International fans have signed an online petition to bring the drama “Joseon Exorcist” to Netflix after its airing was cancelled in Korea due to accusations that it had distorted Korean history.
Korean TV channel SBS abruptly cancelled the airing of “Joseon Exorcist,” a fictional drama, after only two episodes as the Korean public slammed it for history distortion and use of Chinese props.
In addition, the video-on-demand (VOD) and replays in Korea of the hit drama “Mr. Queen,” starring Shin Hye-sun and Kim Jung-hyun, have been removed. “Joseon Exorcist” and “Mr. Queen” was written by Park Gye-ok, who has drawn flak for the controversy.
The petition on change.org, which has been signed by 24,866 fans as of writing, requests that “Joseon Exorcist” be aired on Netflix.
“A 32 billion won drama has been canceled at only episode 2. We believe #JoseonExorcist was canceled unfairly. The cast didn't properly get a chance to edit or fix complaints,” according to the petition.
It added, “We believe with the proper platform this drama will be a success!! BRING ‘JOSEON EXORCIST TO NETFLIX' for international fans. We started off with a request to bring 'Joseon Exorcist' to Netflix where the staff and crew’s hard work for one year (will) not be wasted.”
“Joseon Exorcist was criticized for distorting history using a large number of Chinese-style props from the first broadcast on the 22nd (of March). Netizens made a problem with the fact that Chinese-style small items such as mooncakes and duck eggs appeared in the scene where Chungnyeongdaegun served food to Father John (Dalsey Parquet), a priest in Kuma, during the broadcast. Viewers continued to criticize and protest fiercely through various angles such as the Internet community, the SBS website, and the Blue House national petition,” it read.
The petition added, “80% of the drama was already filmed ..The crew offered to fix and edit the drama but (they) scrapped the entire drama..removing it from all streaming sites.”
“And now they have erased (the) hit drama 'Mr Queen' with a high rating of 19%, accused of historical distortion removing it from VOD sites. JTBC drama 'Snowdrop' is now being targeted starring Jung Hae-iIn and BLACKPINK's Jisoo. When will this end???
“Snowdrop,” set in Seoul in 1987, will be aired in the second half of the year and despite that it is a work of fiction, Koreans are already petitioning to stop its filming and airing, claiming that it will distort Korean history.
Here are comments from fans on the petition page:
• “If Korean dramas keep being cancelled like this, because of controversies created by hateful Netizens, the whole Korean entertainment industry is in great danger. Also, I want to see the rest of the episodes. Help us, Netflix!”
• “I support freedom of speech and artistic expression. You can criticize something all you want but cancelling it is censorship and I'm against it.”
• “I enjoy watching this drama. It can be a great drama. Stop cancel culture. It's hurting those who make this drama possible.”
• ”I still want to watch jeoson exorcist and mr queen .. hoping that Netflix will buy these 2 great kdramas …. i am one of kdrama fans from Philippines.”
• We need to stop this stigma. International fans have always been supportive of the culture and arts, but there are times when things are just taken out of context and some people are just overly sensitive about almost everything. Bring back Joseon Exorcist!”
• “To knetizens don't limit the entertainment industry in exploring better stories. Be open-minded”
• “Knetz please stop being so toxic, negative your actors, staff, crews really work hard but why you doing this to them!!!”
• “Give chance not cancel it! and all dramas is fictional i hope you KNOW the meaning of "FICTION" search it if you don't know”
• “It is clearly stated on the disclaimer that it is a work of fiction”
• “It's just a fictional drama, ‘based on historical data and nothing more. Stop targeting these kind of dramas, because of your complexity of superiority”.
• “I feel there is injustice in having this shows banned. Injustice to expression of art and creativity and oppression of the actors and crew who worked hard to create this.”