''Joseon Exorcist'' () is a South Korean

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

horror television series. The series, directed by Shin Kyung-soo and written by Park Gye-ok, stars

Jang Dong-yoon Jang Dong-yoon (; born July 12, 1992) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his Leading actor, leading roles in the popular television series ''School 2017'' (2017), ''The Tale of Nokdu'' (2019), ''Search (South Korean TV series), Searc ...

Park Sung-hoon Park Sung-hoon (; born February 18, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He started his acting career with a small role in the film ''A Frozen Flower'' (2008). He became known through the plays Rooftop Room Cat, The History Boys, and Model Students. ...

and

Kam Woo-sung Kam Woo-sung (born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his portrayal of a court jester serving a despotic king in the hit period film '' The King and the Clown''. Career Kam Woo-sung majored in Oriental painting at th ...

. The series follows the fight of the royal family to protect people from the evil spirits, who use human frailties to demolish

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

. The first two episodes aired on

SBS TV SBS TV (Seoul Broadcasting System Television) is a South Korean free-to-air television channel operated by Seoul Broadcasting System. The channel was launched on 9 December 1991. Unlike competing network MBC, SBS operates using a federalized ...

on March 22 and 23, 2021, at 22:00 ( KST) before being canceled due to historical inaccuracies and Chinese props present in the series that resulted in backlash from many Korean viewers.

Synopsis

The series follows the story of King Taejong and his two sons, Prince Chungnyung and

Prince Yangnyeong Grand Prince Yangnyeong (; 1394 – 8 October 1462) was the former Crown Prince of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. He was the first son of King Taejong and his wife, Queen Wongyeong. Yangnyeong was the elder brother of Sejong the Great, and an ances ...

, how they fight the evil spirits who came alive and must be exorcised to save

. The founding rulers of Joseon have taken help of the demons and the monsters to overthrow

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

. Later the undead return to target the royal family.

Cast

Main

as Prince Chungnyung *

** Hong Dong-young as young Prince Yangnyeong *

as King Taejong *

Kim Dong-jun Kim Dong-jun (born February 11, 1992), also known as just Dongjun, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as member of boy group ZE:A (and later its subgroup ZE:A Five and ZE:A J). Apart from his group's activities, he has established ...

as Byeo Ri *

Jung Hye-sung Jung Eun-joo (; born April 29, 1991), known professionally as Jung Hye-sung (), is a South Korean actress and model. Career Jung began her acting career in ''To the Beautiful You'' (2012) and gained recognition through supporting roles in ''Lov ...

as Moo Hwa, a shaman *

Lee Yu-bi Lee So-yul (; born Im Yu-jin, November 22, 1990), better known by the stage name Lee Yu-bi () is a South Korean actress. Early life Yu-bi is the daughter of the actors Kyeon Mi-ri and Im Young-gyu. Her parents divorced in 1993. When her mother ...

as Eo-ri, a woman who's loved by the crown prince *

Keum Sae-rok Keum Sae-rok (; born September 6, 1992) is a South Korean actress. After appearing in a number of Television advertisement, television commercials and short films, she had her first feature in mainstream films, ''The Silenced'' (2015), and gain ...

as Hye-yoom, Byeo-ri's co-worker *

Seo Young-hee Seo Young-hee (; born June 13, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her supporting role in thriller '' The Chaser'' (2008) and her award-winning lead role in horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical ...

Queen Wongyeong Queen Wongyeong (; 6 August 1365 – 27 August 1420) of the Yeoheung Min clan, was the primary wife of King Taejong of Joseon, and the mother of Sejong the Great. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1400, and was honored as Consort Jeong () un ...

Supporting

Min Jin-woong Min Jin-woong (; born August 22, 1986) is a South Korean actor. He starred in TV series such as '' Yong-pal'' (2015) and '' Drinking Solo'' (2016) and Memories of the Alhambra ''Memories of the Alhambra'' () is a 2018 South Korean televisio ...

as Ing-choon, a rope walker who works with Byeo-ri and Hye-yoom * Min Sung-wook as Park Seo-bang *

Moon Woo-jin Moon Woo-jin (; born February 19, 2009) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 2016 and since then, he has appeared in a lot of television series. His first best-known work was in ''What's Wrong with Secretary Kim'' (2018). He als ...

as Grand Prince Kang-nyeong * Hong Woo-jin as Hong Seok-joong, guardian of King Taejong * Han Kyu-won as Hong Min-je *

Oh Eui-shik Oh Eui-shik (, born November 1, 1983) is a South Korean actor. Oh made his musical debut in 2006 and has since built up his acting skills in a number of plays and television drama. He is known for roles in television dramas such as '' Oh My Ghos ...

as Ji Gyeom *

Noh Haeng-ha Noh Haeng-ha (; born 10 April 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as '' Forever Young'', '' Through the Waves'', ''Nokdu Flower ''Nokdu Flower'' () is a 2019 Korean drama, South Korean television series ...

