The new SBS drama “The Exorcist of Joseon” has been suspended due to controversy over distortion of history and the use of Chinese props, and the controversy has spread to other Korean dramas that have recently featured many Chinese-funded advertisements, forcing producers to start ruling out Chinese-funded sponsorship.
On the night of 26th, “North Korea Exorcist” was the top trending topic on Twitter in Korea, but the work without Chinese sponsorship has led to a series of discussions on Chinese sponsorship of Korean dramas, even making the producers say that there is no need to accept Chinese sponsorship at the risk of being suspended by viewers’ protest.
The new SBS costume drama “The Exorcist of Joseon” has been controversial even before it started airing. The plot is set in Joseon, which was founded with the help of the Holy See, and has been questioned for its distortion of Joseon’s history.
Although SBS explained that the props were used only to show that the drama takes place at a distance from the capital city of Hanyang, the protest was not enough to cause sponsors to withdraw their funding, and the new drama, which has completed 80% of its filming, was cut off after only two episodes.
The two countries have a long history of cultural disputes, from the Chinese kimchi and Korean kimchi dispute, Hanbok and Korean costume dispute, to the previous Chinese claim that the history of Goguryeo is Chinese history rather than Korean history, all of which make the Korean people, who are proud of their own Culture, deeply dissatisfied.
The Korean media analyzed that China’s “appropriation” of cultural history and its invasion of the Korean content production industry with its huge market and capital have made the Koreans have deep resentment, including the previous Korean dramas such as “Goddess of Mercy” and “Yakuza Lawyer”. The “Goddess of Mercy”, “The Lawyer” and other Korean dramas with indirect advertisements of Chinese brands in the dramas have caused protests.
In an interview with Chosun Ilbo, Lee Dong-gu, a professor at Yonsei University’s psychology department, said that “China’s behavior has gone beyond what can be tolerated” and that Koreans have decided to take action against it.
In addition to expressing protest against placement marketing, South Koreans’ anti-China sentiment has also begun to show up in their shopping choices, with a Food industry source noting, “The refusal to buy Chinese-made products campaign, mainly kimchi, is mainly due to the Korea-China cultural controversy caused by Chinese egocentrism, and South Koreans’ resentment is gradually rising.”
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