Kyubin

Well, probably because the average age of the people here is more young and they don't really know him, but in Korea he is still really popular.

"the show is picking a line of propaganda from a failed regime and giving it validation. Is that really ok in your eyes? It's certainly not in mine." I agree with you, obviously this period is more difficult to use than an older one, and indeed, it needs carefulness, but how come "Snowdrop" is a show giving validation of the military regime of Chun Doo Hwan ? There is nothing like that in the only few elements known, so it's absurd to assume something like that without proof. Like it's stupid to ask JTBC to make it clear and reveal everything before the show starts to air. They have the rights to keep their production secret before it starts, like any other movie or series in the world. This is just a form of tyranny and censorship from a minority of people..

"Further enraging the general public." Yep, from the beginning, this is wrong. 100k people (even few hundreds thousands) are not the general public in a country of 50 millions people. When millions of Koreans protest about it you can write that, but that's not the case right now.

"the female lead role of Eun Young Cho, a clear reference to Cheon Yeong Cho" If it's a reference, even a clear one like you assume it is, it's not an historical portrait.

"The currently filming drama began to lose sponsorships following the said issue." Which ones ? Be more precise if you want to write an article to really inform people.

The petitions to the Blue House, if they reach 200k signatures, will just get a response from the presidency and the government. It's not like the president of South Korea will force JTBC to cancel the drama, even if the petition reach that number. It's just a way for those petitioners to make noise through internet and get to their goal.

As for the recommendations, "1987" is an historical movie. The goal was to portray historical figures and what happened back then. That's not the case with "Snowdrop". They are not doing an historical drama about this period. They are using this historical period as the background of their fictional story. That's totally different. But it seems that some Koreans, and other, don't want to understand that and still think it is wrong to do a drama with differences from the reality, even with a fictional story. That is called censorship.

Episode 2 is really good for the lesson it's giving. Cyberbullying is really wrong, and especially violent in Korea, especially towards idols or actors, so it's really good that they addressed it in that way.

Well, it's never a waste to discuss with others and have a debate. I respect others opinion even if I disagree with it. I don't think anybody here try to create hatred though (unless there is some "anti-fan" of the actors ,but I don't really think it's the case).
As an historian myself, I'm actually quite amused being in the side of those who try to defend creativity and explain the difference of an historical drama and a drama taking place in an historical background to all these people claiming than this drama (which they don't know the actual storyline) disrespect Korean history.

"I know you want to see Ji Soo on screen, but we just don't have a say in this."
Hahaha, you couldn't have been more wrong. I don't care about Ji Soo, if I have to care of an actor in "Snowdrop", it'd be Jung Hae In, but it's actually not my point (before the controversy I wasn't aware of the drama at all).
So, following your logic, it's okay to not follow historical accuracy if it happened 100 years ago, and make any change possible, but if it's something that happened more recently it's not. Well, that's what I wrote, double standards.
"Snowdrop" is not an historical drama. I don't know your exemple so I can't say anything about that, but I imagine they don't try to make an historical series of it, it's just the background that is historical, so I actually don't care if they choose a black male as the lead. And that's my point. An historical background for a fiction or an adaptation, with any changes possible, even with historical figures, but that don't pretend to make an historicaly accurate drama, is not a problem.
Your are just making assumptions when you don't even know what I think. I despise Chinese communist government and the nationalism in this country, and I lived a long time in Korea, and not in a bubble, so I know very well how it works there, but these few Koreans (yes, I can assure you it's not the 50 millions of South Koreans who agree with that) are hypocrites to make a drama canceled for those reasons when the majority of what they buy is made in China (it's just one xemple among many others). That's what I dislike in those controversies, the double standards, the hypocrisy of the claims.
If these same people ban everything from China in their lives, okay, I have nothing to say. If these people are being as much sensitive with history in every movie or series they are watching, despite its origin, okay too, nothing to say. But that's obviously not the case.
It's too easy to use these dramas as scapegoats.

He can't. ^^ Like "The Whirlwind Girl 2" it will be dubbed.

Certainly not soon as Korea/China relationships are really not at their top right know. Unfortunately for Ji Chang Wook's fans.

The Blue House (president) and the government have to respond to the petition if it pass 200k signatures.
This is highly criticized in Korea actually because the number is really low for a country of 50 millions people (so not representative at all) and encourage controversies over everything.

