JTBC has clarified the ongoing controversies over its series Snowdrop.
On December 21st, JTBC said in an official statement, “The background and motif of the major events in Snowdrop is the presidential election during the military regime,” the network wrote. “But set in this background, the drama tells a fictional story of the established powers joining hands with the North Korean regime to maintain power.”
They further emphasized, “Snowdrop is a creation that shows the personal narratives of those who were used and sacrificed by the powerful.”
JTBC also mentioned the historical distortion and disparagement of the democratization movement, which are currently mentioned as the biggest problems. “In Snowdrop, there is no spy who leads the democratization movement. The male and female leads were not shown as participating in or leading the democratization movement in episodes 1 and 2. And they do not do so in any part of the future script,” they wrote. “The concerns will be resolved in the upcoming episodes.”
Despite the network’s explanations, the controversy is still spreading like wildfire. The petition demanding the show’s cancellation has already garnered 300,000 signatures. Also, multiple sponsoring companies have begun to cut all ties with the drama.
To make things worse, J Contentree, JTBC Studio’s parent company, saw a steep dip in its stock price. In just four days, more than 100 billion KRW (about $83.88 million) have disappeared.
Full text of JTBC's official statement
This is JTBC’s statement regarding controversy about the drama “Snowdrop.”
Following the broadcast of “Snowdrop,” controversy is not dying down based on false information, so we are releasing a statement.
First of all, the background and motif for important incidents in “Snowdrop” are the time of military regime. With this background, it contains a fictional story of the party in power colluding with the North Korean government in order to maintain authority. “Snowdrop” is a creative work that shows the personal stories of individuals who were used and victimized by those in power.
There is no spy who leads the democratization movement in “Snowdrop.” The male and female leads were not shown as participating in or leading the democratization movement in episodes 1 and 2, and they do not do so in any part of the future script.
Most of the misunderstandings regarding concerns of “history distortion” and “disparaging the democratization movement” criticized by many people will be settled through the progress of the drama’s plot. The drama includes the production team’s intent of hoping for no repetition of an abnormal era in which individual freedom and happiness are oppressed by unjust power.
Although we unfortunately cannot reveal much of the plot ahead of each episode, we ask that you watch over the future progress of the plot.
In addition, in order to hear the valuable opinions regarding JTBC’s contents, we will listen to diverse voices by opening the portal site’s real-time chat window and the official viewers’ message board.
The main values that JTBC aims for are the freedom of content creation and independence of production. Based on this, JTBC will continue to contribute full effort into showcasing great broadcasts.
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