The cyber diplomatic envoy VANK has stepped in to protest the historical distortion controversy surrounding the drama ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’.
On the 17th, VANK announced that they have urged Disney+, the global OTT platform streaming the MBC Friday-Saturday drama ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ overseas, to correct errors within the work.
’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ concluded its run with a peak viewership rating of 13.8% according to Nielsen Korea. VANK pointed out that the historical expressions and symbols in a production that garners such attention both domestically and internationally have a significant impact on viewers worldwide.
The scene causing the stir is found in episode 11. In the scene, Grand Prince Ian (played by Byeon Woo-seok), who ascends to the throne, wears a nine-ringed crown and is greeted with the phrase “Cheon-se” (Thousand Years) by those present.
According to VANK, the “nine-ringed crown” and “Cheon-se” are symbols of a monarch from a vassal state. For an independent emperor, a “twelve-ringed crown” and “Man-se” (Ten Thousand Years) are used. VANK argues that this could be interpreted as accepting part of the Northeast Project, a historical distortion where China continuously attempts to incorporate Korean history into its own historical system.
Following the controversy, the production team of ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ issued an apology on their official website and stated their plan to request corrections from the global OTT platform. While the audio for the “Cheon-se” scene was edited out in reruns of episode 11, the version on Disney+ remains uncorrected.
Consequently, VANK sent a letter to Disney+ requesting corrections to the audio and subtitles of episode 11. They also announced plans to launch a citizen-participation campaign to correct errors regarding Korean history and culture across global OTT platforms.
