“What the bombers wanted were a strained inter-Korean relation and a new Cold War. The VIP could refer to anyone who doesn't want peace in the Korean Peninsula.”
(Han Na-gyeong in the last episode)
Let me get this straight:
If I don’t believe it is beneficial or even desirable to engage with a rogue regime that keeps between 80,000 and 120,000 people in prison camps and routinely threatens its neighbors with nuclear weapons, without preconditions;
If I believe that it is not possible for a liberal democracy to unite peacefully with one of the worst dictatorships in the world on equal terms, that democracy and dictatorship are not at the same level, and I oppose such ignominy;
If I believe that this plan, originally devised by Kim Il-sung (not Moon Jae-in!) in 1980 as the “Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo” is as unsustainable as is dangerous, and would lead to absorption by the North rather than actual peace;
And if I believe that peace and reunification should be pursued, but not at any cost, and that there is no peace without justice and accountability, and no reunification without democracy and human rights...
Am I at the same level as the mastermind of a harrowing terror attack that killed hundreds of people? Really? Why not just call me Hitler?
The last straw in the last episode. It seems that whoever wrote the aforementioned crock and the propaganda in this drama is an extremist ideologue with a very narrow and absurd worldview who believes calling those who don’t share the same views terrorists is acceptable or even commendable.
This adds insult to injury and is beyond nauseating, let alone utterly disrespectful to viewers. The propaganda and extremism in this drama are staggering, and really worrying if put in context. Review coming soon.
I'm not very much into J-drama, but I've found that J-dramas from the 1990s tend to be great but J-dramas nowadays do not live up to its predecessors. It's such a pity, they have budget and potential.
it's not propaganda at all. it is exactly the fault of imperialism. what part of insulting is this show to you?…
You have not told me why I'm wrong, or debunked any of the points I raised. You just told me I know nothing in a very dogmatic way, thereby proving that you took the propaganda at face value.
I watched Chugakusei Nikki and I loved it, but your comment gives me the creeps.
How can you call the feeling of attraction between someone in their 30s and a minor or even a child "love"? That IS the very definition of pedophilia!
Also particularly concerning is when you reduce the aforementioned definition of pedophilia to just "being sexually attracted to kids and assaulting them without consent." So what if there is consent? Is it not pedophilia then? Absolutely sick and disgusting.
Sexuality is not for children, and pedophiles are not normal people or victims, but dangerous predators that should be kept away from society. Period.
Gotta wonder what goes through the mind of an actress when she chooses to be the lead in one of those student/teacher…
Have you actually watched Chugakusei Nikki? Because it doesn't glorify pedophilia at all... I don't know about other J-dramas, but I honestly believe you're not being fair here.
So it turns out the reason for the bombing of the National Assembly was to build a new US naval base in South Korea and prevent the signing of a peace treaty with North Korea, against the will of the Korean people.
Ignoring the plotholes and sheer absurdity of the idea, this is nothing but insulting propaganda. And worse still, it follows the same exact “logic” as official North Korean propaganda. This drama had a lot of potential and was really hyped for it, but this is beyond nauseating.
This drama would be almost indistinguishable from a North Korean TV drama if not for the budget, the cast and the Seoul dialect.
Finally an article comparing these two! I loved Chugakusei Nikki, and I'm now watching Majo No Jouken, which I am enjoying thoroughly (thanks to the author of this article).
Hirose Michi will always be Fuyutsuki-sensei in my book :)
@ChristaThe US is portrayed as “thugs” who “threat, overpower and extort” Korea, in the same exact way…
Yes, xenophobic propaganda.
American TV series are actually full of PC. Xenophobia is the last thing you will find in US entertainment. Even if you were right, that would not make anti-US xenophobic propaganda acceptable. Two wrongs don't make a right.
The US is not a perfect country, and has done bad things in the past (just like every other country in the world) but it's actually one of the last countries I would call a bully, especially when it comes to Korea.
According to you, what country is the US bullying right now?
1. Can 't see really any anti-American stuff. I think you got into this too deep. If the FTA allowed 50,000 cars…
1. The FTA negotiations were realistic and not particularly anti-American. It's other elements that were definitely anti-American.
