The JTBC Korean drama “Snowdrop” starring Jung Hae-in and BLACKPINK’s Jisoo aired its episode 6 on Jan. 1.
According to Nielsen Korea, “Snowdrop” episode 6 got a nationwide rating of 1.912 percent, Korean media reported.
This is lower by 0.839 percentage point, or a drop of 30.5 percent, compared to 2.751 percent “Snowdrop” got for episode 5 on Dec. 26.
Episode 1 of “Snowdrop” on Dec. 18 got a nationwide rating of 2.985 percent followed by 3.898 percent for episode 2, 1.853 percent for episode 3 and1.689 percent for episode 4.
“Snowdrop” tells the story of North Korean spy Im Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in), a 27-year-old graduate student who is sent to South Korea to do a mission. Jisoo is 20-year-old Eun Young-ro, a college student at Hosoo Women’s University.
The two meet during a group blind date after which Eun Young-ro falls in love with him. Six months later, during a mission, a bloodied Im Soo-ho is chased by agents from the ANSP. He climbs into the dormitory room of Eun Young-ro and loses consciousness. She finds him in her room and hides him from authorities.
“Snowdrop” premiered on JTBC and Disney Plus on Dec. 18 and is about political conspiracy and espionage against the backdrop of the 1987 Korean presidential election and a romance that blooms amid it.
The Korean dramas has courted controversy when Korean netizens accused it of distorting history about the pro-democracy movement in South Korea and beautifying North Korean spies and the former Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP), which was linked to torture and killings in the past.
A national petition to stop the airing of “Snowdrop” was filed on the website of the office of South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Dec. 19. As of Jan. 2, the petition has been signed by 357,734 people.
Under the rules, if a petition reaches 200,000 signatures, government officials and the Blue House (office of the President), is required to answer it.
Last Dec. 29, JTBC scored victory when the Seoul Western District Court dismissed the application for an injunction to stop the airing of “Snowdrop” filed by the youth group The Declaration of Global Citizen in Korea.
The group filed the injunction with the court last Dec. 22, accusing the drama of beautifying state violence, saying, “In such a country, we cannot help but be astonished to learn that the drama ‘Snowdrop,’ which seems to glorify state violence today, is being aired and even exported overseas through OTT service.” (OTT platform Disney Plus is airing the drama).
The court dismissed the application, saying, "Even if the contents of ‘Snowdrop’ are based on a distorted view of history as the claims of the The Declaration of Global Citizen in Korea, it is difficult to believe that people will blindly accept it and they cannot arbitrarily apply (for a ban)."