Why Netizens Want To Cancel BLACKPINK Jisoo’s Drama ‘Snowdrop’
BLACKPINK member Jisoo is set to make her first lead role for the upcoming drama "Snowdrop," but netizens are already calling out for its cancellation. Read through the article to find out why.
Following the series of controversies involving Korean dramas such as "Joseon Dynasty" and "Mr. Queen," another upcoming drama is facing yet another allegation of "distortion of history."
The controversial plot of "Snowdrop"
Jisoo's "Snowdrop," which is scheduled to air for the second half of 2021, is a fictional JTBC drama that is set in the 1980s authoritarian era of Korea. The plot follows a North Korean spy disguised as a university student, played by actor Jung Hae In, meeting Jisoo's character, Young Cho, who is believed to be based on an actual person named Chun Young Cho. She was an activist against authoritarianism in 1970s Korea.
The events that took place during the time period to which the drama is set are of great historical importance as it is when the "Gwangju Uprising," a student-led revolution that paved the way for South Korea's fight against an authoritarian regime and the birth of the nation's democracy, took place. It was also during this period when many student protestors were tortured and even killed for suspicions of being North Korean spies.
Why do netizens want to cancel BLACKPINK Jisoo's Snowdrop?
The Democratic Movement that has transpired during the revolution is a highly sensitive issue for South Koreans. According to the statement of the fan union that requests for the cancellation of "Snowdrop," the plot of the drama reminds a "painful part of history whereby many student activists were accused as spies and received unfair torture and died." Moreover, they claim the set-up of the male lead as a North Korean spy disguised as a student can show romanticization to spies.
In addition, the leaked plot of the drama allegedly introduced a character of a National Security Agency (NSA) team leader as an "upright and passionate character who follows the rules." And according to the "Snowdrop" fan union, this also romanticizes the NSA who was, in history, involved in "torturing student activists disgracefully."
The fan union also demands an explanation for the choice of character for the female lead whose name "exists as a real figure" in the Democratic Movement. Such association, according to the "Snowdrop" fan union," can give harm to the historical figure.
In addition, the fan union slams the drama for using Hosu Female University as the setting where the "female lead, who is a student at the university, hides the male lead in the dorms." If this plot is true, then it becomes problematic as the school has played a "pivotal role" in the student movements of that time.
Because of the above-mentioned reasons, the "Snowdrop" fan union calls for the cancellation of the drama and demands a clear explanation from JTBC.
"...we request for an explanation that includes a professional opinion from experts in the democratic movements, and not only opinions from the internal production team.
We strongly request for the drama to be cancelled as well as for the producers of JTBC's Snowdrop to provide a clear statement as the democratic movement's meaning and history is something cannot be distorted in any way," the Snowdrop fan union said in an official statement.