Actors Byeon Woo-seok (left) and IU make a finger heart at the production presentation for the MBC Friday-Saturday drama ‘21st-Century Grand Prince's Consort’. Both posted apologies on their social networking services (SNS) on the 18th regarding the controversy over historical distortion in the work. Yonhap News
As of the 19th, the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission (BMCC) was found to be considering the possibility of reclaiming support funds for the MBC Friday-Saturday drama ‘21st-Century Grand Prince's Consort’, which became embroiled in a historical distortion controversy immediately after its finale.
‘21st-Century Grand Prince's Consort’ was selected by the BMCC and the Korea Communications Agency (KCA) for a Korean drama investment showcase held on April 23 in connection with the Cannes International Series Festival in France. It was one of four works introduced to overseas buyers, alongside ‘Secret Audit’, ‘Bloody Flower’, and ‘Gokdu’.
Thus, a beneficiary of public support intended to aid overseas expansion is now being discussed at home as a candidate for clawback.
The controversy erupted in episode 11 on the 15th during the enthronement scene. Officials shouted ‘cheonsae’ (a thousand years) instead of ‘manse’ (ten thousand years), and the king wore a nine-tier crown appropriate to a vassal state rather than a twelve-tier imperial crown. Viewers argued that even allowing for the fictional setting of ‘the Republic of Korea as a 21st-century constitutional monarchy’, depicting Joseon court ritual in the style of a vassal state was inappropriate. Protests followed to the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
On the 16th, the production team posted an apology on the official website, stating “we fell short in considering the historical context during the process of setting the worldbuilding,” and said they would revise the audio and subtitles of the problematic scenes in reruns·VOD·OTT. Lead actors Byeon Woo-seok and IU also posted apologies on their social networking services (SNS) on the 18th, conveying the message “I am ashamed of myself.”
Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women's University and Korean history instructor Choi Tae-sung also publicly pointed out deficiencies in the production system's historical vetting.
According to Nielsen Korea, the series ended with its final episode posting a nationwide rating of 13.8 percent, a record high for the show. The production budget is reported to be in the 30 billion KRW range. It concluded with ratings metrics and reputation splitting in opposite directions.
The key issue is the legal trigger for a clawback. Because the Cannes-linked program by the BMCC·KCA is not a production-cost subsidy but support for attracting investment and for screenings in overseas markets, whether a clawback is possible appears to hinge on whether the project agreement includes clauses allowing recovery in cases of ‘public controversy’ or ‘harm to the public interest’.
As the BMCC has begun reviewing the applicability of the agreement clauses, a follow-up issue is likely to be whether future reviews supporting the overseas expansion of K-content will add evaluation items for ‘historical accuracy·social impact’.
