JTBC Releases Statement About Upcoming Drama "Snowdrop" Denying Suspicions Of Historical Distortion

Although “Snowdrop” (literal title) has not yet premiered, the drama is coming under suspicions of historical distortion given the drama’s subject matter.

“Snowdrop,” which is scheduled to premiere in the second half of 2021, takes place in Seoul in 1987. It stars Jung Hae In as Soo Ho, a student at a prestigious university who rushes into a female dorm one day covered in blood. BLACKPINK’s Jisoo plays Young Cho, the university student who hides him and takes care of his wounds despite facing danger and close surveillance.

After SBS’s “Joseon Exorcist” came under fire for using Chinese props in a drama set in the Joseon period, netizens have begun to criticize other dramas for historical distortion and/or receiving product placement from Chinese companies. This criticism is also connected to the recent political and cultural friction between Korea and China over elements of traditional Korean culture.

Netizens began criticizing “Snowdrop” after parts of the synopsis began to circulate online. According to these online sources, the male lead is a spy who has infiltrated the activist movement, while another male character is a team leader at the Agency for National Security Planning (NSP) but is described as being straightforward and just.

1987 was a key year in South Korea’s popular democratic movement that led to the establishment of the present-day republic. The Agency for National Security Planning would have been part of the authoritarian regime at the time.

On March 26, JTBC released an official statement about the issue.

This is JTBC’s statement on the controversy surrounding the drama “Snowdrop.”

“Snowdrop” is not a drama that disparages the pro-democracy movement or glamorizes being a spy or working for the NSP.

“Snowdrop” is a black comedy that satirizes the presidential elections taking place in the 1980s under a military regime during the North-South tension on the Korean peninsula. It is also a melodrama about the young men and women who were victims of that situation.

We received all sorts of criticism after certain sentences were taken out of context from parts of an incomplete synopsis that were leaked online, but all of this was based on mere speculation.

In particular, accusations like “the drama will show a North Korean spy leading the pro-democracy movement” and “the drama made a real student activist into a character” and “the drama glamorizes the Agency of National Security Planning” are not only different from the drama’s actual content but also far from the production staff’s intention.

We firmly reiterate that the accusations going around about “Snowdrop” are unrelated to the drama’s actual content or the production’s staff’s intentions. We ask that you refrain from reckless speculation about a drama that has not even been revealed.

“Snowdrop” is being directed and written by the creators of JTBC’s “SKY Castle,” and stars Kim Hye Yoon, Jang Seung Jo, Yoon Se Ah, Jung Yoo Jin, and Yoo In Na in addition to Jung Hae In and Jisoo.

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