The recently released Korean drama, featuring Blackpink member Jisoo has been doing the rounds in the news for all the controversial reasons. Set against the backdrop of the political turmoil in Korea in 1987, the show revolves around a young couple and their forbidden romance.
But unfortunately, fans do not seem very happy about certain parts of the show and plot. A petition demanding the immediate discontinuation of Snowdrop has been doing the rounds on the internet for some time now. Many viewers pointed out the problematic aspects of the drama and emphasized on the distortion of history regarding the pro-democracy movement of South Korea.
The Snowdrop controversy refers to the demand for discontinuation of the Korean drama due to distortion of history which hurt the sentiments of viewers. A petition explaining the reasons has been signed by over 200 K viewers.
Here’s everything you need to know about the much discussed Snowdrop controversy.
What is the petition to stop Snowdrop about?
The petition, signed by over 200K viewers, demand the immediate cancellation of the K-drama Snowdrop and its discontinuation. This is because several viewers found the distortion of history in the show as problematic.
The drama is set in the year 1987, when presidential elections were held in South Korea. The story, featuring the trope of forbidden love of a young couple is set in the backdrop of the pro-democracy movement. Some of the scenes of the drama has offended viewers because it apparently promoted wrong information.
The petition focuses mainly on two particular scenes from the two episodes of the drama that has been released for “the value of the democratization movement”.
The first scene is one from the drama’s pilot episode, where the Young-ro (Jisoo) mistakes Soo-ho (Hae in), a North Korean spy as a pro-democracy activist and saves his life. According to viewers, romanticizing and glorifying the idea of mistaking a spy as a pro-democratic figure is a complete distortion of history.
In fact, in reality, many innocent people were tortured and killed by the government during the pro-democracy movement after being mistaken as spies. In the views of those in favor of canceling the show, such a portrayal is disgraceful and disrespectful towards actual activists who lost their lives during the movement.
The second scene is where a popular song “Sola Blue Sola” was used in the show, which symbolized the student’s movement as a part of the country’s democratization movement. In the scene in question, the song was used as a background score during a chase scene between the North Korean spy and a member of the Agency for National Security Planning (NSP) in Korea.
Both the scenes were considered to have allegedly distorted history and demeaned the actual significance of the pro-democracy movement in South Korea. Hence, viewers across Korea has demanded an immediate discontinuation of the show.
Has Snowdrop been canceled?
Snowdrop has not yet been canceled or discontinued. However, one of the three largest sponsors of the series has backed out of the show following the controversy about historical inaccuracy.
“I did not think I should investigate further after being reassured by the staff of the drama saying problematic scenes have been edited out to pass the broadcasting standards. After learning more about the issue we have now requested to take our sponsorship off and they have confirmed to take our name out from the third episode.” One of the company’s representatives confirmed.
Though the show has not been canceled and might not be, one of the most important sponsors backing out of the show by canceling the sponsorship is definitely a big blow for the makers.
It is possible that the telecast of the show in JTBC may stop considering that the network might have to face government constraints. But it might still continue to air on Disney plus because it is a private streaming platform and does not fall under the governmental constraints.
For now, we have to wait and watch.
About Snowdrop
Snowdrop is an upcoming JTBC drama written by Yoon Hyun-mi and directed by Jo Hyun-tak, the famous duo behind the popular K-drama SKY Castle.
The show marks the debut of BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, alongside Jung Hae-in, Yoo In-na, Jang Seung-jo, Kim Hye-yoon, Yoon Se-ah and Jung Yoo-jin.
Snowdrop is set in the late 1980s, during the political unrest climate in South Korea. University student Eun Young-ro (BLACKPINK’s Jisoo) finds an injured and bloody Im Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in) after he participates in pro-democratic protests. Young-ro hides him from the government in her all-girls university dorm. As love starts brewing, secrets start spilling as Soo-ho’s identity reveals to be more than just a student.
The series will premiere on December 18, 2021 at 10:30 PM KST on JTBC and later on Disney+.
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