Meeting Blue House Response Criteria Within a Day of Petition Posting... Under Administrator Review
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] A national petition requesting the suspension of the JTBC weekend drama "Seolganghwa," which has been embroiled in controversy over historical distortion including the denigration of the democratization movement, has gained over 200,000 signatures within a day of being posted. When a national petition receives more than 200,000 signatures, the Blue House is required to provide an official response.
On the 18th, a petition titled "Petition to Suspend the Broadcast of the Drama Seolganghwa" was posted on the Blue House national petition board and surpassed the government’s response threshold of 200,000 signatures. As of the morning of the 20th, it has received over 230,000 signatures, and the petition is currently under review by administrators awaiting a response.
Starring actors Jisoo and Jung Hae-in, "Seolganghwa" has faced criticism from the production stage due to its premise involving a North Korean spy and a female student involved in the democratization movement. Despite the broadcaster and production team’s explanation that "this drama does not denigrate the democratization movement nor glorify the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) and spies," criticism has intensified since the first broadcast.
The petitioner pointed out through the post that "the production team claims they had no such intention and that 'there is no script content where the male and female leads participate in or lead the democratization movement,' but after the first episode aired, the female lead mistakenly identifies the male lead, who is a spy, as an activist and rescues him," highlighting the inconsistency between the drama’s storyline and the production team’s explanation.
They further urged the suspension of the broadcast, stating, "There were definitely activist victims during the democratization movement who were baselessly accused of being spies, tortured, and died, and despite these historical facts, producing a drama with such content clearly undermines the value of the democratization movement."
Earlier, in March when the drama was still in production, a national petition demanding the halt of the drama’s production also gained over 200,000 signatures.
At that time, the petitioner criticized, "Just before a second work surpassing the selfish level of 'Joseon Exorcist' appears," and said, "'Seolganghwa' made the spy the main character despite repeatedly proving that North Korea had no involvement in the democratization movement."
They added, "Moreover, other characters attempt to glorify the ANSP, which under the government’s name did not hesitate to torture and kill people," emphasizing, "The filming of this drama, which insults and tarnishes the foundation of our country, must be completely stopped, and all footage filmed so far must be perfectly removed."
In response to such demands from the petitioner, the Blue House at the time replied, "Since the drama is still in the production stage, a cautious approach is necessary considering the freedom of broadcasting scheduling and freedom of expression," and added, "If there are problematic parts after the broadcast, they will be reviewed by the Korea Communications Standards Commission."
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