'Snowdrop' makers issue statement amid allegations of distorting history in drama

BLACKPINK's Jisoo and actor Jung Hae-in's new drama Snowdrop have stirred up controversy within only a few days of its grand release. The drama is being accused of allegedly distorting history and undermining the democratization movement in Korea through their characters. The controversy first arose in March after which JTBC released a statement firmly denying the statement.

With two episodes released, the controversy gained traction which led to a national Blue House petition filed on December 18 demanding the drama to be taken off-air.

What is Snowdrop controversy?

The protagonist of the show, Su Ho played by Jung Hae-in, is shown to be a spy. Netizens pointed out that the character was shown to be a real spy when many activists were falsely accused of being one. Furthermore, another character is shown to be a team leader at the Agency for National Security Planning, which was a part of an authoritarian regime during that time. The drama was also accused of using a song symbolic of the democratization movement during a scene. 

Petition to remove Snowdrop

The petition mentioned the democratization movement which led to many activists being killed after they were accused of being spies. The petition further stated that creating a drama on this 'historical truth undermines the value of the democratization movement.' The petition has since received over 300,000 signatures as opposed to the minimum amount of 200,000 signatures required. Many sponsors have reportedly decided to pull out of the drama following the major backlash. 

JTBC issues statement

As per Soompi, JTBC issued a statement to address the controversy where they wrote, ''First of all, the background and motif for important incidents in “Snowdrop” 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.''

They firmly denied the characters of the drama being based on the democratization movement by writing, ''There is no spy who leads the democratization movement in “Snowdrop.” The male and female leads were not shown as participating in or leading the democratization movement in episodes 1 and 2, and they do not do so in any part of the future script.'' They also asked the viewers to show patience as the contents of the drama will be revealed with the release of the remaining episodes. 

They added, ''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. Although we, unfortunately, cannot reveal much of the plot ahead of each episode, we ask that you watch over the future progress of the plot.''

JTBC concluded the statement by writing, ''In addition, in order to hear the valuable opinions regarding JTBC’s contents, we will listen to diverse voices by opening the portal site’s real-time chat window and the official viewers’ message board. The main values that JTBC aims for are the freedom of content creation and independence of production. Based on this, JTBC will continue to contribute full effort into showcasing great broadcasts.''

Image: Instagram/@kimjisoo.blackpink