Lead Stars and Production Team of Joseon Exorcist Pen Apology as K-netizens Judge Each One on How Sincere it is

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• They honestly shouldn’t even be apologizing but I’m aware it’s not only to protect their careers but those around them as well. There’s always a trickle effect. Economic-wise, they are hurting themselves. Both countries perform better economically when they set aside differences and work together in different realms including entertainment industry.

  It’s devastating when people choose pride and meaningless bragging rights over care and concern for a fellow human being. It’s kind of disconcerting when issues like this is plastered over the news more often than true issues like political scandals and people being taken advantage by other people.

• Why do the actors need to apologize in the first place? The problem also coming from "being apologetic" over everything, thus encouraging the k-netz to further crucify them.

  • Exactly! These actors/actresses were doing their jobs and therefore have nothing to apologize for. It's the whole "shooting the messenger" adage.

    Cancel culture has become too ridiculous.

• Cancel culture is Puritanism run amok. At least Puritans thought they were obeying God - their modern disciples destroy out of sheer ego.

• To me the line was crossed and it just became about the mob feeling their oats when they went after Shin Hye Sun. Her drama was popular all of 5 minutes ago so very obviously the general audience had no issues. Now she's losing advertising jobs so that is just people stirring the pot and feeling their power. I understand why the actors wrote the letters but ugh.

  In Hollywood one screenwriter (He wrote the screenplay for Braveheart) once said, "never let the truth get in the way of a good story". What we are consuming is entertainment even if it deals with real people. It doesn't matter if it is a respected drama like Jumong where the real history isn't even known or something like Faith where I feel confident Choi Young didn't have a relationship with a time traveler and have super powers. But I love Faith and I actually bothered to look up a lot about Korean and Chinese history because of this and other historicals. I am sympathetic to family members who feel their ancestors are not being treated fairly but there is now a toxic brew of geopolitical stuff, the social media mob and Maoish struggle sessions.

• Travesty. An absolute travesty. They have nothing to apologize for. This is so wrong. I thought this was South Korea, not North Korea.

• Sometimes I wonder if the K-netizens themselves actually realise that they're slowly turning into the country they hated the most (China) with this type of behaviour they're exhibiting?

• Cancel culture is what is at work here. Freedom of speech and expression is being lost by the day, as they try to preserve their history they are destroying their future, it’s like watching a slow train wreck.

  Once everyone can agree to disagree and understand the fundamentals of democracy by protecting freedom of speech above self will there be hope.

• I absolutely believe in cultural and historical integrity. For example, for Japan to insist that comfort women from South Korea didn't exist and those women were just willing prostitutes is factually not true and should be disputed in history books, official documents, and academic papers so the actual history is shown. Or for China to laughably claim kimchee as originating from there is so stupid who would even believe it. Sure China has their own versions of preserved cabbage with spicy and sour tastes but it's not the kimchee that is currently popular around the world directly connect with Korean cuisine.

  But if Japan did a dorama that showed a South Korean woman as a willing prostitute who fell in love with a Japanese soldier, I would simply not watch it because it's just not the fictional story I prefer to consume. But I would not yeet the dorama out of existence or ask production and cast to repent for daring to make such a story.

  What the South Korean netizens want is correct, recorded history should be respected. But it should be respected only in history books, in official texts, it needn't be respected in fictional entertainment mediums. That is where I draw the line.

  Artists, actors, directors, screenwriters - those in the creative field should have the broadest leeway to create FICTIONAL works and it should be up to the audience to consume or not. If I didn't like a story even for reasons such as not being true to history (like making George Washington an alien who consumed babies to power his revolutionary war drive) I will express why it's doesn't work for me and then move on, not force such a story out of existence.

  So what I am discovering is that in South Korea, there is NO leeway for fictional deviations from their historical texts if it is a negative portrayal. And that's the path towards censorship and stifling what made it one of the powerhouses of modern Asian development.

