‘Joseon Exorcist’ Receives High Ratings Despite Controversy Surrounding Episode 1

"Joseon Exorcist" received positive feedback with its high viewership rating during its premiere. For months, SBS has been boosting the highly anticipated show with interesting teasers and stills that would pique the audiences' attention.

"Joseon Exorcist" Episode 1 Receives 5.7 Percent Nationwide Rating

In a recent report, Nielsen Korea cited that the SBS' historical drama series started out strong with an average nationwide rating of 5.7 and 8.9 percent.

With this, the recently released program shows good viewership ratings over its contender, "River Where the Moon Rises," which managed to sustain its reign on the Monday and Tuesday night time slot.

To recall, it was previously noted that episode 10 of the KBS' hit drama recorded an average rating of 7.2 percent nationwide and 9.1 percent in the metropolitan area.

This has been said to be the show's second consecutive rise in viewership ratings since it's first aired on February 15.

As for "Navillera," which also debuted on March 22, tvN's drama starring Song Kang gained a modest start of 2.810 percent.

ALSO CHECK: 'Joseon Exorcist' Drops 19+ Rating for Episodes 1 and 2

"Joseon Exorcist" Gets Positive Reviews Online

Aside from its good start with viewership, "Joseon Exorcist" also draws positive reviews from the audience.

Over Twitter, the Shin Kyung Soo-directed series was lauded by netizens and said that its first episode was full of intense scenes.

The second fan hinted that the period drama had already won her heart.

On the other hand, an individual complimented the stunning visuals and storyline of the much-awaited drama.

"Joseon Exorcist" Accused of Misrepresenting the Korean Culture

Despite the good ratings and reviews, "'Joseon Exorcist" has been hounded with controversy during its premiere.

It came after the SBS drama caused major confusion after props and food in reference to the Chinese culture has been shown - this includes Chinese pidan or their century eggs, Chinese mooncakes, dumplings, and even liquor bottles with Chinese characters.

Following this, "'Joseon Exorcist" received a wave of backlash and has been criticized for distorting the Korean culture.

With the allegation towards the recently aired program, SBS broke its silence and addressed the controversy.

In an official statement, the network revealed the remark by the show's production team.

The group explained that this revolved around the location of the series that was filmed in Uiju County, which was said to be the Ming Dynasty's border.

 This is to give justice to Prince Chungnyeong's character, played by Jang Dong Yoon, as he traveled across the Chinese border in search of the western exorcist.

"It was a location in which the western exorcist's party could rest after traveling through the Ming Dynasty and just entering Joseon, and since it is a region that's close to the border with the Ming Dynasty, we prepared the props while using our imagination that there would be frequent traffic of Chinese people," the statement reads.

In the end, "Joseon Exorcist's" production team apologized for causing confusion and "discomfort" throughout the scene and vowed to "pay close attention" in their future broadcasts.

READ MORE: 'Joseon Exorcist' Director Reveals Why the Upcoming Series is Different from 'Kingdom'

KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills