Translation result.
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| 21st Century Daegunbuin / Photo=MBC |
[Sports Today reporter Im Si-ryeong] Actors and members of the creative team behind MBC’s drama 21st Century Daegunbuin have apologized for historical inaccuracies, while a National Assembly petition calling for the series to be pulled and its content removed from media platforms secured the required level of public support.
According to the National Assembly’s public petition board, the petition titled “Request to suspend broadcast and remove content from media platforms over historical distortion and controversies related to the Northeast Project” exceeded 50,000 signatures on the morning of the 26th, meeting the threshold to be referred to the relevant standing committee.
Under the rules, a public petition that gathers 50,000 signatures within 30 days of filing is forwarded to a standing committee for formal review.
The petitioner argued that, even though the drama purports to be set in a fictional Korea, it indiscriminately adopted Chinese-style costumes, rituals, and vocabulary—amounting, they said, to deliberate cultural manipulation and historical distortion.
The petitioner criticized the production’s plan to make after-the-fact edits as inadequate. “At a time when K-content spreads globally in real time through OTT platforms, such ‘closing the barn after the horse has bolted’ measures are insufficient,” they said. “We should not allow content that damages national identity—distributed over public airwaves and media platforms that belong to the public—to escape accountability through minor penalties or subtitle changes.”
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| Photo=MBC 21st Century Daegunbuin |
21st Century Daegunbuin maintained strong public interest throughout its run and posted notable ratings, becoming MBC’s third-highest-rated Friday–Saturday drama in the network’s history.
But viewers raised several objections after the finale. In the coronation scene for Prince Ian (Byun Woo-seok), the production displayed a crown appropriate to a vassal state instead of the emperor’s ten-panel imperial crown, and it used the vassal-state acclamation “cheonse, cheonnense” rather than the imperial “manse, manmanse.” A tea-drinking scene also depicted a Chinese-style tea ceremony rather than Joseon court etiquette, prompting additional criticism.
As controversy over historical inaccuracy, distortion, and links to the Northeast Project intensified, director Park Jun-hwa met with reporters and bowed, saying, “I have no excuse; I take the greatest responsibility on behalf of the production team.” Lead actors IU and Byun Woo-seok issued apology statements acknowledging their responsibility, and screenwriter Yoo Ji-won apologized on MBC’s official website, admitting insufficient research and verification. The broadcaster MBC, however, has not issued a detailed explanation or formal apology.
The production team has removed the disputed “cheonse” scene entirely. Immediately after the controversy erupted, they first revised the audio and subtitles for rebroadcasts and on OTT platforms Wave and Disney+, and then decided to delete the scene. The drama’s pop-up store also closed three days earlier than planned, on the 25th.
[Sports Today reporter Im Si-ryeong ent@stoo.com]
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