[Dispatch=Yuha Sky Reporter] The production team of MBC-TV Friday-Saturday drama '21st Century Grand Princess' has apologized over historical accuracy controversies.
The production team of '21st Century Grand Princess' released an official statement on the 16th. "We are taking seriously the criticism that scenes in which the king wears a guryumyeonryugwan at the coronation ceremony and subjects acclaim 'cheonse' undermine our nation's autonomous status," it said.
The team added, "While the drama is a romance work with the character of alternate history, careful and in-depth consideration was necessary in establishing the world view, but our efforts to closely examine this were insufficient." The production team conveyed its follow-up plans. "We plan to modify the audio and subtitles of the relevant sections as much as possible in reruns and VOD and OTT services," it said, adding, "We once again deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused to viewers."
Previously, in episode 11, Ian Grand Prince (played by Byeon Woo-seok) was depicted ascending as the new king. However, controversy over historical distortion erupted when subjects shouted "cheonse" toward the king.
"Cheonse" is an expression one level lower than "mansae," which is used for emperors. It is a title used for feudal-level rulers. The guryumyeonryugwan worn by the king also drew criticism in that it is lower in rank than the emperor's sipimyeonryugwan.
Additionally, Chinese-style elements appeared throughout the work. The official chronology used "hongseoi," a feudal state expression, instead of "boungeo" or "seungha" to refer to the king's death. The appearance of Chinese-style tea ceremony in confrontation scenes between Sung Hee-joo (played by IU) and Yoon I-rang (played by Gong Seung-yeon) were also cited as error cases.
Meanwhile, '21st Century Grand Princess' is a romance drama set in a 21st-century constitutional monarchy South Korea. It depicts a love story between a woman who has everything but is of common status, and a man who is the son of a king but can have nothing and is sad.
The final episode of '21st Century Grand Princess' airs at 9:40 p.m. on the 16th.
<Photo source=MBC>