2. You're right. The South Korean constitution states that if the president dies, a new president shall be elected within sixty days (art. 68). If the presidency is vacant, the Prime Minister or the members of the State Council in the order of priority shall act for him (art. 71). The new president, at the time of his inauguration, shall indeed take an oath (art. 69).
The Prime Minister and all members of the State Council are dead (except Park Moo Jin), and there's no National Assembly, which is the place where the president is sworn in. Still, he should have been sworn in to become president, otherwise he's not legally the president. While the constitution doesn't specifically state that the president shall be sworn in at the National Assembly (it is heavily implied), it clearly states that the new president shall be sworn in to become president.
This is a big mistake by the writers. The new president is not legally the president! It would have been great to see a shocked and distressed Park Moo Jin taking the oath, like Tom Kirkman.
3. I thought this drama would be much better, like the US version that I love. It has been a big disappointment so far.
What is with all this hypocrites comments? American shows always show other countries is bad and they are the…
@Christa
The US is portrayed as “thugs” who “threat, overpower and extort” Korea, in the same exact way as in North Korean propaganda. While the US is by no means a perfect country, such a skewed portrayal is far from accurate.
Would you justify xenophobic propaganda against Japanese, Koreans or Arabs in an American TV series just because it's a FICTIONAL DRAMA aimed at Americans?
I may get a lot of hate for this but I wanted to add my thoughts as a non-American. Frankly your comment makes…
There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with each other. We just happen to have different ideas. I really like to politely exchange ideas, you always end up learning something new. ^^
No one has demanded gratitude here. I just said that I think South Koreans should be grateful to the US for sacrificing more than 33.000 American soldiers in liberating half of Korea, and that representing the US as an enemy is dishonest and unfair. There is a stretch between that and being demanding.
It's indeed a historical fact that the division of Korea is a consequence of Soviet and US intervention. But the reality is that if not for the US, today all of Korea would be known as the “Democratic People's Republic of Korea”, with everything that entails. No dramas, no K-pop, no democracy, no prosperity. The only K-dramas you would know would be Nameless Heroes and Nation and Destiny, and the only existing K-pop would be the Moranbong Band and the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble. The existence of “South” Korea is a blessing to half of the Korean people, or if you prefer, the lesser of two evils.
“You wouldn't call it propaganda and ideology if the drama was pro-US and anti-China.”
This claim is based in groundless assumptions and misconceptions, and it's simply not true. Propaganda is propaganda, regardless of the idea or message it intends to push. You are not inside my brain to know how I would eventually react to a given situation.
Regarding your third paragraph, forgive me for being so blunt, but I just see it as a cluster of prefabricated slogans spewed from an imagined high moral ground. It looks like you act as if you were a rebel opposing the “majority”, while in fact you don't seem to be aware that what you're advocating has been pushed and disseminated for years by the mass media, universities and the entire education system, state propaganda, the UN and international organizations, NGOs, etc. In fact, that is probably the very reason why you're advocating it in the first place. You're actually not opposing anything but demanding double ration. I don't see how the aforementioned paragraph, except its first sentence, adds up to the conversation. Anti-Americanism is nowhere near to be “a new way of thinking” as you implied.
The scene mentioned by the other commentator (FTA negotiations) is indeed anti-US, but in my view it doesn't contain the elements of propaganda (not most anyway); therefore, that scene alone can't be considered propaganda proper. That's why I didn't mention it in my initial comment, and clearly stated afterwards that I don't regard it as propaganda.
I may get a lot of hate for this but I wanted to add my thoughts as a non-American. Frankly your comment makes…
Could you please tell where did I criticize the depiction of the FTA negotiations? I simply didn't. I kindly advise you to please read my comments as many times as necessary until you grasp their meaning. Thank you very much.
American TV series for the most part don't portray a foreign country as the enemy because it's not politically correct. They are so afraid of being called racist or xenophobic, poor souls. You are right, however, that they have done this in the past, and it's just as wrong. But we are not talking about the past, are we?