It's funny. People keep defending "historical accuracy" for "Joseon Exorcist" or "Snowdrop", when they are not even historical dramas trying to depict historical reality (and don't actually know the story of "Snowdrop" too). But the same people will enjoy movies or dramas taking place in Europe, back in the time, with black, asian or any non-European people (for exemple, it could be anywhere else).
If someone starts to express discomfort and criticize the non-historical accuracy, they will be attacked because it's a symbol of diversity and non-discrimination. In that case, they don't care about the people feeling offended seeing their history turned into a crapy mess. But for Koreans dramas suddenly it becomes a matter of respect towards Koreans and their history... Double standards.

It just shows how hypocrite all these people are, because they get "indignant" just when it suits them. And it's shows how powerful few people can become thanks to internet, even if it doesn't reflect the actual mindset of the majority.

I don't even understand how come these people call themselves fans and in the same time ask for the cancelation of a drama they don't know the real storyline and characters developments. That's ridiculous. This "statement" is insane. JTBC don't owe anything to this people.

Well, I personally don't use Google as my dictionary. And, as I wrote, in this case, it's actually an adaptation, not even a pure fiction, so everything people say about fiction or not is not relative in this case.
I'm the first that want historical movies or dramas, anywhere, anytime, to be the most accurate possible as I'm myself an art historian. But this is not an historical drama, about some person or figure of the Democratic mouvement. It is a romance, which take place in a specific historical and political environnement, so distortions are acceptable. It is really not the same for me than a project that aims to officially depict an historical character. And for me, it's the same for any fiction or adaptation. Of course people can disagree and criticize, but claiming to cancel a drama or even aggressively demand explanations, like that so called "fan union" calls themselves, is really wrong in the process of creativity and self expression. I dislike and feel somewhat offended by a lot of things in life, but I don't ask for cancelation, disappearance and shoot hatred about it because I respect others and prefer the dialogue than the oppression and because in the end, everything is culturally richer like that. If this thing keeps going on, it will became a real disaster for all the korean filmographic economy.

It is not Koreans, it is only few Koreans. This controversies, recently, doesn't not represent what Korean society think at all. They just give too much credit to few haters online who love to start petitions over anything.

Oh you're mistaken. Since many years, a few people (it's really a few people compared to the 50 millions of Koreans), petition on internet about everything, all the time. Most of the time it doesn't become a big issue, but sometimes yes, especially with politic issues, and recently it started to become more sensitive with dramas too. Hell Joseon it is.

This is the original episode. It shows how crazy, or bored, some Koreans are. It's sad that few people can get so much power over productions just by spreading hatred on internet.

"It's your culture & history we international fans doesn't have a say in it" First of all, it's the culture and history of way more than this few thousands petitioners/haters online. So, this really doesn't reflect what most of Koreans think. And secondly, Korean dramas are airing in Korea first, but they are clearly aimed to a worldwide audience, so of course, everybody have a word to say when few people try to bring down a production that they know nothing about, just because they can't understand what a fiction is, and have probably too many time to waste.

Korea is a country of 50 millions people, even few hundreds thousands petitioners shouldn't have the right to bring down productions like that, especially korean dramas that are aired in Korea, but clearly aimed for a worlwide audience too.

Well said. But the sad thing is that it's the everyday life of Korea since many years. People use internet to attack everything and everybody all the time. It doesn't escalate to big problems all the time, but when you live in Korea, you really feel that there is something wrong with the way people hate anything through internet and start petitions for every little things that a bunch of people dislike.

You're a typical exemple of someone who doesn't understand what a fiction is. Or even a adaptation on screen.
Following your arguments, do you know how many films or series, all over the world, should disappear ? Well, pretty much all of them because a film, or a series, can never portray perfectly history. It's always adapted and changed.
So no, those few Koreans (yes, this few people don't represent the majority of Koreans so stop pretend this offend all Korea) have no right to ask explanations or cancelations, and it's sad what's happening right now. I hope it will stop soon because otherwise, they can just stop all productions because there will always be people complaining about anything.

First of all, there is a lot, but really a lot, of Korean historical dramas with female main or center character (which is, most of the time, totally not historically accurate). Not that hard to find here...
And also, the point of making an historical drama, is to show, with more or less accuracy, the story of an historical figure or period. And historically, in Korea, women didn't have a center place, they were mostly wives and concubines, so the dramas just try to be historically accurate. They actually give a greater place of women than they actually had, especially in Joseon era.
If you like watching historical dramas you need to accept the reality of this historical period.