“Don’t Even Think Shallowly!”: MBC’s ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ Sparks Historical Distortion Controversy

MBC’s Friday-Saturday drama ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’, which concludes today (16th), has been swept up in a controversy over historical distortion across various scenes.

In the 11th episode aired on the 15th, Seong Hee-joo (IU) rushed into a burning pavilion to save Grand Prince Ian (Byeon Woo-seok), leading to a plot where Grand Prince Ian is crowned as the new king.

While the official website’s worldview timeline suggests that the Republic of Korea became a constitutional monarchy by succeeding the Joseon Dynasty, the drama has been criticized for a chronic lack of consistency, with the plot shifting according to the needs of the moment. A constitutional monarchy is a form of government that recognizes a hereditary monarch under a constitutional system, blended with representative democracy, where a prime minister performs the actual role of governing the state through elections.

To trigger a “crisis” in the story, yet another fire scene appeared. It was later revealed that Yoon Seong-won (Jo Jae-yoon), the father of Queen Dowager Yoon Yi-rang (Gong Seung-yeon), committed arson to put Grand Prince Ian in danger. This marks the third time a palace fire has occurred in the series. Furthermore, despite claiming to be set in the “21st century,” some palace attendants were seen trying to put out the fire with buckets, leaving viewers puzzled.

Early criticisms also pointed out a setting error where a Grand Prince, who is lower in rank, acts as regent (governing on behalf of the monarch when the monarch cannot rule directly) despite the presence of the Queen Dowager, the mother of the current king (Kim Yoon-ho). The core of the issue is that elements only possible in the Japanese or Western royalties were forced into this “constitutional monarchy” worldview.

Following the regency issue, a scene appeared where the Queen Dowager, upon learning her father was the arsonist, wore white mourning clothes and knelt in apology before the Grand Prince. Even considering that her father committed a grave crime that endangered the Grand Prince’s life, critics argue that the Queen Dowager kneeling before the Grand Prince and subsequently being confined for three days is a historical error.

The coronation ceremony continued to present problematic scenes. The most criticized part was the chant of “Cheonse, Cheonse, Cheon-cheonse.” Since the world is set as a 21st-century constitutional monarchy, the term “Manse,” a symbol of a sovereign state, should have been used instead of “Cheonse,” which was used by vassal states subordinate to an empire.

Additionally, critics pointed out that the king wore the Guryumyeongwan, used by Chinese officials, instead of the Sibi-myeonryugwan worn by emperors of sovereign states. In a scene between Seong Hee-joo and Yoon Yi-rang, a Chinese-style tea ceremony was shown instead of the traditional Korean way of pouring tea.

Written by Yoo Ji-won, ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ garnered significant attention for being a winner of the 2022 MBC drama script contest, its star-studded cast featuring IU and Byeon Woo-seok, and its constitutional monarchy setting reminiscent of the hit drama ‘Princess Hours’. It was touted as one of MBC’s biggest “tentpole dramas” since the network’s founding.

Concerns over historical distortion began even before the broadcast with the release of the worldview timeline. From the first episode, the drama has been criticized on multiple fronts, including its loose plot, repeated historical errors, the acting of leads IU and Byeon Woo-seok, and the overall script and direction, which lacked probability and immersion.

As errors continued to pile up, netizens began reacting with self-deprecating memes, feeling exhausted by the need to correct every detail. Phrases like “Uh-huh, I told you not to think,” “No deep thinking, don’t even think shallowly,” and “Are you thinking again?” have become popular memes.

The final episode of MBC’s ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ airs tonight (16th) at 9:50 PM. It has also become a talking point that none of the main and supporting actors, including IU, Byeon Woo-seok, Gong Seung-yeon, and Noh Sang-hyun, conducted ending interviews.