IU and Byun Woo-seok 'Grand Duchess' Disposal Petition Surpasses 50,000 Signatures in Five Days → Referred to National Assembly [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

A petition calling for the disposal of '21st Century Grand Duchess' due to historical distortion has been referred to the National Assembly as an agenda item.

On the 26th, a citizen petition titled "Request to Halt Broadcasting of Drama Involving Historical Distortion and the Northeast Asia Project Controversy and to Dispose of Content Within Media Platforms" on the National Assembly e-Petition website received over 50,000 signatures. As a result, the petition will be formally addressed by the National Assembly.

The petition was posted on the 22nd and was scheduled to be referred to the relevant standing committee if it secured 50,000 signatures within 30 days.

The petitioner wrote, "The currently airing drama 'OOOO OOOO' is set in a fictional version of the Republic of Korea but indiscriminately borrows Chinese-style clothing, etiquette, and vocabulary, committing clear cultural appropriation and historical distortion. This act seriously violates public sentiment and distorts and spreads the Republic of Korea's cultural identity worldwide. We strongly petition for the immediate halt of the drama's broadcast and its complete removal from VOD and OTT platforms, going beyond mere post-production corrections by the production team. Furthermore, we demand the establishment of institutional measures to permanently exclude such culturally exploitative media in the future."

The petitioner cited the drama's issues as follows: "It uses the slogan 'Cheonsae' (Thousand Years), which demeans the Republic of Korea to the level of a vassal state, as an official royal term. While set against the backdrop of the Korean royal family, it openly exposes what is clearly 'Chinese-style tea ceremony' rather than traditional Korean tea culture. It distorts and mixes the symbolic system of the Joseon king's Bok Sik-gwa (황제), instilling incorrect cultural perceptions among viewers."

In the petition, the drama's title is listed as '○○○○ ○○○○'. However, based on the number of characters in the title and the content of the controversy, the drama is presumed to be '21st Century Grand Duchess'.

'Grand Duchess' has also received complaints regarding the Korea Creative Content Agency's (KOCCA) request for supervision over production funding. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) has launched an investigation. 'Grand Duchess' was selected as the final winner in the feature drama category of KOCCA's 2025 'OTT-Specialized Content Production Support' program. The project involved seven works with a total budget of 7.5 billion won.

KOCCA plans to evaluate the results of the project in May and may reclaim the funding if the recipient is deemed ineligible.

In response to the historical distortion controversy surrounding 'Grand Duchess', the production team and lead actors IU and Byun Woo-seok, director Park Jun-hwa, and writer Yoo Ji-won have expressed their intention to issue a formal apology. The production team stated that they will correct the audio and subtitles for the relevant parts as quickly as possible in future rebroadcasts and on VOD and OTT services.

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*This content was translated by AI.