Snowdrop, starring Blackpink’s Jisoo and Jung Hae-in, is all set to air on Disney Plus Hotstar on February 9. The political drama finished airing on the South Korean network, JTBC and received modest ratings, while it was embroiled in controversy all along. Ever since its inception—even before it aired—the showrunners have been in hot water and had to issue explanations as the story was constantly slammed for being insensitive to Korean history.
What is Snowdrop about?
Snowdrop is set in the backdrop of 1987, a crucial time in South Korean history, as it was the year that citizens protested and called for an end to the authoritarian government. The drama tells the love story of Jung Hae-in’s Im Soo-ho, a North Korean spy and Jisoo’s Young-ro, a college student. Jung plays a spy, who is discovered in a bloodied condition by Jisoo, and she hides him in her dormitory room, under the impression that he is a pro-democracy activist. She and her friends hide him from the government, who are actually looking for the North Korean spy.
Why was the show considered insensitive?
In March 2021, months before the show even aired, Snowdrop landed in soup as a synopsis leaked online, giving an impression that there was a distortion of historical facts. Based on the synopsis, people believed that the male lead is a spy, who has infiltrated the activist movement, while another lead character is a team leader at the Agency For National Security. Despite JTBC’s clarifications, the discomfort continued. There was much furore, as people found it particularly insulting that a North Korean spy was potentially involved in, or associated with, the pro-democracy movement. The socio-political context was deeply emotional for most, as the protestors for the regime in the 1980’s were falsely accused of being North Korean spies. The pro-democracy protesters were imprisoned, tortured and killed by the government to suppress the dissidents.
After the release of the first two episodes in December, there was an uproar. Fans took to social media and wrote lengthy threads explaining the problems with the show, saying that the cast and crew had been ‘insensitive’ to the people who had struggled and fought for their freedom. Jisoo’s name in the show further angered sentiments, with many saying that her character’s initial name was also the name of a real-life protestor, whose husband was killed after he was falsely accused of being a North Korean spy.
Furthermore, the viewers also said that the depiction of the Central Government intelligence agents, who were tasked with capturing the North Korean spies were inaccurate. Viewers wrote several threads explaining that they were a group who killed ‘so many people’. They alleged that the show was glorifying a lead character from the Agency For National Security Planning (NSP), which was part of the authoritarian regime at the time. The use of a symbolic song for the democracy movement in the show was also criticised.
JTBC’s clarification
After the show debuted, a petition demanding its cancellation was posted on the website of the Blue House (the executive office and official residence of South Korea’s head of state). The petition alleged that the show “defames the value and reputation of the democratisation movement” and had over 300,000 signatures. A civic group called Declaration of Global Citizens in Korea also filed for an injunction against JTBC on December 22 to stop airing the drama. However, the Seoul Western District dismissed the injunction.
JTBC released a statement that the ‘background and motif’ for important incidents are the time of military regime. “With this background, it contains a fictional story of the party in power colluding with the North Korean government in order to maintain authority. “Snowdrop” is a creative work that shows the personal stories of individuals who were used and victimized by those in power,” the statement read.
The statement also continued that no spy in Snowdrop leads the democratization movement, and the misunderstandings ‘would be settled’ after the show progresses. “Most of the misunderstandings regarding concerns of “history distortion” and “disparaging the democratization movement” criticized by many people will be settled through the progress of the drama’s plot. The drama includes the production team’s intent of hoping for no repetition of an abnormal era in which individual freedom and happiness are oppressed by unjust power.” JTBC stood firm on their story, though advertisers were said to have jumped ship quickly.
The controversy refused to die down
However, the controversy didn’t fade away. On January, 30 professors and scholars asked the president of Disney+, Asia Pacific, to find experts and evaluated the historical facts in the drama. The open letter, posted by Bae Keung-yoon, an assistant professor of Korean studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and others, was addressed to Walt Disney’s Asia Pacific president Luke Kang. The letter was penned by Bae and 25 other professors, who are PhD candidates in Korean and East Asian studies.
The letter requested Kang to consult experts in Korean history and “carefully examine the historical references made in the show, and consider for yourselves the way those historical references are used”.
An open letter to @disneyplus APAC president Luke Kang, from scholars of Korea, on the Korean drama “Snowdrop” currently platformed on Disney Plushttps://t.co/b6a1CfiJiP
— K. Y. Bae 배경윤 (@kbae38) January 10, 2022
“We make this request because we do not believe that Disney+ as a global platform is aware of the historical and socio-political context in which this show exists,” the letter added. “And we believe that platforms should make an informed decision when globally broadcasting a show set in recent, still-relevant Korean history.” The letter cited issues of Snowdrop’s alleged use of real-life historical figures in the show. They said that female lead’s initial name Eun Young-cho, was eerily similar to democracy activist Cheon Yeong-cho. “The drama production subsequently decided to change the name [of the main character],” the letter continues. “Even with the name change, the fact remains that people were arrested, tortured and even killed as suspected communists or spies.”
Snowdrop airs on February 9, on Disney Plus Hotstar.
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