The drama “Twenty-five, Twenty-one” is being criticized for mentioning former figure skaters Kim Yu-na and Asada Mao as rivals.
On the official website of “Twenty-five, Twenty-one,” an article explaining the relationship between the main characters Na Hee-do (played by Kim Tae-ri) and Go Yu-rim (played by Bona) was recently posted.
In this article, the establishment of a rivalry between the two characters was mentioned along with Kim Yu-na and Asada’s name one after another. The production team said, “What did Kim Yu-na and Asada mean to each other? Without each other, would both players be able to shine more than they are now?,” implying that the two were competitors, partners, a love-hate relationship.
However, this explanation was criticized after being spread to the online community. Netizens agreed that Kim Yu-na was not a rival to Asada. Asada had the upper hand on the junior stage, but it was a different thing on the senior stage.
After losing for the 2nd time at the Grand Prix Final in the 2006-2007 season which was her first senior competition, Kim Yu-na conquered all the 2008-2009 season’s Four Continents championships, the World Championships, the 2009-2010 season’s Grand Prix and the Vancouver Winter Olympics. After that, she left the ice rink without regret after the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Asada confronted Kim Yu-na 13 times on the senior stage during this period, but after only 4 wins and 9 losses, she retired in 2017.
While the main characters Na Hee-do and Go Yu-rim were described to be portraying the strange ‘womance’ in the drama, netizens pointed out that it was inappropriate to mention Kim Yu-na and Asada here. ‘Womance’ is a combination of woman and romance, similar to ‘bromance’, which depicts close friendships between male.
One netizen said, “I don’t want to downplay Asada, but it is rude to Kim Yu-na to compare Asada with Kim Yu-na.” adding, “The two were not rivals. I don’t understand how those two players were used for a drama depicting womance.”
tvN’s new Saturday-Sunday drama “Twenty Five, Twenty One” tells the story about the growth and romance of young people in 1998 and is scheduled to air its first episode at 9:10 p.m. KST on February 12th.