So your point is basically that since they have a past of being mistreated, then they are entitled to riddle a drama with dishonest anti-US propaganda that borders on xenophobia? Don't get me wrong, they have every right to make their dramas however they please. It's just that I find your motives to be infantile and ridiculous. A past of mistreatment doesn't make it right or justify xenophobia, especially not today in a globalized world with broad access to travel and information.
Every country in the world (including the US) has been mistreated at some point in history. I don't know you, about but I honestly wouldn't like to live in a world in which countries stir up prejudice and promote xenophobia in their cultural productions and everyone thinks it's acceptable. What happened to values such as respect, integrity and forgiveness?
"In this scenario, is the American seems to be unsettling many viewers. This is a good thing."
Aigoo, you are so bitter! You seem to hold so many resentment that you even think it's a good thing to unsettle millions of people, whom you don't even know, just to foster prejudice against a nationality. Take it easy, girl. Life is short!
(Han Na-gyeong in the last episode)
Let me get this straight:
If I don’t believe it is beneficial or even desirable to engage with a rogue regime that keeps between 80,000 and 120,000 people in prison camps and routinely threatens its neighbors with nuclear weapons, without preconditions;
If I believe that it is not possible for a liberal democracy to unite peacefully with one of the worst dictatorships in the world on equal terms, that democracy and dictatorship are not at the same level, and I oppose such ignominy;
If I believe that this plan, originally devised by Kim Il-sung (not Moon Jae-in!) in 1980 as the “Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo” is as unsustainable as is dangerous, and would lead to absorption by the North rather than actual peace;
And if I believe that peace and reunification should be pursued, but not at any cost, and that there is no peace without justice and accountability, and no reunification without democracy and human rights...
Am I at the same level as the mastermind of a harrowing terror attack that killed hundreds of people? Really? Why not just call me Hitler?
The last straw in the last episode. It seems that whoever wrote the aforementioned crock and the propaganda in this drama is an extremist ideologue with a very narrow and absurd worldview who believes calling those who don’t share the same views terrorists is acceptable or even commendable.
This adds insult to injury and is beyond nauseating, let alone utterly disrespectful to viewers. The propaganda and extremism in this drama are staggering, and really worrying if put in context. Review coming soon.
I'm not very much into J-drama, but I've found that J-dramas from the 1990s tend to be great but J-dramas nowadays do not live up to its predecessors. It's such a pity, they have budget and potential.
Thank you for this great article! ^^
How can you call the feeling of attraction between someone in their 30s and a minor or even a child "love"? That IS the very definition of pedophilia!
Also particularly concerning is when you reduce the aforementioned definition of pedophilia to just "being sexually attracted to kids and assaulting them without consent." So what if there is consent? Is it not pedophilia then? Absolutely sick and disgusting.
Sexuality is not for children, and pedophiles are not normal people or victims, but dangerous predators that should be kept away from society. Period.
Ignoring the plotholes and sheer absurdity of the idea, this is nothing but insulting propaganda. And worse still, it follows the same exact “logic” as official North Korean propaganda. This drama had a lot of potential and was really hyped for it, but this is beyond nauseating.
This drama would be almost indistinguishable from a North Korean TV drama if not for the budget, the cast and the Seoul dialect.
I can't wait for them to get what they deserve.
Hirose Michi will always be Fuyutsuki-sensei in my book :)
Great article! <3
American TV series are actually full of PC. Xenophobia is the last thing you will find in US entertainment. Even if you were right, that would not make anti-US xenophobic propaganda acceptable. Two wrongs don't make a right.
The US is not a perfect country, and has done bad things in the past (just like every other country in the world) but it's actually one of the last countries I would call a bully, especially when it comes to Korea.
According to you, what country is the US bullying right now?
2. You're right. The South Korean constitution states that if the president dies, a new president shall be elected within sixty days (art. 68). If the presidency is vacant, the Prime Minister or the members of the State Council in the order of priority shall act for him (art. 71). The new president, at the time of his inauguration, shall indeed take an oath (art. 69).
