SBS Permanently Cancels "Joseon Exorcist" After 2 Episodes Due To Historical Distortion Controversy

SBS has announced that they will be permanently canceling “Joseon Exorcist.”

On March 26, the network released the following official statement about the new drama, which just aired its first two episodes earlier this week:

We are informing you of SBS’s position on “Joseon Exorcist.”

As SBS deeply recognizes the severity of the current situation [regarding the drama], we have decided to terminate our broadcasting rights contract for “Joseon Exorcist” and cancel all broadcasts of the drama.

At the moment, SBS has already paid most of the fees for the broadcasting rights to the drama in question, and the production company has already completed 80 percent of filming.

Although we are concerned about the financial losses incurred by both the broadcast network and the production company, as well as the gap in our programming, SBS feels a heavy responsibility as a public broadcast network, and we are informing you that we have decided to cancel the program.

Immediately after its premiere on March 22, “Joseon Exorcist” came under fire for its use of Chinese-style props and food, which many viewers pointed out was a distortion of Korean history, as well as its problematic depictions of several major Korean historical figures.

Although SBS released an initial statement of apology and explanation, the backlash from viewers continued to grow when the second episode of the drama included more Chinese-style elements. Soon afterwards, all of the sponsors of “Joseon Exorcist” pulled out of the drama, and the network announced that it would be taking a one-week break to revise the series.

However, just two days later, SBS has now confirmed that the drama will not return to air.

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