The 'Perfect Crown' story tour was canceled. It is the aftermath of controversy over historical distortion and the Northeast Project.
On the 19th, the Wanju Cultural Tourism Foundation said on its official social media accounts, "After internal discussions, we have decided to cancel the operation of the '21st century daegun story tour' program."
The Wanju Cultural Tourism Foundation had planned the program to consolidate Wanju's hanok and local cultural resources into tourism content, but as controversy over historical distortion arose, it decided to review the direction more carefully. The Wanju Cultural Tourism Foundation said, "Going forward, we will continue to plan and operate cultural tourism content more carefully, fully considering the historical and cultural value of the region so that many people can sympathize with it."
On the 16th, the MBC Friday-Saturday drama "Perfect Crown" (written by Yoo Ji-won, directed by Park Jun-hwa and Bae Hwa-young, planned by Kang Dae-seon, produced by MBC, Kakao Entertainment), which ended with its highest-ever ratings, was criticized in episode 11 for distorting history, such as having court officials chant "cheonse" used by vassal states instead of "manse," a symbol of an independent country at the coronation of Prince Ian (Byeon Woo-seok), and having the king wear a guryu crown used by Chinese officials instead of the sipimyeon crown used by emperors of independent countries.
The production team apologized, saying, "We sincerely bow our heads for causing concern over the worldview setting and historical verification issues. We take viewers' criticism seriously, and we will make every effort to correct the audio and subtitles of the relevant parts in reruns, VOD, and OTT services as quickly as possible."
Lead actors IU and Byeon Woo-seok apologized, saying, "I am ashamed of myself for not having read and studied the script more carefully when I should have. I failed to have a preexisting sense of the issue," and "During the process of filming and acting, I lacked consideration of what the historical context and meaning contained in the work were and how that might be received by viewers."
Although apologies regarding the historical distortion controversy continue through interviews with the production team, lead actors and the director, public anger has not subsided. With the story tour canceled, the Korea Media and Communications Commission is reviewing the legal possibility of reclaiming government subsidies.
[OSEN]