The swords, props and food used were accused of being Chinese-style, so people thought China (CCP) was funding the drama.
Recently, China has been accused of claiming/stealing some parts of Korean culture, like kimchi and hanbok, as their own.
Also, the screenwriter’s previous drama ‘Mr Queen’, was adapted from a Chinese drama. The author of the Chinese drama made negative comments about Korea in the past.
Streaming sites in Korea took down the drama shortly after the controversies. According to a comment I read on Mydramalist, the production company asked/told international sites to take it down when the show was permanently cancelled.
I have read your explanation online from other commenters but don’t you think it is strange that they allow Ji Soo who was removed because he is a bully to continue being shown internationally? So even though Joseon Exorcist was not funded by China and they used the wrong props/clothing/swords/furniture/food etc., it is considered worse than bullying?
I was getting the vaccine and my arm was in a lot of pain, so I didn’t had time to read what was the controversy all about. I can’t say I saw the whole thing bc I would be lying.
Like I said; the whole story was a mess from the get go, and if ppl are getting offended rightfully so, and If they wanted it banned; I’m glad it was taken out too. I didn’t paid much attention to it bc I was skipping so many parts. .
I understand cancelling the drama, since it seems that it did many gaffes. But targeting the actors, who signed the contract without knowing about the props or costumes to be used? Why would they have to apologize? And especially targeting the actress of ANOTHER drama just because it was written by the same person is taking it too far. “Mr Queen” was a terrific drama and she was stellar in it, but she lost all her advertisement contracts because of something that happened in J.E.? That’s absurd!
This chopstick-gate is the most ridiculous thing happening in this year thus far.
What we see on the TV is entertainment, not a history lesson. As Adrian aptly commented, this is a fantasy drama. “Historical accuracy” can kiss my behind.
There are far worse things happening in the entertainment business than using a wrong set of props. People have unfairly lost their jobs over this “scandal”. Something else is rotten in the state of Denmark. And it’s not the chopsticks.
It wasn’t only the wrong set of props. (About the props, it seems it was intentional and they got good money for doing it, so it wasn’t an innocent mistake). It seems they portrayed very inaccurately king Sejong, making him into a sort of monster killing innocent people etc.
If it’s total fantasy, they should have invented a king with a fictional name and then they were free to do what they liked with his actions and character.
At least that’s the argument I read. I haven’t watched the drama, as I hate zombie films and series. So if this is true, they do have a point.
In my opinion they could give the producers a chance to change all this, even mid-way. Maybe take a month’s break and present a changed version.
Targeting the actors, though, to the point that they have to personally apologize for their foolish choice to participate (as Jang Dong Yoon did) is totally inappropriate, and even more if it’s actors of another drama being harrassed.
If we are to be very honest here, there is not a single accurate portrayal of any king in any drama in the world. And there probably won’t be. The lines of appropriateness are blurred here.
What do we know? It could have turned out that the people Sejong killed were not so innocent after all. We don’t know how the story would have played out. Because it’s just that, a story. Anything was possible.
#AbrahamLincolnTheVapireHunter
I can’t help to think that if this were China, they would have stoped the project in its baby steps, before any filming crew was even hired. The concept for the script had gone through probably 100 pairs of hands in three production companies and no one said “poor king Sejong”? That’s why I’m saying that there is probably a wider political context that is being hidden from the public eye, one that came up after the production had started. And I hate to see the (mostly) innocent film crew suffer for it.
I knew she became a target but now she seriously lost advertisement deals because of a role she did have in a Kdrama that used to be really popular and had good ratings?! First they liked that Kdrama a lot and now they suddenly hate it due an other drama?! It’s crazy
I read the production cost 30 million USD (not sure if it is accurate) and JE is a Viki Original. Does that mean Viki lost millions of dollars? I hope it won’t affect Viki financially. It isn’t Viki’s or the Viki subscriber’s fault.
When Viki, Netflix and other websites mark something as their originals, it does not mean they initially invested money into production, nor that they participated in the production process. It just means they bought off exclusive rights to the content.
The initial investors usually get their money returned with profit based on not just licensing, but also product placement (the appearance of various products during the drama), as well as by selling soundtracks, commercials (mostly online) and other merchandise.
In all honesty, I was always shocked that they were using Joseon era dramas by mixing it with fake stories, and especially mixing them with modern themes bc it distorts the history of that era. I knew at one point people would feel disrespected, and now we see the consequences where sadly the actors, desperate to get a job during these such hard times, are losing money over something they had no control over.
Rejecting a role over finally having money to pay their bills? I think they are going a bit overboard. Mr Queen had a high viewing rate, great reviews, and now they making a stink over it and the actress lost her other job offers? I’m really pissed bc that’s not fair to her. I hope this gets resolved fairly but the thing is we need to show support too the same way those attacking are getting away with certain things that are so unfair too.
My dear Dudie, there is more to this story. The Koreans are pissy because China is getting undue credit for things in Korean history… Somewhere in this drama, they are saying many things were created by the Chinese which they were not… ex: kimchi and hanboks.
I do agree that this drama is PURE FICTION but you can’t rationalize giving credit to a country for things they have no credit for.
Mr. Queen was also pulled because the author (who is Chinese, Mr. Queen was an adaption from another Chinese drama) had made disparaging remarks against Koreans.
These dramas were not pulled for Korean authencity, because there is NOT one Korean historical that is 100% accurate, it’s the fact that Chinese influence, intended or not, outweighed everything else.
As a Korean-American, who has not watched the two episodes of JE that were aired, I just want to provide a little more information.
As to King Taejong and King Sejong, they are historical figures beloved by Koreans, unlike Cheoljong (in Mr. Queen) who was thought to have been an incompetent ruler.
As to the Chinese influence, it was a very bad timing because the China-Korea cultural feud had been intensifying since the Northeast Project.
From what I read in Korean newspapers, Shin Hye Sun lost one advertisement.
My two cents, for those of you who dismiss the Koreans’ outrage over distortion of facts, is that there is a fine line between creative liberty and distortion of facts. Also, many K-drama viewers learn about Korea through what they watch on the screen. I have personally been asked “I saw on a K-drama…, is that true?”