Professor Seo Kyung-duk from Sungshin Women's University has sharply criticized the reactions of Chinese netizens who pointed out the lines of actress Jeon Ji-hyun in the Disney Plus original series ‘Polaris’.
On the 24th, Professor Seo stated on his social media, “It is free for Chinese netizens to express their opinions after watching the drama. However, Disney Plus, like Netflix, is not available in China, so it has been caught peeking.”
He continued, “It is ridiculous that they are nitpicking while having stolen someone else's content without any shame,” adding, “If Chinese netizens wanted to raise issues with the lines, they should protest to the production company or Disney Plus that aired those lines.”
He remarked, “It seems that Chinese netizens feel a great fear as Korean content is gaining attention worldwide,” and stated, “They are fervently trying to tarnish K-content without any regard.”
Earlier, on the 21st, according to Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily, a scene where Jeon Ji-hyun, the lead actress of the Disney Plus original series ‘Polaris’, says, “Why does China prefer war? A nuclear bomb could fall in the border area,” has been edited and circulated among Chinese online communities.
In ‘Polaris’, Jeon Ji-hyun plays the role of Seo Mun-joo, a presidential candidate and former UN ambassador.
The media reported that Chinese netizens criticized Jeon Ji-hyun's lines for tarnishing China's image and being unrealistic.
There were also opinions that the scene set in Dalian, Northeast China, was filmed in Hong Kong, and that the production team intentionally shot a dirty shantytown area in dark tones to damage Dalian's city image.
As a result, there have been claims on China's largest social media platform Weibo (the Chinese version of X) that the ban on Korean content (Hanryeong) should not be lifted.
It has also been reported that brands such as cosmetics and watches, which Jeon Ji-hyun models for, have pulled their advertisements, but this has been confirmed to be untrue. Jeon Ji-hyun's side clarified, “The cancellation of the Chinese advertisement was decided before the airing of ‘Polaris’ and is unrelated to it.”
In China, global OTTs including Disney Plus and Netflix are not officially available.
However, they can be easily watched through indirect channels, leading to immediate reactions from Chinese viewers to Korean works such as the ‘Squid Game’ series, ‘Moving’, and ‘Crash Course in Romance’. Recently, a cooking competition show that seemed to mimic Netflix's ‘Chef’s Table’ was produced in China, causing controversy.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
