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

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

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 roles in the popular television series ''School 2017'' (2017), ''The Tale of Nokdu'' (2019), and ''Search'' (2020). Early life After finishing high ...

, Park Sung-hoon 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 the ...

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

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. The first two episodes aired on

SBS TV SBS may refer to: Broadcasting * SBS Broadcasting Group, Belgium, formerly many countries * Talpa TV, formerly SBS Broadcasting B.V., Netherlands ** SBS6, Dutch television channel ** SBS9, Dutch television channel * Special Broadcasting Service ...

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 Taejong of Joseon (13 June 1367 – 8 June 1422), personal name Yi Bang-won ( Korean: 이방원; Hanja: 李芳遠), was the third ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great. Before ascending to the throne, he ...

and his two sons, Prince Chungnyung and

Prince Yangnyeong Grand Prince Yangnyeong (Hangul: 양녕대군, Hanja: 讓寧大君, 1394–1462) was a former Crown Prince of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the first son and fourth child of King Taejong and his wife, Queen Wongyeong. Yangnyeong was the ...

, 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 kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

. Later the undead return to target the royal family.

Cast

Main

as Prince Chungnyung * Park Sung-hoon as

** Hong Dong-young as young Prince Yangnyeong *

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 Hye-sung (born Jung Eun-joo on April 29, 1991) 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 ''Love in the Moonlight'' (2016) a ...

as Moo Hwa, a shaman *

Lee Yu-bi Lee Yu-bi (; born November 22, 1990) 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 remarried in 1998 their stepfather, Lee Hong-heon legally ...

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

Keum Sae-rok Keum Sae-rok (born 6 September 1992) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her prominent roles in ''The Fiery Priest'' (2019) and ''Youth of May'' (2021). Personal life Keum graduated from the Seoul Institute of the Arts with a degree in ...

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 The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirica ...

Queen Wongyeong Queen Wongyeong (원경왕후 민씨; 29 July 1365 – 18 August 1420) of the Yeoheung Min clan, was the primary wife of Taejong of Joseon, and the mother of Sejong the Great. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1400, and was honored as Queen J ...

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 . Min gained popularity through his role in KBS' weekend family dram ...

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 (Korean: 문우진; born on 19 February 2009) is a South Korean child actor. He made his acting debut in 2017, since then, he has appeared in number of television series. He is known for his roles as child actor in 2019 crime serie ...

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 (오의식, 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 '' O ...

as Ji Gyeom *

Baek Eun-hye Baek Eun-hye 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''. Biography and career She was born Septe ...

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

Park Seo-yeon Park Seo-yeon (Korean: 박서연; 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 ...

as Chae Yi * Darcy Paquet as Father John (Yohan) *

David Lee McInnis David Lee McInnis (born December 12, 1973) is an American actor based in Seoul. He has worked in South Korea since 1999. Early life McInnis is the only child of an American father of German and Irish descent and Korean mother who is a native of ...

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 Reunion ...

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-su ...

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 Park Sung-hoon,

, 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 a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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 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 of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Initial ...

) 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 ( ko, 전주이씨대동종약원) is a family association from South Korea, and it was founded by the Jeonju Yi (Lee) clan, the household of Joseon and the Korean Empire, which were the ruling house of the ...

, 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 film, television, radio, and internet. At its formation in 2008, the KCSC replaced an earlier body, the In ...

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. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...

and

LG Household & Health Care 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 History Founded in 1947, Koo In-Hw ...

, pulled their ads and cut their ties with the show. Local governments also withdrew their support for the production. On March 26, 2021, the 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, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

, iQIYI 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 the Joseon dynasty Television series by YG Entertainment South Korean fantasy television series Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Unfinished creative works