Archaeologist Targeting Seol Min-seok: "Not History but 'Spreading Lies'... Everything Is Wrong"

[Image source = Screenshot from tvN's 'Seol Min-seok's Naked History']

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] An Egyptian archaeology expert criticized the Egypt episode of tvN's new variety show Seol Min-seok's Naked History, saying, "There are so many errors that it's hard to mention them one by one."

On the 20th, Kwak Min-su, director of the Korea Egyptology Research Institute, criticized the "Egypt Cleopatra episode" aired the day before on his SNS, saying, "There are too many factual inaccuracies," and "Even the maps are all wrong."

[Image source = tvN 'Seol Min-seok's Naked History' broadcast screen capture]

He continued, "Saying that the Library of Alexandria was founded by Alexandros or comparing names like Ptolemaios and Cleopatra to surnames or titles, likening them to the title 'Dangun,' is truly absurd," and pointed out, "Saying 'Veni Vidi Vici' was spoken in Egypt before returning to Rome is just a minor mistake."

He corrected, "The established fact is that the Library of Alexandria was founded during the reign of Ptolemy II, and 'Veni Vidi Vici' was said by Pharnaces II after defeating the Pontic kingdom army at the Battle of Zela and then returning to Rome for a triumphal procession."

Director Kwak said, "There are many other inaccuracies, but since addressing all of them would be a lot of work, I will omit them," adding, "I feel a serious problem with mixing verified facts and mere rumors when telling 'historical stories' for entertainment."

Furthermore, he criticized, "This program hosted by Seol Min-seok is the epitome of that problem. While mixing historical facts and rumors can be a good strategy to attract interest when telling history, if the intention is to tell 'historical stories' rather than just 'spreading falsehoods,' facts and rumors must be clearly distinguished. Moreover, the factual information mentioned is frequently incorrect."

He also said, "It seems that the advice I provided was not well reflected, so I suggest not watching it," and concluded, "I hope this controversy raises social awareness about figures like 'the Seol Min-seok type.'"

On his SNS, Director Kwak introduced himself as having majored in cultural anthropology at Hanyang University and Egyptology at Oxford University and Durham University in the UK. He currently writes a regular column titled "Kwak Min-su's Ancient Egypt Journey" for a major daily newspaper and has participated as an instructor in a "Citizen University" lecture series organized by another media outlet.

He also revealed that he served as an advisor for the episode of Seol Min-seok's Naked History, expressing dissatisfaction, saying, "The production team initially refused to credit me as an advisor, which was really absurd and frustrating. After persistent requests, they finally agreed to include my name in the credits."

Meanwhile, the show Seol Min-seok's Naked History, featuring the famous Korean history lecturer Seol who presents world history in an easy and entertaining way under his name, premiered on the 12th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.