In a fictional constitutional monarchy that succeeded the Joseon dynasty, was wearing a goryeo crown and chanting cheonse a distortion of history or a research error? Perfect Crown became a hot potato, a controversy that did not end even after the series ended.
Recently, the MBC Friday-Saturday drama Perfect Crown (abbreviated as "Daegunbuin") ended. The 12th episode (final) of Daegunbuin, which aired on the 16th, concluded with respectable popularity, recording its highest viewership at 13.8% nationwide according to Nielsen Korea. However, the drama, which enjoyed overwhelming buzz even before it aired, has been suffering after its finale not from glittering achievements or the happiness of a happy ending but from controversies over historical distortion and research errors.
The biggest controversy surrounds the coronation scene in episode 11 of Daegunbuin. In episode 11 of Daegunbuin, which aired on the 15th just before the finale, the male lead, Grand Prince Iaan (played by Byeon Woo-seok), ultimately ascended the throne, bypassing his young nephew. In that scene he wore a goryeo crown, and attendees chanted "cheonse chonse cheoncheonse."
The problem is that the "goryeo crown" and "cheonse" were used for the headgear and acclamations of vassal lords when China was an imperial state. Using this as a pretext, some Chinese internet users have claimed it as evidence of historical distortion—that Joseon was a vassal state of China—i.e., part of the Northeast Project. Perfect Crown starred Byeon Woo-seok, an actor known both in Korea and overseas, and singer-actor IU as the male and female leads, and was widely known to global fans through Disney+. The fact that a major Korean drama of 2026 gave a pretext for Chinese historical distortion angered Korean internet users.
Escalating further, Perfect Crown has been labeled a "treasonous drama," and the production staff and cast who failed to raise concerns about the scene have been depicted as if they were sinners absorbed by Chinese historical distortion. In response, the production team apologized on the official website about the scene and, starting with reruns, muted the "cheonse chonse cheoncheonse" part in VODs served via OTT and deleted the subtitles as a correction. However, Byeon Woo-seok wearing the goryeo crown could not be replaced because it was a close-up shot in the coronation scene.
Director Park Jun-hwa, who directed the interviews and had avoided them along with the main and supporting cast amid the controversy, took responsibility. The middle-aged director apologized, saying, "There is no excuse; I am entirely most responsible," "I think I got bogged down in the setting," "I think I fell into a swamp," and "I only thought about following advisory verification and missed depictions of the nation," and even shed tears. Writer Yoo Ji-won, who wrote the script, also issued an apology on the official website. Earlier, lead actors Byeon Woo-seok and IU had issued apologies on their personal social media accounts, mentioning their ignorance and sense of responsibility as lead actors. Despite its buzz and popularity, Perfect Crown ended up, after its finale, with the writer, director and actors—nicknamed the "writer-director-actor" trio—issuing apologies, leaving it as another remarkable work in a different sense.
Nevertheless, critical public sentiment is boiling. Enraged viewers are particularly wary that Perfect Crown, which is also available overseas through Disney+, could become prey for some internet users promoting China's Northeast Project. They fear that if incorrect views of history spread abroad, it would be an irreparable national embarrassment. For that reason, they emphasize not simple edits but complete cancellation. The Korea Media and Communications Commission, which supported the series' Cannes series festival investor presentation and other events, is even considering the legal possibility of recovering government support funds.
Public outrage has so inflamed that Perfect Crown has been reduced to a historical distortion drama. The production's stance focuses its apology on a "research error" rather than historical distortion, showing a subtle difference. In fact, Perfect Crown itself is set in a "fictional constitutional monarchy of Korea," so the core question is to what extent history and verification should be applied to a country that does not exist in reality. Ironically, because the standards are ambiguous, interpretations can be made to suit one's aim, making it easy to be exploited by China's Northeast Project, and that flaw has further fueled anger.
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[Photo] Provided by MBC.
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