Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, expressed concern that the recently concluded MBC Friday-Saturday drama "21st Century Grand Princess Consort" "provided a pretext for China's Northeast Project," amid a historical distortion controversy surrounding the show. Lead actors IU and Byeon Woo-seok had already posted apologies on their social media accounts the previous day.
"When historical content is watched by global audiences through global OTT platforms, producers must carefully examine not only accurate historical research but also the situation of historical distortion by neighboring countries," Seo wrote on his social media on Wednesday. "This controversy is a case where that aspect was missed." He added, "This controversy is also spreading on Chinese-language online communities and social media," stressing, "We must take the past 'Joseon Exorcist' controversy as a lesson to prevent similar incidents from recurring."
The controversy began with the 11th episode aired on the 15th. The drama is set in a fictional Republic of Korea that maintains a constitutional monarchy. In the enthronement scene of Grand Prince Ian (Byeon Woo-seok), retainers shouted "cheonse," a term used for vassal-state monarchs, instead of "manse," which is used for sovereign monarchs. A nine-string crown appeared instead of the twelve-string crown symbolizing an emperor, and a Chinese-style tea ceremony scene was also included, prompting criticism online that the drama "depicted the Republic of Korea as a vassal state."
The actors directly issued their positions on social media on the 18th. "As a lead actor, I feel a heavy heart for not having shown a responsible image and seemingly having caused disappointment," IU wrote. "Since this was a work based on Korea's unique history and traditional aesthetic sensibility, I should have approached it more carefully as an actor, but I failed to do so," she said. "I am ashamed of myself for not examining the script and settings more meticulously and for not having raised problem awareness in advance." Byeon Woo-seok also said, "During filming and acting, I lacked sufficient consideration for the historical context of the work and how it would be received by the public," adding, "I was reminded once again that as an actor, I must take responsibility not only for acting but also for the message and meaning conveyed by the work."
The production team also issued an official statement, apologizing that they "are taking seriously viewers' criticisms regarding the nine-string crown and the expression 'cheonse' used in the enthronement scene." They said the issue arose because "we did not sufficiently review how the etiquette and symbolic system of the Joseon Dynasty changed historically." The production team added, "We should have approached the intersection of the fictional worldview and actual historical context more meticulously." Previously, in 2021, SBS's "Joseon Exorcist" was terminated early due to controversies over Chinese-style props and historical settings. Despite the controversy, "21st Century Grand Princess Consort" recorded a peak nationwide rating of 13.8% (Nielsen Korea) for its finale.
