Petition to Axe ‘Joseon Exorcist’ Reaches over 127,000 Signatures amid Historical Distortion Controversy
"Joseon Exorcist" continues to receive a wave of criticisms following the accusation regarding historical distortion.
In a recent report, a petition has reached the Blue House, seeking to remove the period drama series from SBS's broadcasting.
Petition to Halt "Joseon Exorcist" Receives More than 127,000 Signatures
Following this, the petition to axe the recently debuted SBS drama reached over 127,000 signatures in just a day.
The formal appeal states that they are requesting for "Joseon Exorcist" to be removed immediately "to prevent future occurrences of the serious distortion of the history.
Moreover, it raised concerns regarding the inaccuracy in South Korean culture depicted in the series, highlighting that the program referred to "real historical figures."
"If the drama is categorized as a fantasy, then they should have made brand new characters. They used real historical figures. If foreign viewers watch this drama, they will think that the depiction of the Joseon era characters in the drama is real," the petition stated.
READ MORE: 'Joseon Exorcist' Releases Character Poster Featuring Jang Dong Yoon, Park Sung Hoon, Kam Woo Sung, and More
"Joseon Exorcist" Blasted for Using Chinese Style Props in Episode 1
To recall, after airing "Joseon Exorcist" Episode 1, the show's production team received a backlash after some of the viewers noticed that they used various Chinese-style props.
Eagle-eyed viewers noticed Chinese-style mooncakes and dumplings, Chinese pidan or their century eggs, and liquor bottles with Chinese characters were used on the show.
Moreover, a well-known faculty at the Sungshin Women University accused the period drama program of "fueling" China's historical inaccuracy.
According to a recent report, a letter written by professor Seo Kyung Duk pointed out that "Joseon Exorcist" created a "lasting impact with its history distortion controversy."
In addition, the well-known professor blasted the production team and mentioned that they should have been more careful and aware of the situation between China and South Korea.
"Joseon Exorcist" Controversy Has Impacted the Show's Sponsorship and Ratings
Aside from the public's outrage, "Joseon Exorcist" also faced a series of alarming concerns. During its premiere, the much-awaited drama started off with an impressive rating.
"Joseon Exorcist" Episode 1 reached an average rating of 5.7 and 8.9 percent. Unfortunately, after the online criticisms, the period drama's episode 2 received a slight drop in their rating with a recorded average of 4.5 and 6.9 percent, as Nielsen Korea cited.
To make the situation worse, support from brands and companies has been halted.
In a recent report, LG Household & Health Care and wellness technology brand, Cozyma expressed that they would no longer sponsor the show.
It came after the leading South Korean consumer goods company announced that they would cancel their sponsorship for "Joseon Exorcist.
SBS Released an Official Statement Towards the "Joseon Exorcist" Controversy
The viewers' outrage caused SBS to release a statement to appease the public's fury.
In an official statement, the network pointed out that it was the "production team's mistake for not recognizing the issue beforehand."
Moreover, they vowed to omit these parts to appease the discomfort it caused from the audience.
ALSO CHECK: 'Joseon Exorcist' Director Reveals Why the Upcoming Series is Different from 'Kingdom'
KDramastars owns this article.
Written by Geca Wills
