Niki Chu

Everyone knows that and signing that petition is not going to change anything, but at least the actors and production crew are going to receive some acknowledgment for their hard work. And the networks and government are going to see that international fans are against censorship and by doing the same thing to future productions they are digging the grave for Korean entertainment as their strongest soft power force.

I'm not sure if the people who are currently working on this and the network are brave enough to go all the way till the end. I really think that people are going to see the intentions of the show once it has aired 2 episodes and if they find fault in the storyline by then, I think they do have the right to demand its cancellation. But nothing has been shown yet and if there is anything controversial, there's still plenty of time to fix it. But I'm worried the people involved are going to lose their confidence to go through with it despite the backlash.

Netizens are not letting go of this. They're still upset and signing petitions to have the drama cancelled even though Jtbc requested people to stop speculating about sth that has not even been revealed yet. Like there's not even a poster or a teaser yet, what are all the negative judgements exactly based on? But what's funny in the midst of this chaos is the fact that while people in Korea are turning their backs on many productions, those very productions are starting to receive more attention internationally. I didn't even want to watch this before, but now I'm really curious about it.

Well, it does make it more interesting to take someone who doesn’t know about the problems the people are facing. As a spy from NK, his target must be the government and not innocent students. It’s obviously a trope the writer thought of to pave the way for the most dramatic plot development. It also says in the synopsis that the love story is a tragic one. I’m pretty sure Jung Hae In’s character is supposed to die. So instead of a plot device chosen to hide a political message of some sort, it’s obvious to me that it’s just a device meant to create inner conflicts and a from-enemies-to-lovers kind of story. This drama is just unlucky with its timing because it has to face these sudden nationalistic sentiments

I believe so, as an actual eye witness, she must have an intersting story to tell. But people these days are afraid of anything that even slightly touches upon politics.

I get your point, but I'm also against a black/white portrayal of society. Let's take Nazi Germany as an example. There were not only good and bad people. A lot were brainwashed into blindly supporting Hitler, they worked in concentration camps, took innocent lives, were absolutely convinced of the justness of Hitler's cause. But then again, there were many that just went with the flow without giving it much thought and also many that changed their minds as they watched brutal things happen right in front of them. My point is, the human psychology is complex. A now let's return to this drama. Let's say, the male lead is a NK spy and the second lead works at the National Intelligence Service. They're both enemies to the student protestors' cause. Why would people believe that the drama intends to romanticize anything or downplaying the pain that was inflicted on the people involved? Maybe it's going to be about people fighting for the wrong purpose realizing their mistakes? Sometimes people become weapons in the unknown battles of others and fight for interests that are not their own. But everyone believes this drama is going to be inaccurate before any details are known. It just shows that people just want to find fault in everything. If you look hard, you're always going to find something.

There are so many people insisting on how international viewers don't have a say in this and it's sth that only concerns Koreans and we should try to understand and accept whatever that 5% of the Korean population that is overly sensitive right now doesn't want to see on TV. Okay, so I guess Korea doesn't need the international market anymore? They would like to return to how things were in their country 30 years ago? Cause honestly, that's where they're heading right now. The drama plots have been uninteresting for years now and people are starting to turn to Chinese, Taiwanese and Thai dramas more and more, losing interest in Korean entertainment not only because of the extremely formulaic plots these days but also because of the many awful scandals we've been reading about: rape, drugging and filming women, using prostitution services to please clients, not to mention the many lives of celebrities that were lost to suicide, the bullying controversies, people not being able to afford a place to live because of how rich people buy and sell real estate without the government doing the slightest bit of regulation. Imagine a country having these problems in the middle of a pandemic causing people, especially those working in the arts, to lose their jobs and have one project cancelled after another. And then Koreans freak out because of historical depictions in fictional works that they could just not watch. International viewers are not voicing their concerns because of something as trivial as a drama with their favorite actor/actress in it. It's the damaging state of mind of a selected group of people in Korea that's ruining people's lives instead of tackling the issues that are actually important and are causing much more harm. It's not about us as outsiders being ignorant and trivial. It's about the meaning all of this has for the future of all creative work and how people, not only in Korea, blow up things that don't matter and are this easily distracted from what actually is important.

