[Inside Chodong] Keeping Up with 'Active Consumers'

"Both TV commercials and PPL (product placement) are first proposed by intermediary agencies, and decisions are made based on expected viewership ratings or anticipated effects, so we couldn't grasp the detailed content. Honestly, when we heard it was a fantasy historical drama, we never thought the issue of historical accuracy would become this serious."

"Inside the company, there was chaos insisting that the (advertisement) had to be withdrawn immediately. Seeing other companies sequentially decide to pull out within a day, we breathed a sigh of relief."

The drama 'Joseon Exorcist,' which sparked controversy over historical distortion and cultural Northeast Project issues, ended abruptly after only two episodes aired on the 22nd and 23rd of last month. With fierce protests from viewers, all corporate advertisements were canceled, and production support became impossible, forcing the production company and broadcaster to decide to halt the broadcast. The financial losses to be borne are estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of won, matching the scale of social controversy and criticism.

The biggest problem was that the historical distortions and sensational settings revealed in just two episodes of the drama exceeded the limits that viewers could tolerate, even considering it as a work of fiction. Additionally, the recent absurd situation where China claims Korean cultural elements such as Kimchi, Hanbok, and Pansori as its own culture has heightened anti-China sentiment, which also influenced the reaction.

Many of the companies that advertised or sponsored the controversial drama were distribution and food companies. Due to the nature of their business, they are very sensitive to public opinion and trends, and thus must listen to consumers' voices more than anyone else and resolve complaints. Having witnessed Japanese companies and brands withdrawing from the domestic market one after another due to the ongoing 'No Japan' movement over the past 2-3 years, these companies regard such historical distortion and anti-China sentiment as serious risks.

On the other hand, consumers have become smarter and more alert. In the past, if there was a problem with broadcast content, they would file complaints with the Korea Communications Standards Commission or flood the broadcaster's bulletin board with protest posts. This time, more than 5,100 complaints related to Joseon Exorcist were submitted to the Commission. However, having experienced the limitations of delayed and ineffective post-regulation, they have now taken action to directly pressure companies that support or advertise the drama.

At the center of this were the MZ generation in their 20s and 30s. As the main consumer group and trend leaders, young people voiced their opinions actively and engaged in collective action. Viewers and consumers who watched the drama immediately raised issues and declared a boycott. Online, they created lists of companies advertising in Joseon Exorcist, urging "Let's boycott companies supporting Joseon Exorcist through advertisements," and pressured companies by removing those that withdrew ads from the list one by one, causing the companies to become even more nervous.

An official from the distribution industry said, "Having seen competitors struggle with poor sales due to the boycott of Japanese products and the difficulty in improving their image afterward, the upper management issued separate reports and countermeasures after this incident. Upon closer inspection, the detailed historical inaccuracies pointed out by netizens were at an expert level, and the boycott company list was being updated and shared in real time, which surprised us once again."

Another official expressed concerns, saying, "If risks cannot be avoided in advance, quickly distancing oneself from negative issues when they arise might be a way to meet consumer demands." Soon, historical awareness and national perspectives might be included as part of corporate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management as social responsibilities.

/Consumer Economy Department Deputy Chief ikjo@

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