Jeon Ji-hyun, an actress in Disney+'s "Polaris," has sparked another online dispute between Korean and Chinese netizens over a single line of dialogue.
The disputed line in the drama — "Why does China prefer war? A nuclear bomb could fall on the border rent(expense) area" — provoked strong backlash in China, where people said it "insulted China." Advertisements for cosmetics and watches that feature Jeon Ji-hyun as a model have also been suspended amid the controversy.
Regarding this, Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University said, "Of course Chinese netizens are free to watch the drama and express their individual opinions about it."
But Professor Seo said, "Since Disney+ is not available in China, like Netflix, their claims of having 'also watched it by stealing it' were exposed," adding, "They themselves first stole others' content and now, without any shame, are nitpicking."
Professor Seo also emphasized, "If Chinese netizens wanted to raise an issue with the line, it would be appropriate to protest to the production company that released the line or to Disney+."
He added, "Now that Korean content is truly attracting global attention, Chinese netizens feel great fear," criticizing, "They are recklessly focused only on 'smearing' K-content."
[OSEN]