Update: the same netizens are now gearing up to have Snowdrop cancelled for historical inaccuracy.

Not on platforms like this, but people have been signing petitions and sharing hashtags on twitter, so I'm sure they're going to notice. Even if it doesn't bring the show back, it may compensate the people involved for the emotional damage netizens have done to them at least a little. But overall, you're right. There's no way problems like this are going to be resolved anytime soon. I just hope there are enough people sharing their point of views in a respectful manner to change this current atmosphere that is plainly ignorant, unforgiving and cruel.

You're right, I think everyone involved just doesn't ever want to be associated with this production again. Even if Netflix were to send an offer to the production companies, they would decline. But I still think it's a good thing to write comments everywhere and show this kind of support to lessen the sadness and disappointment the actors and crew must be feeling right now. People shouldn't just ignore this kind of thing and make it become habitual and too easy for narrow-minded netizens. It would be awful if they would go on having this much power and influence. Censorship is not okay. It's also weird for 28 million dollars and months of effort to go to waste over this sudden rise of nationalistic sentiments. I think Korean netizens and production companies should at least see these comments.

Because she was the leading actress and it was particularly her role that caused all the fury. I just hope this won't affect all those people's careers :(

Now Knetz and reporters are saying that the actors of Joseon Exorcist and Mr. Queen should receive criticism along with everyone else involved in the production. They're going as far as demanding Shin Hye Sun to be removed from brand advertisements. This is so saddening, I can't imagine how disheartening this must be for the actors and the production crew...I've already shared this before, but I'll just do it again because I feel like this is the only thing we can do:
https://www.change.org/p/kdrama-lovers-bring-joseon-exorcist-to-netflix?redirect=false

I found this: https://www.change.org/p/kdrama-lovers-bring-joseon-exorcist-to-netflix?redirect=false

I just found a petition demanding it to at least be shown on Netflix. I don't know if it's going to be helpful, but even if it would really end up never airing anywhere, at least the production team and actors would receive some kind of acknowledgment for their hard work if enough people were to sign this:

https://www.change.org/p/kdrama-lovers-bring-joseon-exorcist-to-netflix?redirect=false

I just found a petition demanding it to at least be shown on Netflix. I don't know if it's going to be helpful, but even if it would really end up never airing anywhere, at least the production team and actors would receive some kind of acknowledgment for their hard work if enough people were to sign this:
https://www.change.org/p/kdrama-lovers-bring-joseon-exorcist-to-netflix?redirect=false

You’re 100% right and I’m so mad at this sudden rise of nationalism. It’s not even limited to Korea, I feel that this may be an aftermath of the pandemic. People have too much time at their hands and they’re isolated in their own country, unable to travel and thus they are getting narrow minded. Even if I was offended by the way a tv show portrays MY culture, I would never wish that much money and effort to be nullified just like that. They’re being cruel and unfair to their own people over pride issues and nationalistic sentiments. Great, welcome back to the 20th Century.

Exactly, they could have edited the episodes and renamed the characters who are based on historical figures. Kingdom did the same, it also criticized the Joseon era while not blaming a specific king, the characters were entirely fictional. But overall, I wonder why SBS took over this production in the first place. If it had been a private network, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal...such a shame

I seriously don’t understand why a drama that was almost done filming had to be cancelled. Let’s say it’s historically inaccurate. Aren’t Koreans educated enough to differentiate between fiction and reality? I’m sure they are. And as a foreign viewers I can say that I don’t pay attention to historical details when watching a TV show. It’s not a documentary, is it? I’m overwhelmed by Korea’s current “cancel” culture and the sudden nationalistic tendencies and sensitivities. I think people there have forgotten about how most of the profits they’re making is due to China and the western market and by doing stuff like this they’re making sure to lose both.

I don’t think so, most people started this knowing that a drama with such premise wouldn’t have a sweet ending. But it didn’t have to be THIS hopeless. It made you wonder why you endured all the stress for 12 hours :( also, the characterization and plot development felt off.

She knew the baby would survive because she had witnessed the baby hover above the floor when she had fallen from her arms before. She wanted the baby to be safe from those wanting to turn her into a test object