The hit drama ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ has been thrown into chaos due to historical distortion controversies that erupted just before its end. Viewers finally exploded with frustration over various settings in episode 11.
In the 11th episode of MBC’s ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ aired on the 15th, Prince Ian (Byeon Woo-seok), who had been facing various threats since his wedding, fell into danger during a fire, but Seong Hee-ju (IU) jumped into the flames to save him. Yoon Seong-won (Lee Jae-yoon), the father of Queen Dowager Yoon Yi-rang (Gong Seung-yeon), was identified as the mastermind. After a commotion that led to the Queen Dowager’s formal apology, Prince Ian eventually ascended to the throne.
However, flaws in the production team’s historical awareness and world-building appeared in various scenes, breaking the immersion for viewers.
Following the first fire that took the previous king’s life and the second fire where Seong Hee-ju was framed, the third fire scene was directed similarly. Viewers found it puzzling that palace staff were still trying to put out the third fire using only buckets of water.
In a scene where Seong Hee-ju and the Queen Dowager were in a tense standoff, the tea ceremony and tea set became targets of criticism. Using a Chinese-style tea ceremony, where tea water is poured onto a bamboo tea tray, was pointed out as inconsistent with the palace setting.
The scene where the Queen Dowager, upon discovering her father tried to assassinate the Prince, wore white mourning clothes and knelt in formal apology to Prince Ian also fueled the controversy. Since the Queen Dowager is the highest elder of the royal family, it was hard to accept the setting of her kneeling to a lower-ranking Prince, even for a grave sin. This historical error had been pointed out since the beginning when the Prince acted as regent despite the presence of the Queen Dowager.
The most controversial part was the highlight of the episode: Prince Ian’s coronation. Viewers were displeased to see the officials shouting “Cheonse, Cheonse, Cheon-cheonse,” a term used by vassal states, instead of “Manse,” which is used by independent empires.
There were also continuous points that it was inappropriate for the King to wear a nine-ring crown (used by officials or vassal states) instead of the twelve-ring crown used by independent kings. Questions also arose about the use of the term “Hungseo” (corresponding to vassal states) instead of “Bungeo” or “Seungha” when referring to the king’s death in the official timeline.
While ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ had been a huge success with high buzz and record-breaking performance on global OTT platforms, issues regarding plot plausibility, historical errors, and historical awareness had been raised. However, many had overlooked them because it was a romance drama meant for light enjoyment.
The production team continued broadcasting while ignoring the issues, but as frustration exploded over clear historical distortions like “Cheonse” and the nine-ring crown, they finally bowed their heads with only one episode left. They issued an official apology the day after episode 11 and promised future corrections.
They stated, “We sincerely apologize for causing concern regarding the world-building settings and historical verification issues to the many people who have watched the drama with affection.” They added, “The production team takes the viewers’ points seriously, specifically that the scene where the King wears a ‘nine-ring crown’ and officials shout ‘Cheonse’ during the coronation undermines our country’s independent status.” They explained that this happened because the production team failed to carefully examine how Joseon’s etiquette changed throughout history.
They continued, “’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ is a romance drama that also has the characteristics of an alternative history piece. We needed careful and deep consideration regarding the intersection of a fictional world and real historical context, but we lacked the effort to refine the world-building and examine it more closely.” They added, “We humbly accept the viewers’ criticism and will correct the audio and subtitles of the relevant parts as quickly as possible in future reruns, VOD, and OTT services.”
Meanwhile, in the final episode aired on the 16th, the monarchy was abolished, and Prince Ian and Seong Hee-ju were shown living as an ordinary couple.
