see what’s good and useful and you use it. If you want to combine different elements from different cultures to create something new, then have at it.
In fact, that’s how cultures can evolve and become better. And how cultures contribute to make cultures, products, shows, creations, other people better.
Yes, we all want our cultures respected, credited, portrayed accurately. But if we want the good elements of each culture to propagate and make the world better, it’s usually done by focusing on spreading it rather than focusing on who gets the credit or how accurate it is.
Example: Imagine if a culture says, only we get to do anti-slavery practices, because it originated in our culture, and if other cultures want to practice it, they need to pay homage, pay royalty, only practice it if it’s 100% accurate in it’s practices with no customization to suit other cultures, then…
I think many, especially Koreans, are overlooking a crucial aspect of this issue, which involves anti-Asian racism globally. Given that this show is being exported into the States (where the majority is still misassociating all AAPI constituents with the so-called “Kung Flu” virus), I would expect a TV show from Korea supposedly representing Korean history to reflect some level of due diligence and historical accuracy.
Improper portrayals of cultural stereotypes is deeply harmful by reaffirming bulk associative racism happening in other countries. Korean and Chinese civilizations are two discrete, autonomously developed cultures. It’s not about the fact that Chinese thousand-year eggs or traditional dress is bad in any way; it simply does complete injustice to both cultures in question. Most Westerners are not going to even question if it’s Chinese or Korean because well, the source material is from Korea, and assume, for example that Chinese food is the same as Korean food. This in NO way helps dispel wide ranging myths and media hackjobs of cultural realities. Nor does it help Asians working in an environment saturated with stereotypical tropes of Asians, despite the fact that they may be of any of the 48 extremely different countries representing 4.6 billion diverse people. For instance, it is a problem in racist contexts for all Asians to always have to the chalked into an ultimately villainous ninja or kung-fu related role, even when their home culture has nothing to do with ninjas or kung fu. This kind of racial unawareness and tokenizing is also why films by Quentin Tarantino are being heavily criticized.
If you’ve ever had someone screech “Chink” at you when you’re a second generation Korean American, or had people to “go back to your home country communist Chinese scum” when you aren’t even Chinese (notwithstanding that no one should be saying these kinds of things to anyone regardless of whether I’m Chinese or not), you would understand why entire racial and national ethnicities would like to be represented with accuracy. Muddling racial and cultural realities, especially in historical dramas, sets deeply negative premises and assumptions that only ultimately harms everyone of another culture. For instance, Algerians are not the same as Sudanese are not the same as Kenyans, despite all being from Africa! Algeria has a large population of white ppl. Portraying all these disparate nations as black people nakedly dancing in the desert, for instance, littered with artifacts from all different cultures is technically completely racist.
Given the recent media spotlight on anti-Asian hatred and hate crimes worldwide, these issues are never more important. The changes don’t come at once. A baseline of cultural sensitivity and accuracy in media that will be considered representational of that culture is a small step towards dispelling the harmful myths and modes of thought that lead to racist views.
?? Well said!??????????????
Don’t like it , don’t watch it !I feel for people who put effort into the drama and are now jobless ( technicians,…) The problem is that netizens are gaining more power even in the country of human rights . Social media can be a fantastic thing as but it can be our nemesis too . All is over analized,no one can say a thing without being under scrutinity … Aren’t dramas fictions ? are they coverages or documentaries . It was a fiction . That’s all . Richelieu ( a big figure of french history ) used to say ” show me 10 sentences written by the most honest man and i will find in it a reason to beheaded him ” that speaks a volume . Sorry by the translation but you get the meaning , right ? Nowadays it’s true more than ever !
Strange how the woke crowd who usually supports cancel culture is now up in arms over JE’s cancellation. The concept of dont see it if you are offended is applied selectively, certainly not when it suits them to virtue signal.
I kinda feel sorry for the actors and production crew involved in the drama. All the hard work went down in the drain just like that due to knetz negative views towards the drama. Jang Dong yoon & Lee Yubi even got injured filming the show. ?
many chinese in here w
The arise of lot of contreversies(reasonable or not ) lately in Kdrama land may affect the number of dramas, no more production of saeguks, less creativity , uninteresting dramas with the same “plotline” for fear of repercutions, a regression to what the dramas used to be 20 years ago ( melos, romances a la Cinderella,… ) and behind all that , people losing their job involved.
SK has misrepresented and stereotyped my country a bunch of times. It made me furious and I forgave it. Maybe I should have cancelled them for their ignorance too. I’ll also cancel them because they seem to believe international fans are stupid and constantly stereotype races and culture however they please…
Bla, bla, bla, Hearmeout/jcw you change user name to Df and smart enough to change email address too to have diff avatar. We get it, we are not attacking your fellow citizens’ right to correct distorted history. Not all of us international fans side are pro CCP/China/Japan. In fact most Asian fans’ countries were invaded by Japan in WW2 and now dislike China for militarising the South China Sea and claiming islands rich with oil & gas from Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc. We are pointing out how low and mean you are for attacking an actor’s looks. You are using cancel culture too, hypocrite. If you care so much about your protecting your country’s root stop verbally abusing SIG who has nothing to do with JE controversy. Your soul, face and mouth are ugly & plastic face too.
What’s with the false equivalency going on here? Patriotism and SJW are complete polar opposites on the spectrum (and both equally annoying imho). The SK patriots calling for cancellation are more akin to MAGA crowd than to SJW crowds that abhor nationalism, which is patriotism on steroids.