Viewers are enraged over the historical distortions in the new KBS drama Joseon Exorcist.
SBS’s new Monday-Tuesday drama Joseon Exorcist is a fictional historical drama based on real people and real history. In the first episode, a scene where Prince Chung Nyung entertained a Western shaman was broadcast. However, Chinese snacks and Chinese food and drink were spotted on the food table in this scene.
After the broadcast, viewers flocked over to the viewer board to condemn the history distortions. The debate got even more heated as screenwriter Park Gye Ok’s previous project, Mr. Queen, was embroiled in the same controversy.
Soon, the production team stepped up to give an explanation. “The third prince Chung Nyung went all the way to the Chinese border to welcome a western shaman in Crown Prince Yang Nyung’s place. We set up a place called ‘Uijou’ (the border of the Ming Dynasty) to emphasize this situation. And we notified the viewers through the subtitle.”
They further explained their choice, saying, “Since the place is close to Ming Dynasty, we imagined, ‘maybe there was frequent contact with the Chinese.’ So we prepared the props with that thought.”
“This was a way to explain that the character were far away from Hanyang. We didn’t have an ulterior motive,” they continued. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience we caused you with a scene that can be misunderstood during such a sensitive time. We will pay more attention in the future episodes.”
However, viewers are still not warming up to the idea. There are some of the comments: “Why don’t you guys add americano or macaroon?” “Why did they have to use real names from real history?” “Change the name to ‘China Exorcist.'”
