"My negligence, I am sorry." 'Grand Duchess' writer apologizes late after five days of controversy... Is the organizing MBC silent? [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

In the controversy over historical distortion in '21st Century Grand Duchess,' the actors, director, and key members of the writing team have sequentially expressed their intention to issue formal apologies. Now, it seems only an apology from the MBC channel remains.

Writer Yoo Ji-won posted an apology on the official website of the MBC Friday-Saturday drama '21st Century Grand Duchess' (hereinafter 'Grand Duchess') on the afternoon of the 19th. Writer Yoo stated, "I sincerely apologize to viewers for the disappointment and concern caused by the historical accuracy controversy surrounding '21st Century Grand Duchess.' I was worried that I might cause even greater inconvenience, which is why it took time to speak up, and I am sorry for causing trouble to more people."

He explained, "'21st Century Grand Duchess' is a romance fantasy drama set in a fictional constitutional monarchy. Under the premise that the Joseon royal family continued firmly into the modern era, we wanted to showcase our traditions and beauty. However, in the process of applying Joseon etiquette to the modern era and depicting a fictional modern royal family, thorough research and historical verification were lacking."

He continued, "In particular, the scene where the 'gyuryumyeonryugwan' (a type of royal crown) pointed out during the coronation ceremony and the term 'cheonse' (long live) are used is my negligence in not carefully considering the historical context that should have been taken into account when applying Joseon rituals to the modern era. Aside from this, we are taking all the opinions sent by viewers very seriously."

Along with this, Writer Yoo added, "I offer my deepest apologies once again to everyone who was hurt due to the shallowness of my deliberation. I will keep the criticisms and points raised by viewers in mind, reflect on my shortcomings as a writer, and repent. I am sorry."

Writer Yoo made her debut with '21st Century Grand Duchess,' which won the 2022 MBC script contest. However, her first work was immediately engulfed in controversies over historical distortion and the Northeast Project. While actors and the director had already issued formal apologies to viewers, she remained silent for several days before posting an apology late.

Consequently, many opinions are calling for an apology from the MBC channel. Since 'Grand Duchess' is a work selected through an MBC script contest, it is pointed out that the organizers of the contest cannot escape responsibility for the drama's controversy.

On the morning of the same day, Director Park Jun-hwa, who directed 'Grand Duchess,' formally apologized for various problems in the drama through a joint media interview.

Before the interview, Director Park stood before reporters and said, "I decided to give an interview after filming this drama. I hoped that those who watched this drama would find it enjoyable and healing, but instead of healing, I created a situation that is sorry, Je Jak-jin-eul (CEO), and I believe I bear the greatest responsibility. I apologize to viewers. I feel sorry and apologize to the actors who made this drama together, as it seems I caused them more difficulty than compensation."

Regarding the planning intention of this drama, Director Park said, "The writer had a great love for the country of Joseon. She made efforts to write the royal romance she wanted to within that framework. Looking at our history, there has never been a time without difficult moments such as the Korean War or the Japanese colonial rule, so we started with the setting that there were no such difficult moments. (The writer) wanted to depict a romance between a royal prince and a commoner woman within the setting of the Joseon Dynasty. It seems she wanted to convey the message that ordinary daily life is more joyful than greed. Also, she wanted to depict a beautiful relationship, so she made this drama. However, it seems the production team's information setting for viewers was insufficient; it would have been better if we had provided more friendly information. Initially, we wanted to express the part of pain as a happy period, so we made the drama, but this turned out to be a shortcoming of the production team."

When asked about the many criticisms regarding setting errors from the beginning of 'Grand Duchess,' he said, "It seems the writer used Prince Lee An as the motif for the drama. When I read the script in the early stages, I was ignorant of such parts (settings). I thought the very existence of a royal family in the 21st century was a fantasy romance. I understood that the writer added settings to create more dramatic situations within that framework."