The Prime Minister and all members of the State Council are dead (except Park Moo Jin), and there's no National Assembly, which is the place where the president is sworn in. Still, he should have been sworn in to become president, otherwise he's not legally the president. While the constitution doesn't specifically state that the president shall be sworn in at the National Assembly (it is heavily implied), it clearly states that the new president shall be sworn in to become president.
This is a big mistake by the writers. The new president is not legally the president! It would have been great to see a shocked and distressed Park Moo Jin taking the oath, like Tom Kirkman.
3. I thought this drama would be much better, like the US version that I love. It has been a big disappointment so far.
The US is portrayed as “thugs” who “threat, overpower and extort” Korea, in the same exact way as in North Korean propaganda. While the US is by no means a perfect country, such a skewed portrayal is far from accurate.
Would you justify xenophobic propaganda against Japanese, Koreans or Arabs in an American TV series just because it's a FICTIONAL DRAMA aimed at Americans?
No one has demanded gratitude here. I just said that I think South Koreans should be grateful to the US for sacrificing more than 33.000 American soldiers in liberating half of Korea, and that representing the US as an enemy is dishonest and unfair. There is a stretch between that and being demanding.
It's indeed a historical fact that the division of Korea is a consequence of Soviet and US intervention. But the reality is that if not for the US, today all of Korea would be known as the “Democratic People's Republic of Korea”, with everything that entails. No dramas, no K-pop, no democracy, no prosperity. The only K-dramas you would know would be Nameless Heroes and Nation and Destiny, and the only existing K-pop would be the Moranbong Band and the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble. The existence of “South” Korea is a blessing to half of the Korean people, or if you prefer, the lesser of two evils.
“You wouldn't call it propaganda and ideology if the drama was pro-US and anti-China.”
This claim is based in groundless assumptions and misconceptions, and it's simply not true. Propaganda is propaganda, regardless of the idea or message it intends to push. You are not inside my brain to know how I would eventually react to a given situation.
Regarding your third paragraph, forgive me for being so blunt, but I just see it as a cluster of prefabricated slogans spewed from an imagined high moral ground. It looks like you act as if you were a rebel opposing the “majority”, while in fact you don't seem to be aware that what you're advocating has been pushed and disseminated for years by the mass media, universities and the entire education system, state propaganda, the UN and international organizations, NGOs, etc. In fact, that is probably the very reason why you're advocating it in the first place. You're actually not opposing anything but demanding double ration. I don't see how the aforementioned paragraph, except its first sentence, adds up to the conversation. Anti-Americanism is nowhere near to be “a new way of thinking” as you implied.
The scene mentioned by the other commentator (FTA negotiations) is indeed anti-US, but in my view it doesn't contain the elements of propaganda (not most anyway); therefore, that scene alone can't be considered propaganda proper. That's why I didn't mention it in my initial comment, and clearly stated afterwards that I don't regard it as propaganda.
American TV series for the most part don't portray a foreign country as the enemy because it's not politically correct. They are so afraid of being called racist or xenophobic, poor souls. You are right, however, that they have done this in the past, and it's just as wrong. But we are not talking about the past, are we?
So your point is basically that since they have a past of being mistreated, then they are entitled to riddle a drama with dishonest anti-US propaganda that borders on xenophobia? Don't get me wrong, they have every right to make their dramas however they please. It's just that I find your motives to be infantile and ridiculous. A past of mistreatment doesn't make it right or justify xenophobia, especially not today in a globalized world with broad access to travel and information.
Every country in the world (including the US) has been mistreated at some point in history. I don't know you, about but I honestly wouldn't like to live in a world in which countries stir up prejudice and promote xenophobia in their cultural productions and everyone thinks it's acceptable. What happened to values such as respect, integrity and forgiveness?
"In this scenario, is the American seems to be unsettling many viewers. This is a good thing."
Aigoo, you are so bitter! You seem to hold so many resentment that you even think it's a good thing to unsettle millions of people, whom you don't even know, just to foster prejudice against a nationality. Take it easy, girl. Life is short!
P.S. "Where are the complaints then?"
Definitely not here since this is not an American TV series website.