  It's a false equivalent to compare anything happening in South Korean with Mainland China. The PRC is a communist government with one-state power. It has never professed to be a country and society with freedom of expression. South Korea does and yet it chooses to step all over that for the sake of "cultural and historical preservation" in a fictional drama with zero stakes.

  • Ah, this just make me wonder where you came from Koala? Because as a country that had history of comfort woman, I will went beserk if my OWN people make a movie about a willing comfort woman. Of course if that dorama Japan, I will just ignore it because I am not Japanese...but isn't Joseon Exorcist is Korean Drama and not Chinese Drama?

    • Oh wait, I am sorry I didn't catch the hint. This blog name, they way you write Mainland China and they way you ignore H&M and Adidas issue...for me this is actually a good example of democracy because SK actually hearing their people voice. The drama get cancelled because of protest of south korean people and losing of their sponsors, not because they offended some government parties

    • Koala is a drama blogger (esp kdramas) not a political blog. We are talking about kdramas issue in here and you go OTT asking about her origin and cornered her for that and even brought up about H&M etc that totally got nothing to do with this issue. We are talking about dramas and entertainment but not politics.

    • You're rude, troll. She's Taiwanese, not pro CCP. Also, you don't have to be pro CCP to be anti witch hunt.

  • Well written! That’s totally spot on, exactly what I think on this issue but phrased way better. It’s sad that South Korea is lacking the insight to see where they are headed with this if they keep going down that path. Talking about trampling all over the ancestors who fought for democracy and freedom of speech. Of course u can make everything fictional in historical settings but apart from loosing freedom of speech and creativity you also loose that small window of raising interest in other culture and history with these loose adaptions. I’ve lost the number of times that I went researching and reading up on history and historical figures and whatnot after it was loosely introduced in a movie or drama for fictional purposes. I know what to expect from drama and what to expect from a documentary.

    @well: OMG you are such a troll, as others have pointed out this is a personal blog about dramas and not politics. It’s very low and narrow minded of you to attack and corner the blogger just because you don’t understand or agree with her standpoint.

• The press release for this prior to airing was that it is a fantasy-suspense drama, not a historical drama. Do these offended k-netizens think then that the SKorean audience and even international audience is just not intelligent enough to distinguish that this is nothing but fiction? I mean, there are zombies, zombies! lol. Reminds me of an old film The Last Temptation of Christ where apparently some conservative Christians that time declared the film morally offensive, some cinemas didn't show it, but ultimately, the choice was with the viewer whether to watch it or not, which is what democracy is. The point is, the film was made, it is still out there to consume, there was no lynching of everyone involved in the production and especially not the actors in it. Years later, Pope Francis even met with the director (Scorsese) of that film at the Vatican, no condemnation or hurt feelings lol. Back to this news in SKorea, and the other point with the set design, so if there will always be backlash with using Chinese-looking props, the actors are supposed to take on the role of set design reviewers as well instead of just focusing on acting which is their job lol.

  • Because they using real and well known historical figures. If they went full fiction instead I think the issue will not be blown out like this. Mr. Queen still have high rating despite their issue because they using fiction character. Zombie (Netflix) is loved despite they have the same theme

    • Mr. Queen has been taken off from the streaming sites. So what is your excuse for that then?

    • @Well - I think we're going around in circles with the definition of fiction and creative writing, especially in a democratic context, hence even after a lengthy discourse, we will not agree on this point, which is fine, again, that's the beauty of democracy. I am actually curious to see the feedback from the Arts and Literature Professors or people from the academe and the arts in South Korea on this issue. If anyone has any link, kindly share.

      On Mr. Queen, I hear that SHS's CFs have been unfairly cancelled per the behest of the k-netizens, so I don't think the people involved in that production were left unscathed.

    • @Well was Mr Queen based solely on fictional characters? There were no Queen Cheorin and King Cheoljing?

• High levels of bullying and suppression by the stupid k-netizens to anyone who is in the public eye. This is sad.