Perfect Crown writer, director and actors all apologized. The writer-director-actors bowed down flat amid the fierce backlash over historical distortion. With public opinion calling for "disposal," attention is focused on what effect their apologies will have.
On the 16th, MBC's 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) concluded with a peak rating of 13.8% (Nielsen Korea nationwide).
Some said it would finish with a spectacular ending, but that was not the case. A controversy over historical distortion emerged in episode 11, released before the finale (episode 12). While there had been continuous complaints about historical accuracy throughout the broadcast, episode 11 was a total mess. At Crown Prince Iaan's (Byeon Woo-seok) enthronement, ministers shouted the vassal state's "cheonse" instead of the sovereign state's symbol "manse," and the king wore the gu-ryu mian-ryeok-gwan used by Chinese ministers instead of the sip-myeon-ryeok-gwan used by the sovereign state's emperor, among many other historical distortions.
After criticism poured in, the production team apologized, saying, "We sincerely bow our heads for causing concern over the worldview setting and historical verification issues. We take viewers' criticisms seriously and will correct the audio and subtitles of the relevant parts in rebroadcasts, VOD and OTT services as quickly as possible," and then aired the finale, but it was only a temporary fix.
Angry public opinion engulfed Perfect Crown after the finale. In the end, lead actors IU and Byeon Woo-seok apologized on the 18th, saying, "I am ashamed of myself for not reading and studying the script more carefully when I should have," and "In the process of filming and acting, I lacked consideration of the historical context and meaning contained in the work and how it might be received by viewers."
Director Park Jun-hwa bowed his head in an interview with reporters on the 19th, saying, "There is no excuse; I bear the greatest responsibility," and "Personally, I feel sorry and apologize because it seems I caused hardship to the actors who worked hard to create this drama together rather than rewarding their efforts."
After the lead actors and director apologized, the writer's apology followed. Yoo Ji-won, who wrote the script, bowed her head on the 19th on the Perfect Crown website and said, "I sincerely apologize for disappointing and causing concern to viewers due to verification controversies," adding, "Under the imagination that the Joseon royal family firmly continued into the modern era, I wanted to show our traditions and beauty, but in applying Joseon etiquette to the modern era and depicting a fictional modern royal family, I lacked thorough research and verification. It is my fault for not carefully considering the historical context. I also take all the opinions viewers have sent very seriously."
Behind the writers, director and actors all apologizing is the crisis facing Perfect Crown. After the historical distortion controversy, the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) is reviewing the legal possibility of reclaiming government support funds for the recently concluded MBC Friday-Saturday drama Perfect Crown. It believes the government support was likely not simply production funding but reimbursement for opportunities at Cannes and participation in showcases. Nonetheless, the internal review of legal reclaimability indicates how serious the matter is.
The damage continues. The Perfect Crown story tour, planned to connect Wanju's hanok and local cultural resources to tourism content, was canceled, and revisions to the script book are inevitable. Amid the angry public, some argue that global OTT services should be suspended because global viewers could be misled and that the work itself should be disposed of as an example.
The writer-director-actors bowed down flat to try to prevent "disposal." But they have also downplayed the situation by describing it as "verification errors" rather than "historical distortion." Their apologies, which look deep but shallow, are being watched to see if they can turn public opinion.
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