'Grand Duchess' Director "Controversy Over IU and Byun Woo-seok's Acting? I Gave Extreme and Rational Acting Instructions" [Interview 2]

*This content was translated by AI.

Director Park Jun-hwa shared his thoughts on '21st Century Grand Duchess'.

Director Park Jun-hwa met with StarNews at a café on Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 19th, for an interview following the finale of the MBC Friday-Saturday drama '21st Century Grand Duchess' (hereinafter 'Grand Duchess').

'Grand Duchess' is a drama depicting the fateful romance of Seong Hee-ju (played by IU), a woman who possesses everything as a chaebol in a 21st-century constitutional monarchy in Korea but is frustrated by her lowly status as a commoner, and Prince Lee An (played by Byun Woo-seok), a sad man who is the king's son but can possess nothing. The final episode recorded a peak viewership rating of 13.8% (based on Nielsen Korea nationwide).

'Grand Duchess' concluded its 12-episode run from April 10 to the 16th. The drama was hailed as MBC's most anticipated work of 2026 due to its massive budget of around 30 billion won and its glamorous casting featuring IU and Byun Woo-seok. However, from the first week of broadcast, the lead actors were embroiled in controversies over their acting, and later in the broadcast, several scenes in the drama faced criticism for historical distortion.

In particular, in episode 11 of '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 empire, during Prince Lee An's accession ceremony. Additionally, Prince Lee An was criticized for wearing 'Guryumyeongwan', a type of headgear used by feudal lords who were subjects of the emperor. It was also pointed out that Seong Hee-ju performed a Chinese-style tea ceremony.

In response, the 'Grand Duchess' production team issued an official statement: "We are taking seriously the viewers' criticism that the scene where the king wears 'Guryumyeongwan' and the subjects chant 'Cheonse' during the king's accession ceremony undermines Korea's independent status. This incident occurred because we failed to carefully examine how Joseon's etiquette changed throughout history."

Furthermore, they admitted their mistake, stating: "'21st Century Grand Duchess' is a drama with the characteristics of both a romance and an alternate history. While there was a need for careful and in-depth consideration regarding the parts where a fictional world intersects with real historical context, we lacked the effort to refine the worldview meticulously and examine it closely." The production team announced that they would modify the audio and subtitles of the problematic parts in future rebroadcasts, VOD, and OTT services of '21st Century Grand Duchess'.

-Why do you think the controversy over the acting of the lead actors IU and Byun Woo-seok arose?

▶When I first read the script, my impression was that the character Hee-ju felt like a villain. I thought the uniqueness of this drama lay in that proactive aspect. There was a woman who chased her desires and insisted on getting what she wanted, and I believed that when such a person even attempted a contract marriage, her desires had to be expressed in an extreme way. I thought that when viewers felt this, it might feel uncomfortable or harsh. I directed them to emphasize the emotions of the moment more. When filming, I saw IU's acting and laughed more than usual because I felt she was delivering a three-dimensional performance. Woo-seok worked hard on his acting. Even from my perspective, I could see his efforts. The higher the character's position in the drama, the harder it is to reveal one's emotions, so I told (Byun Woo-seok), "I would prefer the Daegun to show a more rational side rather than being swayed by Hee-ju," and we filmed accordingly. Woo-seok tried to pursue diversity within his own acting, but I actually held him back. I think he wanted to be recognized for his attempt to convey the Daegun's sadness.

-There are reports that the actors performed while making many changes to the script.

▶In our drama, emotions within detailed situations were often written only in the stage directions. There were also cases where the writer's intention was not included in the dialogue. We made modifications and filmed accordingly. I think we tried hard to create a rational situation. Since the writer was writing the script for the first time, there might have been awkward parts or parts that could be perceived differently from the intention, so I tried to fill in those gaps on set.

-In China, there was a reaction saying, "Korea acknowledged it was a vassal state of China."

▶Since the Joseon Dynasty still exists, we have a sad history. Although the story began with the king, we failed to project the independent aspects within our history. I think it was my ignorance.

-Especially, the expression 'Cheonse' is not common in daily life. Did you not feel it was awkward even while filming?

▶The consultant was present at the time, but I do not know why it was done that way then. We tried to express the appearance of the 600th-year Joseon Dynasty, but this was the result. It seems that the 'Guryumyeongwan' and other items at the accession ceremony were depicted as a sad history of our country. I wanted to show what form the accession ceremony of the Joseon Dynasty took, but I wonder if it would have been better to express it as an independent appearance rather than the Joseon Dynasty at that time.

-How do you think the chemistry between IU and Byun Woo-seok was portrayed?

▶I wanted the actors to look incredibly cute visually, and I wanted them to look cool to anyone who saw them. Those two seemed different from ordinary people. I hoped their combination would be well expressed in the drama.

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*This content was translated by AI.