'Grand Duchess' Director "Wanted to Express Historical Pain Happily Like 'Bridgerton' at the Ball... Production Team Was Inadequate" [Interview 1]

*This content was translated by AI.

Director Park Jun-hwa officially apologized for the controversy surrounding '21st Century Grand Duchess,' stating, "I am sorry that the production team was inadequate."

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

'Grand Duchess' is a drama depicting the fated romance of Seong Hee-ju (played by IU), a woman who has 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 starring IU and Byun Woo-seok. However, from the first week of broadcast, the lead actors were embroiled in controversies over their acting skills, 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 coronation ceremony. Additionally, Prince Lee An was criticized for wearing 'Guryumyeongwan,' a hat worn by feudal lords who are subjects of the emperor. Other criticisms included Seong Hee-ju performing a Chinese-style tea ceremony.

In response, the 'Grand Duchess' production team released an official statement: "We are taking seriously the viewers' criticism that the scene where the king wears 'Guryumyeongwan' at his coronation and the subjects chant 'Cheonse' undermines Korea's status as an independent nation. 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 intersection of the fictional world and real historical context, we lacked the effort to refine the worldview meticulously." The production team announced that they would modify the audio and subtitles of the problematic parts in future reruns, VOD, and OTT services of '21st Century Grand Duchess.'

Just before the interview, Director Park stood before the press and said, "I had planned to give an interview after filming this drama. I hoped that those who watched it 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 the viewers. I feel sorry and apologize to the actors who made this drama with me, as it seems I made them feel more difficulty than reward."

-How did 'Grand Duchess' begin?

▶The writer had a great deal of affection for the Joseon dynasty. She made efforts to write a royal romance within that setting. Looking at our history, there has never been a time without difficult moments like 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. She also wanted to portray a beautiful relationship, which is why she made this drama. However, I wonder if the production team's information setting for viewers was inadequate; it would have been better if we had provided more friendly information. We made the drama wanting to express the part about pain as a happy period in the beginning, but this ironically became a shortcoming of the production team.

-'Grand Duchess' received many criticisms regarding setting errors from the beginning of the drama.

▶It seems the writer used Prince Lee An as a motif for Prince Suyang. When I read the script in the early stages, I was ignorant of such parts (settings). I thought that the existence of a royal family in the 21st century was itself a fantasy romance. I understood that the writer added settings to create more dramatic situations within that context.

-How was the research process for this drama conducted?

▶The research also covered Joseon dynasty art and was aligned with the Joseon dynasty. I believe the writer also received continuous research while writing the script. However, because this drama is set with the premise that the 600th-year history of the Joseon dynasty is still maintained, it seems that the perception of our current times and the fantasy elements in the drama appeared somewhat different.

-Did you reference the Japanese imperial family? There are also suspicions about this.

▶We did not reference the Japanese imperial family. What this drama wanted to express was something like the American drama 'Bridgerton.' When I read the script, it felt like a shoujo manga, and I wondered if there were many Western settings not found in Korea. Don't European countries also have sadness? I thought the appearance of that sadness and the appearance in this drama were very similar. When I directed the ball scene, I worried it might feel too Western and cringeworthy, but the filming was focused on femininity to that extent.

-After the controversy arose regarding the drama, what kind of conversation did you have with the writer?

▶Actually, the writer was also very distressed. Regarding the fact that she created this result, I felt the same way and had regretful thoughts like, 'Why did we create a situation that made everyone uncomfortable?'

-After the controversy arose regarding the drama, what kind of conversation did you have with the actors?

▶I only felt sorry toward the actors. The actors filmed brightly because they only wanted to bring joy to the viewers. They filmed too hard and worked together, but it was sorry from my perspective that they had to apologize and get hurt because of my incompetence. At the moment I could say 'You worked hard' after the final broadcast, I only felt sorry. I am the person with the most seniority in this drama, and I should have thought more deeply and taken care of things more intensely.

-It is said that your participation in the director's work was relatively late during the production period.

▶This drama should have had a long pre-production period, but I joined late, so there was not enough time to prepare. I should have provided persuasiveness to viewers on how a king and a royal family could still exist. For dramas with fantasy settings, every viewer has a different perspective, but I thought this drama required some kind of technology. I tried to reduce the gap by making the person closest to tradition the king in the drama. I wanted to implement scenes such as the Jongmyo Jerye (Royal Ancestral Ritual) well by receiving good consultation and research.

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*This content was translated by AI.