Petition to shut down ‘Snowdrop’ broadcaster launched as backlash mounts

A new petition calling for the shutdown of South Korean TV network JTBC, the broadcaster of the K-drama Snowdrop, has been launched as backlash over the series mounts.

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On December 18 and 19, JTBC aired the first two episodes of its hotly anticipated winter drama Snowdrop, which had been embroiled in controversy over its alleged distortion of history even before it premiered. Notably, Snowdrop is set in 1987, a pivotal year for South Korea’s pro-democracy movement, and stars Jung Hae-in and BLACKPINK’s Jisoo.

Following the premiere of Snowdrop, an initial petition calling for its cancellation was posted to the website of the Blue House (the executive office and official residence of South Korea’s head of state) on the night of December 19. That petition has reached over 300,000 signatures, at the time of writing.

Since then, a second petition has been launched on the website of the Blue House on December 23. This time, users are calling for the shut down of JTBC itself over the broadcast of Snowdrop, claiming that the network has not “properly” addressed or dealt with the show’s alleged distortion of history. The new petition has since garnered close to 30,000 signatures in under a day.

Earlier this week, several companies withdrew their sponsorships for Snowdrop following backlash from viewers. They include rice cake company Ssarijai and Heungil Furniture, among others, as previously reported.

Meanwhile, JTBC has described the backlash over the show’s “history distortion” as “misunderstandings” that will be addressed in future episodes, it said in an official statement. “[The issue] will be settled through the progress of the drama’s plot,” it added.

Elsewhere in the statement, the television network also noted that, while Snowdrop is set during a time of a “military regime”, its plotline and characters surrounding the ” party in power colluding with the North Korean government” is a “fictional story”.

The post Petition to shut down ‘Snowdrop’ broadcaster launched as backlash mounts appeared first on NME.

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