![]() ![]() What was the NSP? Another major criticism of “Snowdrop” is that it portrays the NSP in a positive light. As of now, “Snowdrop” seems to be under fire from all sides of Korea’s political spectrum. In the show, Soo-ho is said to have kidnapped and murdered many South Koreans in Europe. They say the series glamorizes a North Korean spy as the handsome and romantic protagonist. On the other hand, politically conservative viewers are also condemning “Snowdrop” but for entirely different reasons. Because it was so recent, the controversy is bound to be highly politicized or misused by certain political forces.” A petition on the Blue House website demanding the show be canceled garnered over 350,000 online signatures in a week and several brands withdrew from their sponsorship deals. “Since many victims of the regime or their families are still alive, such controversial storylines can be hurtful to them. “Period dramas that deal with a time period so sensitive and recent should be extra cautious,” Ban added. Soldiers threaten arrested protesters during the 1980 massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju, South Jeolla. “Creative freedom doesn’t mean distorting history and insulting the victims involved.” “How can the producers insist that everything is fictional after specifically setting the series in 1987, a symbolic year when the Korean democratization movement was at its peak?” said Secretary General Kim Young-man of the May 18 Seoul Memorial Society, an organization commemorating the 1980 massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju, South Jeolla. However, viewers have been pointing out numerous specific similarities between the show and real historical events. Each episode of “Snowdrop” starts with a disclaimer that every character, organization and event in the series is completely fictional. Perhaps the best-known case is student activist Park Jong-chul who was tortured to death during interrogation in 1987. Critics of “Snowdrop” express concern that such portrayal may justify how the regime arrested activists under false espionage charges, then tortured or even killed them. Young-ro hides and nurses Soo-ho back to health. The regime at the time justified its brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, many of whom were college students, as simply hunting down North Korean spies or communism sympathizers. Although Soo-ho does not participate in any pro-democracy protest, many viewers found the premise of a North Korean spy hiding among South Korean college students innately problematic. The series was immediately met with outcry. Young-ro and her roommates mistake Soo-ho for a pro-democracy protester running from the police and decide to harbor him in the dormitory. The story begins with Soo-ho being hunted down by South Korea’s Agency for National Security Planning (NSP) agents and hiding in Young-ro’s dormitory room. ![]() Jisoo of girl group Blackpink plays South Korean college student Young-ro and actor Jung Hae-in plays Soo-ho, a North Korean spy disguised as a college student. “Snowdrop” is set in Seoul in 1987, when Korea was in the midst of democratization protests against the military dictatorship. A debate on how far fiction can go, especially when depicting a sensitive historical period such as Korea's democratization, is raging on - not only in Korea but also among foreign viewers due to the lead actors' global popularity. JTBC's period drama "Snowdrop" is facing intense backlash from all sides of the Korean political spectrum since it first aired on Dec. ![]() Jisoo of girl group Blackpink plays South Korean college student Young-ro. In JTBC’s period drama “Snowdrop,” Jung Hae-in (left) plays Soo-ho, a North Korean spy disguised as a college student. ![]()
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