When asked how the historical verification of 'Grand Duchess' was conducted, he answered, "Since the start was depicting the Joseon Dynasty, the verification also dealt with Joseon Dynasty art, etc., and was adjusted to the Korean Empire. I understand that the writer also received continuous verification while writing the script. However, within this drama, the setting that the 600th-year history of the Joseon Dynasty is still maintained seems to make the elements of fantasy in the drama appear somewhat different from our current perception."

In particular, when asked if the expression 'cheonse' did not feel awkward during filming despite being an uncommon expression, he said, "The person we consulted was present at the time, but I don't know why it was like that then. We tried to express the appearance of the 600th-year Joseon Dynasty, but this result came out. It seems that the form of the 'gyuryumyeonryugwan' and others at the coronation ceremony was depicted as a sad history of our country. We wanted to show what form the ceremony took at the Joseon Dynasty coronation, but I wonder if it would have been better to express it as a self-mocking appearance rather than the Joseon Dynasty at that time."

Director Park said, "I am sorry for causing inconvenience to those who watched the drama for healing," and finally showed tears.

Prior to them, lead actors IU and Byun Woo-seok of 'Grand Duchess' posted formal apology messages on their respective SNSs on the 18th.

IU stated, "I carefully read every single comment left by many viewers over the past few days. As the lead actor of the work, I feel I did not show a responsible image and caused great disappointment, so I am very sorry to everyone and my heart is still very heavy. Regarding the various historical accuracy issues pointed out by you in the drama, I unconditionally repent and apologize for not thinking deeply enough and proceeding with the acting."

She continued, "Since this was an important work that aimed to capture imagination based on our unique history and the traditional beauty of the Republic of Korea, I should have read and studied the script more carefully as an actor, but I am ashamed that I did not do so. I failed to properly grasp the sense of the problem in advance. I am sorry."

Byun Woo-seok stated, "I worried and feared that my words might cause further damage over the weekend. I am posting this message with a heavy heart to those who felt discomfort and concern due to the work. During the process of filming and acting, I lacked deliberation on what the historical context and meaning contained in the work were and how they could be received by viewers. Through the words of viewers, I reflected and repented, and I deeply realized once again that as an actor, I need a more responsible attitude to look at and deliberate not only on acting but also on the message and context of the work. I sincerely offer my apologies."

'Grand Duchess' depicted the fateful romance of breaking class barriers between Seong Hee-ju (played by IU), a woman who has everything as a chaebol but is merely a commoner and is annoyed, and Crown Prince Lee An (played by Byun Woo-seok), a king's son who has nothing and is sad, set in a 21st-century constitutional monarchy South Korea. The drama concluded with its final episode aired on the 16th, achieving a national viewership rating of 13.8% (based on Nielsen Korea national households), setting a new personal record.

Although the drama ended with good results, the 11th episode aired on the 15th was engulfed in controversies over historical distortion and the Northeast Project. During Crown Prince Lee An's coronation ceremony, the expression 'cheonse' used by vassal states appeared instead of the 'gyuryumyeonryugwan' on the Jang Ha-geo-na (황제) of the ten-faced crown, and scenes where characters in the drama followed Chinese-style tea ceremony methods were shown.

In response, on the 16th, the 'Grand Duchess' production team stated, "We sincerely bow our heads and apologize to many who watched the drama with affection for causing concern due to world-building settings and historical accuracy issues." They added, "The production team is taking seriously the viewers' criticism that the scene where the king wears 'gyuryumyeonryugwan' and ministers shout 'cheonse' at the king's coronation damages our country's sovereign status, and posted an apology."

They continued, "This incident occurred because the production team did not carefully examine how Joseon etiquette changed throughout history. '21st Century Grand Duchess' is a drama that is both a romance and an alternate history, requiring careful and in-depth consideration of the parts where the fictional world and real historical context intersect, but we lacked the effort to refine the world-building meticulously and examine it more closely." They announced that they would modify the audio and subtitles of the relevant parts as quickly as possible in future rebroadcasts, VOD, and OTT services.

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*This content was translated by AI.