'IU's Older Brother' Lee Jae-won Also Cancels Interview.. "Seriously Acknowledges 'Grand Duchess' Controversy" [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Lee Jae-won decided to cancel his post-finale interview after seriously acknowledging the public opinion surrounding '21st Century Grand Duchess'. As a result, no actor involved in '21st Century Grand Duchess' will be conducting interviews.

On the 18th, Lee Jae-won's agency, Studio Youho, told StarNews that they had to unavoidably cancel Lee Jae-won's media interview scheduled for the 21st.

Lee Jae-won's side explained the reason: "We are seriously acknowledging the public opinion and situation surrounding the current work. In this situation, we felt that it would be cautious and potentially harmful to the entire work and viewers if the actor were to proceed with a personal interview."

They also added, "As a member of the work, the actor is viewing the situation with a heavy heart, and after comprehensively considering various circumstances, it seems difficult to proceed with this interview. We ask for your understanding."

Lee Jae-won portrayed Sung Tae-ju, the eldest son of Castle Group and the half-brother of the female lead, Seong Hee-ju (played by IU), in the MBC Friday-Saturday drama '21st Century Grand Duchess' (hereinafter 'Grand Duchess'), which concluded on the 16th.

Broadcast from April 10 until today, '21st Century Grand Duchess' was hailed as a highly anticipated work, known for its production budget of around 300 billion won and lavish casting. However, the drama faced difficulties as controversies over historical distortion emerged during the latter half of its broadcast.

In particular, in episode 11 of '21st Century Grand Duchess', it was pointed out that instead of chanting 'Manse' (Long Live), the symbol of an independent nation, the characters chanted 'Cheonse' (Long Live), which was used by vassal states belonging to an imperial nation, during the coronation ceremony of General Lee An. Additionally, Prince Lee An was criticized for wearing 'Guryumyeongwan', a hat worn by feudal lords who are subjects of the emperor. Furthermore, it was noted that Seong Hee-ju performed a Chinese-style tea ceremony.

Following the controversy, the '21st Century Grand Duchess' production team issued an official statement on the 16th: "We sincerely apologize to all those who have watched the drama with affection for causing concern due to issues regarding world-building settings and historical verification." They added, "We are seriously accepting the viewers' criticism that the scene where the king wears 'Guryumyeongwan' and the ministers chant 'Cheonse' during the king's coronation ceremony undermines Korea's independent status."

They continued, "This incident occurred because we failed to carefully examine how Joseon's etiquette changed throughout history." They admitted, "'21st Century Grand Duchess' is a drama with the characteristics of a romance and alternative history, requiring careful and in-depth consideration regarding the intersection of a fictional world and real historical context, but we lacked the effort to refine the world-building meticulously and examine it closely." The production team stated that they would modify the audio and subtitles of the problematic parts in future rebroadcasts, VOD, and OTT services of '21st Century Grand Duchess'.

'21st Century Grand Duchess' concluded with a strong performance, achieving a peak viewership rating of 13.8% in the final episode. However, due to scheduling issues and other factors, none of the cast members were able to conduct interviews.

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*This content was translated by AI.