Snowdrop (South Korean TV series)

Snowdrop is set against the backdrop of the 1987 Democracy Movement, which was a mass protest movement with the purpose of forcing the then-current authoritarian government in South Korea to hold fair elections. As a result of mass protests, democratic elections were held in December 1987, which would later lead to the end of authoritarian rule in South Korea and the establishment of democratic rule in the Sixth Republic of Korea.

Im Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in) plays a graduate student who is discovered covered in blood by Eun Young-ro (Jisoo), a female university student. The girl hides him from the government in her dorm room at her women's university. However, it is revealed that Soo-ho is not who he appears to be. Against the backdrop of political upheaval, the pair's story unfolds and the two develop a romantic relationship.

In March 2021, Snowdrop became the subject of controversy related to purported historical inaccuracies in the script. This was following the cancellation of the SBS drama Joseon Exorcist due to similar accusations of historical distortion.[1] Parts of the synopsis and character profiles were circulated online, which revealed that the male protagonist is actually a North Korean spy posing as a pro-democracy student activist who infiltrates South Korea to instigate chaos and political instability.[1] The premise drew backlash from South Korean netizens due to the drama being set in 1980s, which was the key decade that led to the establishment of the present-day democratic republic.[34][35] Netizens pointed that the reveal of the male protagonist as a North Korean spy invokes "false" claims made during the 1980 Gwangju Uprising by then-President Chun Doo-hwan that framed pro-democracy protesters as North Korean spies in defense of government's lethal suppression.[36] Netizens also criticized the character Lee Kang-moo, an agent of the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP), the intelligence agency that worked for Chun, being purportedly portrayed as "just and righteous".[36][34][37] The name of the female protagonist, Eun Young-cho, drew further scrutiny, as the given name "Young-cho" bore similarity to the name of real-life pro-democracy activist Chun Young-cho.[37][38]

On March 26, JTBC released their first official statement on the controversy that read, "The drama is not distorting the pro-democracy movement nor is it glorifying the Agency for National Security Planning. It is a black comedy drama satirizing the political situation between the two Koreas under the authoritarian government in the 1980s. Also, it is a romance drama showing young people who sacrifice their love."[1][39] On March 30, JTBC released a second statement regarding the controversy that read, "Snowdrop is set around the 1987 presidential election, and not a drama that deals with the pro-democracy movement". The statement continued, "The drama portrays a fictional story about the military regime, the ANSP, and others in power at the time colluding with the North Korean dictatorship and planning a conspiracy to retain their power."[40] Regarding the character Lee Kang-moo, who is an agent of the ANSP, the statement read, "The character is portrayed as a man of principle who turns his back on the corrupt organization and does what he thinks is right." The statement also denied that the name of the female protagonist character was in reference to real-life activist Chun Young-cho, but confirmed that the character's name would be changed.[38]

On March 30, protesters parked a truck bearing protest signs at the site of the JTBC building in Seoul.[37]

In the period from March 26 to April 25, a total of 226,078 people signed an online petition to the Blue House demanding that production on Snowdrop be stopped.[41][42] On May 14, the Blue House issued an official response to the petition, rejecting the calls for the show's cancellation.[43][44] The response stated that the Blue House did not intend to interfere in the production of Snowdrop, citing the protection of freedom of expression in South Korea's Broadcasting Law, which guarantees broadcasters' independence and prohibits extrajudicial regulation or interference. The response stated, however, that the Blue House was continuing to monitor the controversy, stating that "programming that violates broadcasting responsibilities, such as through excessive historical distortion or violation of regulations, are liable for a review by the Korea Communications Standards Commission", and that the Korea Communications Standard Commission would watch over the broadcasts.[41][43]

• Snowdrop at IMDb
• Snowdrop at HanCinema