Blackpink’s Jisoo and Jung Hae In starrer K-Drama Snowdrop has come under fire in South Korea for allegedly distorting historical facts about the country’s pro-democracy movement. Directed by Jo Hyun Tak, the series is set in the year 1987 and revolves around the forbidden love story of a young university student, played by Jisoo and a North Korean spy (Hae In) who she mistakes for a pro-democracy activist.
However, the first two episodes have faced tremendous backlash online, with 200,000 signatures on a petition demanding its broadcast to stop. The petition was first posted on the bulletin board of the Blue House on Sunday.
According to the petitioner, two scenes majorly undermined the “value of the democratic movement”. The petitioner highlighted one of the scenes from the pilot episode where Jisoo’s character mistakes Hae-in’s character and saves his life. The petitioner wrote, “During the pro-democracy movement, there were clearly victims, such as activists, who were tortured and killed for being spies.”
The petitioner also highlighted the use of the song Sola Blue Sola which was played in the background during a chase scene between the North Korean spy and a member of the Agency for National Security Planning in Korea.
Following the protest, some sponsors of the show including P&J Group and rice cake company Ssarijai have asked to terminate their deals with the production house.
Meanwhile, director Hyun-tak addressed the criticism in an online press conference and asked to distance the show from politics of ideology. He added that Snowdrop is a story of individuals, as quoted by The Korea Herald.
Earlier in March, when Snowdrop first faced backlash, broadcasting company JTBC had said that Snowdrop is not a drama that disparages the pro-democracy movement or glamourises being a spy or working for the NSP. “Snowdrop is a black comedy that satirises the presidential elections taking place in the 1980s under a military regime during the North-South tension on the Korean peninsula. It is also a melodrama about the young men and women who were victims of that situation.”
