“King the Land”, which has been criticized for distorting Arab culture, apologizes again “Correct the problematic scene”
The production company of JTBC’s drama “King the Land” apologized for the recent controversy over the distortion of Arab culture.
On July 12th, the production company of “King the Land” posted a statement in Korean and English regarding the controversy over distorting other cultures through their official website.
The production company wrote, “We would like to express our deep and sincere apology for causing unnecessary inconvenience to our viewers without full consideration of other valued cultures although we have no intention of caricaturing or distorting any particular country or culture in the process.”
They confessed, “It has been our sharp realization that there has been a lack of understanding, experience, and consideration for other cultures. We will do our best going forward to create content that can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of where they are from and what kind of culture they have.”
They continued, “We will take a thorough look into the part of the video which was considered problematic, and do our best to make sure that right measures are taken.”
Finally, the production company added, “We earnestly promise to our viewers that more care will be taken down the road so that there will be no inconvenience in viewing our content.“
In episodes 7 and 8 of “King the Land”, Arab prince Samir (Anupam Tripathi) stayed at the hotel where Goo Won (Lee Jun Ho) works. He entered a rival relationship with Goo Won as he actively pursued Cheon Sa Rang (Im Yoona).
Samir was described as a playboy surrounded by women, drinking in the club and flirting with Cheon Sa Rang.
However, Korean and foreign viewers expressed displeasure, saying that the Arab prince character was created with no understanding of Arab culture and played by an Indian actor.
As the controversy intensified, “King the Land” side explained, “The characters, regions, and place names depicted in the drama are all fictional settings. We did not portray anyone as a prince of a specific country.“
Source: Wikitree
