'Snowdrop': JTBC drops guide video to clear misunderstanding, begs for one last chance
The whole Internet is waiting with bated breath to see if the K-drama ‘Snowdrop’ will make it to its third episode broadcast. The show was first petitioned to be canceled in March 2021 after the plot suggested that it was glamorizing the life of activist Young-cho played by Blackpink’s Jisoo. The female lead’s name was changed to Young-ro and JTBC assured viewers that there would be no misunderstanding and that it would not distort history. However, with the airing of the first two episodes on December 18, more than 300k South Koreans have petitioned it to be canceled.
The general public claim that ‘Snowdrop’ whitewashes the terror that was the NSA during the '80s democratic protest in South Korea. Furthermore, it justifies the violence against the innocent people who were falsely labeled as North Korean spies by making the male lead played by Jung Hae-in allegedly a North Korean who pretends to be an activist. More than a dozen sponsors have dropped out and 40% of daily users have boycotted Disney+. Following the uproar, JTBC has released two statements.
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JTBC's two statements
In the first statement, the production asked viewers to give ‘Snowdrop’ a second chance as all misunderstandings would be cleared up in future episodes. This did not go well with viewers, activists and families of martyrs and victims who said that it was insulting to the bereaved. The memorial foundation of martyr Lee Hanyeol who was killed during the uprising said that JTBC citing creative license for the sake of plot twists was the same as glorifying Nazis. We then had JTBC releasing a second statement.
'Snowdrop's fictional setting
The production shared that first of all, the harsh response was an infringement on creative freedom. But the ‘Snowdrop’ creators shared that they understood the pain of the victims who had suffered at the hands of the NSA and they had no intention of glorifying the military rule of the '80s. They explained that the male lead character Su-ho supposedly being a North Korean who pretends to be an activist was all a red herring and a set up for the lead couple – Blackpink’s Jisoo and Hae-in’s characters to meet. They would not show the protests or other brutal revolts in the remainder of the show.
JTBC added, “The drama is a fictional story about how the established powers work with North Korea to maintain their power. 'Snowdrop' is a creative work that shows the personal narrative of those who were used and sacrificed by the powerful individuals.” They shared that they were not justifying the then rulers' claims of North Koreans being behind the uprising to use violence. In fact, they were reprimanding it. Production has also released a guide video to clarify the misunderstandings of the first two episodes as much as they can without spoiling the plot.
Watch the guide video below: