Why is Korea furious over “Perfect Crown”?

追加: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]The drama series Perfect Crown, known in Korean as the 21st century princess wife, has become embroiled [clears throat] in controversy shortly after the show's finale. The series is set in a fictional modern-day Korea where a constitutional monarchy still exists. The story centers on a romance between a noble heiress and a prince portrayed by stars IU and Park Seo-joon respectively. The controversy flared up after the program aired its 11th episode. The scene in question depicts the coronation of Prince Eon, played by Park Seo-joon. In the coronation, Prince Eon is seen wearing a square crown with nine tassels on the front and back. This is fewer than the 12 on each side of the traditional headdress worn by King Gojong, who asserted Korea's status as an independent empire. A nine-tasseled crown signifies a vassal ruler serving under an emperor, rather than an independent king, effectively depicting Korea as a subordinate state to China.

[00:00:52]Additionally, the coronation scene features the "cheonse", meaning long live 1,000 years, which viewers have flagged as historically inappropriate.

[00:01:00]Viewers and history experts noted that "banse", or long live 10,000 years, would have been the correct chant for the ruler of a sovereign nation, as "cheonse" was historically reserved for vassal states. The criticism is based on the logic that if the show claims to adopt a historical backdrop based on King Gojong's declaration of the Korean Empire, it should faithfully adhere to that history and portray [music] the nation as an independent empire. The show has also been criticized for depicting Chinese tea culture in earlier episodes instead of traditional Korean tea etiquette. Historical distortion has long been a sensitive issue in the Korean entertainment industry, especially regarding controversies involving China. Acknowledging the backlash, a wave of statements is being released by the parties involved.

[00:01:42]Following official apologies from lead actors IU and Park Seo-joon on May 18th, the director and the screenwriter also issued statements, with the director shedding tears during a recent press conference. However, the controversy appears far from over, as calls to revoke government production subsidies are continuing to increase. According to reports, the series was selected as a recipient of the 2025 OTT specialist content production support program operated by the Korea Creative Content Agency. Though the exact extent of the subsidy has not been revealed, it is estimated that the series is eligible for subsidies up to 2 billion won, approximately 1.3 million US dollars.

[00:02:20]Viewers argue that a production accused of distorting history should not receive public funding. In response, the Korea Creative Content Agency say that that is review of the series is ongoing and no final decision has been reached.