▲ This photo provided by JTBC shows a promotional image for the cable channel's upcoming drama "Snowdrop." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Yonhap) -- The recent controversy over historical inaccuracies in JTBC's latest drama "Snowdrop" is now snowballing to affect the continuance of the TV series.

After the first episode of "Snowdrop" aired on Dec. 18, online communities have begun to call for the suspension of the drama, claiming that the show disparages South Korea's pro-democracy movement.

The 16-part series tells a love story between Young-ro (Jisoo of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK), a female student who hides and treats Su-ho (Jung Hae-in), an elite university student activist who rushes into a female dormitory of the university covered in blood.

 

 

▲ This photo, provided by JTBC, shows a scene from "Snowdrop" with Jisoo of BLACKPINK (L) and actor Jung Hae-in (R). (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ This photo, provided by JTBC, shows a scene from "Snowdrop." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

In first two episodes, Su-ho, who was believed to be a Korean-German graduate student, was revealed to be a spy dispatched from North Korea, however Young-ro and the other female students mistaken him as an activist for the pro-democracy movement.

Since parts of the synopsis for "Snowdrop" were leaked in April, rumors that the drama would showcase a North Korean spy to lead the pro-democracy movement in South Korea had spread, but there has not yet been a direct connection between Su-ho and the movement.

The fact that the drama revolves around the story of a spy being protected by college students, who were considered the main pillars of the democracy movement, was deemed to be the core problem.

Going forward, an online petition to stop broadcasting "Snowdrop" was filed on the website of Cheong Wa Dae on Saturday, shortly after the first episode ended. The petition garnered 270,000 people in a day.

"In the drama, the female protagonist mistaken the spy as an activist and saves him," the petitioner said. "Despite the fact that victims of the activist group were tortured and killed during the democratization movement for being falsely accused as a spy, creating a drama based on this story clearly undermines the value of the pro-democracy movement."
 

In addition, a community group claimed to file an injunction on banning "Snowdrop" from broadcasting.

A post, titled "How to send a complaint to Disney," surfaced on other online communities and asked people to participate in requesting a suspension for "Snowdrop." The drama is currently available to watch around the world on global streaming service Disney+.

In response to the viewers' criticism, some companies withdrew their sponsorship for the drama.

 

▲ This photo, captured from Ssarijai and Teazen's official website, shows the apology statements released by the brands for sponsoring the drama. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

A rice cake brand called Ssarijai and tea brand Teazen apologized for sponsoring the historical romance drama and announced to stop advertising its brands on its website.

Meanwhile, drama critics mentioned that the contents of "Snowdrop" cannot be clearly defined as historical distortion, but considering the period in which the drama was set in, it could be misleading and a more cautious approach was needed.

"Snowdrop" started off with a 3 percent viewership rating in the first episode and 3.9 percent in the following episode, according to ratings company Nielsen Korea.

(END)

 

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]