Cancellation Of Joseon Exorcist For The Reason Of Historical Distortions Affect Other K-Dramas

The drama poster for Joseon Exorcist, which was discontinued due to historical distortion. (SBS)

JAKARTA - The controversy over the distortion of Korean history in the drama production industry of Ginseng Country caused the historical drama Joseon Exorcist to be stopped. Set in the 15th century during the reign of King Taejong, this 16 episode fantasy drama tells the story of a royal family fighting against evil spirits.

This drama has been eagerly awaited because it was written by Park Gye-ok who also wrote a historical series with Mr. Queen made from a Chinese web novel.

But last week the SBS network suspended Joseon Exorcist, which has only aired for two episodes, after drawing controversy over the inappropriate portrayal of King Taejong and the crown prince.

People criticize the scene in which hallucinating King Taejong massacres the innocent Joseon people, then the crown prince drinks Chinese wine and eats Chinese dishes, such as dumplings, moon cakes, and pitan eggs, at a tavern located in the Joseon region.

Descendants of the Joseon royal family complain about depictions of their ancestors as heretical.

The aftermath of the termination of the Joseon Exorcist was felt by Mr. Queen, who faced a similar controversy due to historical distortions and comical depictions of a historical figure set in the reign of King Cheoljong.

The audience blamed screenwriter Park, whose two works received similar controversy. Mr.Queen's drama was later removed from streaming platform Tving.

Meanwhile, the historical drama Snowdrop, which is set in 1987 when there was a democratic movement in Korea, is also a concern because the character's name is similar to the name of a democracy activist in real life.

Producers of Snowdrop in a statement denied allegations the project featured content that distorted history.

This scandal also affected the project The Golden Hairpin, which is based on a web history novel from China. Industry insiders worry that this debate will make artists afraid to create future historical fiction or historical fantasy for fear of public censorship.

But experts say it's not a matter of limiting the imagination if the producer does the right research before creating a plot or character. They said broadcasters should also carry out checks to review the production process and filter out the source of the problem during pre-production.

"Historical facts cannot tell everything that happened in the past, and they fill the void with imagination," said culture critic Kim Seong-soo.

"If they remember that, the audience won't make a fuss about trivial matters."

He said the historical thriller series Kingdom may also have the same starting point as Joseon Exorcist in terms of supernatural life in the Joseon era. But the Kingdom became famous in the world, while the Joseon Exorcist was stopped in the first place.