as Yeon-ha *

Baek Eun-hye Baek Eun-hye (; born 1 September 1986) is a South Korean actress, model and singer. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Nokdu Flower'', ''What's Wrong with Secretary Kim'', '' No, Thank You'' and '' The Good Detective''. Early life a ...

as Minister Ha's daughter-in-law * Seo Dong-won as Marco, an interpreter * Jeon Seung-hun *

Park Seo-yeon Park Seo-yeon (; born on 5 March 2002) is a South Korean actress. Formerly a child actress, she made her acting debut in 2011, since then, she has appeared in number of films and television series. She is known for her various roles as child ac ...

as Chae Yi *

Darcy Paquet Darcy Paquet (born 1972) is an American film critic, university lecturer, author and actor. In 2010, Paquet was awarded the Korea Film Reporters Association Award at the 15th Busan International Film Festival for his contributions in introducin ...

as Father John (Yohan) * David Lee McInnis as Father Nicholas

Special appearances

Park Hyuk-kwon Park Hyuk-kwon (; born July 11, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Park began his acting career in 1993 as a member of the theater troupe Sanulrim. He later became a well-regarded supporting actor in films such as '' Chaw'' (2009) and '' Secret Reu ...

Choi Moo-sung Choi Myung-soo (; born January 12, 1968), better known by his stage name Choi Moo-sung (), is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Awards and nominations References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Moo-sung ...

as Mak-chi * Joo Suk-Tae * Kim Beop-Rae as Wang Yoo

Production

Casting

In April 2020, it was announced that

would star in the series. In September 2020, he was joined by

, and

. In November 2020,

officially joined the main cast. The final lineup was confirmed the same month.

Filming

On November 23, 2020, filming was halted after it was reported that a member of the cast tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Leading actors self-isolated for precaution.

was injured after falling off a horse while filming on December 29. On February 26, 2021 it was reported that

injured her ligament while shooting for the drama.

Controversy and cancellation

After the airing of the first two episodes, many viewers criticized the content of the series for historical inaccuracies. Korean and Chinese viewers were angered over the usage of Chinese-style props for a show set during the Joseon dynasty. A scene in the first episode depicted King Taejong slaughtering innocent villagers after having a hallucination of his deceased father, King Taejo. There was no historical basis for such an incident. And Prince Chungnyung (

Sejong the Great Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangu ...

) is treated like a servant by an interpreter (with father John) from China. The

Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association The Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association () is a family association based in South Korea founded by the Jeonju Yi clan, Jeonju Yi (Lee) clan, the household of Joseon and the Korean Empire, which previously ruled Korea. The association originated f ...

, made up of descendants of Joseon’s royal family, criticized the series for its depiction of King Taejong, Prince Yangnyeong, and Prince Chungnyeong, and called for immediate cancellation of the show. Over 216,000 people also petitioned the Blue House to cancel the show. More than 3,900 complaints were sent to the

Korea Communications Standards Commission The Korea Communications Standards Commission () is an institution of the South Korean government that regulates communications including Cinema of South Korea, film, Television in South Korea, television, radio, and Internet in South Korea, inte ...

concerning the television show. On March 24, 2021, the production company and the broadcaster SBS apologized for the historical inaccuracies. They promised to remove the controversial portions and initially said that they would take a break for one week to change the content. Due to the public backlash, corporate sponsors, such as

Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEC; stylized as SΛMSUNG; ) is a South Korean multinational major appliance and consumer electronics corporation founded on 13 January 1969 and headquartered in Yeongtong District, Suwon, South Korea. It is curr ...

and

LG Household & Health Care LG H&H Co., Ltd., formerly LG Household & Health Care, is a major South Korean consumer goods company that manages cosmetics, household goods, and beverages business. It is also the South Korean bottler of the Coca-Cola system. Summary Hist ...

, pulled their ads and cut their ties with the show. Local governments also withdrew their support for the production. On March 26, 2021, SBS announced that the show was canceled after the first two episodes due to the intense public backlash and the withdrawal of support from corporate sponsors and local governments.

Petition to bring the series to online streaming platforms

It was reported that the international fans of the drama are petitioning for ''Joseon Exorcist'' to be broadcast on online streaming platforms like

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

iQIYI iQIYI (, pronounced in English as ), formerly Qiyi (), is a Chinese subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Baidu. Headquartered in Beijing, iQIYI primarily produces and distributes films and television series. i ...

and Viu.

Viewership

References

External links

* *{{HanCinema drama, Joseon_Exorcist Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas 2021 South Korean television series debuts 2021 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows Alternate history television series Television series set in Joseon Television series by YG Entertainment South Korean fantasy television series Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic South Korean historical television series Television controversies in South Korea Cultural depictions of Sejong the Great