The raging protests against Disney+ K-drama ‘Snowdrop’ have reached massive proportions. More than 237,000 Koreans have signed the petition demanding cancellation of the newest show coming out of Korea. ‘Snowdrop’ is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar in several Asian countries, and on JTBC TV channels in South Korea. Disney+ will soon stream ‘Snowdrop’ in all the countries in which it has a presence.
A cursory glance at Twitter timelines of Koreans will tell you how agitated most young social media users from Korea are over ‘Snowdrop’. They’ve been protesting against the show non-stop through searing Twitter threads and critical tweets. Several Koreans have filed petitions against the show, demanding the stopping of the show from airing on Korean TV and worldwide.
Not just filing of petitions, the show has caused much anguish to even the sponsors of the show. Several brands that tied up with the Korean drama through product placements in the narrative have reportedly posted apologies on their websites for associating with the controversial show.
Interestingly, the rest of the world is blissfully unaware of why ‘Snowdrop’ has caused such distress among Korean netizens. Let us tell you what South Koreans are protesting about the show. Snowdrop is set in the backdrop of the Korean Democracy Movement of 1987, when millions of South Koreans rebeled against the autocratic system of governance in their country and demanded the establishment of a democratic government. The demonstrations forced the ruling government to hold elections and institute major democratic reforms and stronger civil rights for the people. The movement ultimately led to sweeping changes in South Korea.
However, the victory was not without pain. The movement for democracy had been gaining momentum since the early eighties. Scores of student activists in South Korean universities were engaged in galvanising support in favour of democracy and against dictatorship. The National Security Agency (NSA) of the authoritarian regime had played a terrifying part in coming down harshly on the student activists. Students were accused of being spies, arrested arbitrarily and tortured to reveal information about their fellow activists and about the movement. The death of a student from NSA torture triggered the 1987 mass movement for Democracy, which led to the downfall of the dictatorship. Koreans have never seen the NSA in a good light ever since.
As per the petitioners against ‘Snowdrop’, the show is distorting facts and subverting historical accuracy in its depiction of the 1987 movement. Netizens are calling it authoritarian propaganda straight from the 1980s. One of the primary characters in the show, played by Jang Seung Jo, is shown as an officer of the NSA. He is depicted as a just and upright officer. On the contrary, the main lead of the show, Jung Hae-in, is shown to be a student spy, working for a rogue organisation, who infiltrates student groups.
As per a thread posted on Twitter by user @gatamchun, “the reason Snowdrop’s story and character descriptions are unacceptable is not simply because there are victims and it touches on a sensitive historical problem. It’s because the drama is using verbatim the authoritarian justification for the then government’s violence, their military junta, their massacres and torture. Snowdrop directly uses the excuses and conspiracies the government used for their violence.”
Not just netizens, a pro-democracy youth organisation ‘World Citizens’ Declaration’ has also decided to file an injunction in the Seoul Western District Court against Snowdrop. Co-CEO Lee Seol-ah said, “I am surprised that dramas that seem to glorify state violence are aired and even exported through OTT services. In Snowdrop, the sub-main character of the National Security Agency who tortured and murdered numerous democratization figures for no reason is actively glorifying the mentioned agency.”
The protests against ‘Snowdrop’ seem to have made no difference to the broadcaster or to Disney+, which is streaming the show online. Two episodes of Snowdrop have aired until now. New episodes will drop every Saturday and Sunday.
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