Over 130,000 Sign 청원 Demanding the End of 'Joseon Exorcist' Amid Historical Distortion Controversy

A petition requesting the suspension of the drama 'Joseon Exorcist,' which is embroiled in controversy over historical distortion. Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] SBS drama 'Joseon Exorcist' has been receiving daily criticism as a 'Northeast Project drama' amid controversy over historical distortion, and a petition demanding the drama's termination and legal sanctions has been posted.

On the 24th, a petitioner wrote on the Blue House National Petition Board, "'Joseon Exorcist' is filled with content and scenes that distort history and seem to accept China's Northeast Project," criticizing the drama.

He pointed out, "If it was intended to be a fantasy from the beginning, all characters should have been newly created."

The petitioner continued, "Above all, I cannot understand how such content can be broadcast on public television without any issues," and added, "Instead of regretting the scenes already filmed, I hope the drama that causes further stress to the public will be immediately discarded and ended."

He also urged, "I request the Blue House to prevent the recurrence of such serious historical distortion legally." As of 8:30 a.m. on the same day, the petition had garnered 134,046 supporters.

Experts have also expressed concerns about the drama. On the 23rd, Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University posted on his Instagram, "The impact of the historical distortion controversy surrounding the drama 'Joseon Exorcist' is very significant. Chinese netizens have already started defending the drama scenes on Weibo, calling them 'typical images of Korea at the time,'" and he pointed out, "As the production team mentioned in their statement that it is a 'sensitive period,' they should have been more cautious during such times."

He added, "As you all know well, Korean dramas have already become globalized, and many people worldwide watch them," emphasizing, "In this situation, when there is not enough time to promote our excellent culture and history, distorted history should not be shown to overseas viewers."

He stressed, "We must protect our culture and history ourselves." Professor Seo had also criticized the indirect advertisement (PPL) of Chinese bibimbap that appeared in the tvN drama 'Vincenzo' on the 16th.

The drama 'Joseon Exorcist' embroiled in controversy over historical distortion. Photo by Online Community Capture

Earlier, in the first broadcast of Joseon Exorcist, scenes showing King Taejong Yi Bang-won massacring innocent people and the exorcist priest Johan's interpreter requesting a gisaeng house serving Chinese traditional pastries such as mooncakes, Chinese-style dumplings, and century eggs (preserved duck eggs) sparked controversy over historical distortion.

In response to the controversy, on the 23rd, the Joseon Exorcist team apologized, saying, "Since the area is close to the Ming Dynasty border, we added imagination that 'Chinese people might have frequently visited,'" and "It was a setting to explain the positions of border characters with no special intention. We apologize for causing discomfort with scenes that could be misunderstood during a sensitive period."

On the 24th, SBS announced, "The VOD and rebroadcasts of episodes 1 and 2 aired so far will be suspended until corrections are made," and "We will take a week off next week to reorganize the overall content."

They added, "We will do our best to ensure that viewers do not feel any discomfort by thoroughly reviewing the content during the production process of Joseon Exorcist going forward," reiterating their apology.

Meanwhile, companies that had supported the production and advertising of the drama are withdrawing their advertisements one after another.

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