'King the Land' Responds to Controversy Over Arab Culture Distortion: "Not Depicting Any Specific Country"

Criticism of Negative Portrayals of Arab Princes

JTBC drama 'King the Land' is facing criticism from viewers for distorting Arab culture after featuring a character set as an Arab prince.

On the 10th, the American movie information site IMDB saw a series of lowest-rated reviews for 'King the Land.'

This is due to the depiction of the Arab prince Samir, who appeared in episodes 7 and 8 of 'King the Land' broadcast on the 8th and 9th.

JTBC drama 'King the Land' Episode 7 broadcast. [Image source='King the Land' official website]

In the drama, Samir is portrayed as a global tycoon whose one-day stay at a hotel generates a month's worth of revenue. Initially planning to stay at another hotel, Samir changes his mind and decides to stay at King Hotel after receiving a call from the protagonist Gu-won (played by Lee Junho), whom he knows.

Samir appears surrounded by women in a luxurious bar and openly flirts with Cheon Sa-rang (played by Im Yoon-ah).

Overseas viewers criticized the portrayal of Samir as a womanizer and the casting of Indian actor Anupam Tripathi as the Arab prince Samir.

In response to the backlash, JTBC explained, "The characters, regions, and place names appearing in the drama are fictional settings, and there was absolutely no intention to ridicule or distort any specific culture."

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