Netflix Again Labels East Sea as Sea of Japan... Subtitle Controversy in 'The Eight Show'

Professor Seokyeongdeok Urges Correction to Prevent Viewer Misunderstanding

A scene in Netflix's 'The Eight Show' with the 'Spanish (Latin America)' subtitles incorrectly labeled as "Sea of Japan" Photo by Professor Seokyung Deok

The Netflix original series 'The Eight Show' on the online video service (OTT) is expected to spark controversy for labeling Korea's 'Donghae' as the 'Sea of Japan.'

In the eight-episode series 'The Eight Show,' released on the 17th of last month, there is a scene where the protagonist '3rd Floor,' played by actor Ryu Jun-yeol, sings the national anthem. Netflix added Spanish subtitles to this scene and mistakenly labeled 'Donghae' as the 'Sea of Japan' in the part "Donghaemul and Baekdusan."

Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women's University stated on the 4th, "I learned about this from many netizens who reported it, and I immediately sent a protest email to Netflix, which has global influence."

In the protest email, Professor Seo wrote, "The name of the sea between Korea and Japan has been called 'Donghae' for over 2,000 years," and urged "a prompt correction to prevent misunderstanding among viewers worldwide."

Netflix has repeatedly made subtitle errors while presenting Korean content overseas. When supplying the 2020 film 'Time to Hunt' and the 2021 drama 'The Mistakes of Ha Baek,' they subtitled 'Donghae' as the 'Sea of Japan,' which led to a flood of protests and subsequent corrections. Last year, they faced severe criticism for labeling 'Kimchi' as 'Pao Cai.'

[Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News]

Additionally, when the Taiwanese version of the Netflix original drama 'Kingdom' was titled 'Ishi (屍, corpse) Joseon,' a term considered a remnant of Japanese colonial rule and derogatory to Joseon, it sparked controversy, leading to subtitle and title corrections to 'Donghae' and 'Ishi Joseon,' respectively. Japanese Netflix was criticized for describing the film 'A Taxi Driver' as "a taxi driver heading to Gwangju carrying a German reporter covering a 'riot'" and "the streets before their eyes turned into a hell of riots."

Professor Seo emphasized, "As a global company, Netflix must exercise even greater caution regarding sensitive issues of any country."

Meanwhile, 'The Eight Show' recently ranked number one in Netflix's global TOP 10 series (non-English) category.