LayarHijau – The airing of the Korean drama Tempest (북극성/Bookgeukseong), starring Jun Ji-hyun and Kang Dong-won, has sparked controversy in China. Several lines and scenes in the series have drawn strong criticism from Chinese netizens.
The line “Why does China prefer war?”, the depiction of the Chinese city of Dalian as a dilapidated slum, and the repeated use of Chinese characters by villainous roles have led many viewers to accuse the drama of insulting China’s image. As a result, Tempest’s rating on the review platform Douban has plummeted to 4.2, Sohu.
Tempest is a political thriller that revolves around a grand conspiracy between political elites and corporations, set against the backdrop of South Korea’s power struggles. Jun Ji-hyun plays an investigative journalist caught in a secret network, while Kang Dong-won portrays a government official shrouded in mystery. The drama airs on South Korea’s SBS network and is also available on several international streaming platforms.
The controversy has also spilled into the advertising world. The official Weibo account of La Mer deleted all posts related to Jun Ji-hyun. La Mer is a luxury skincare brand from the United States, best known for its flagship product, Crème de la Mer, a premium face cream priced from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on size. The brand, under Estée Lauder, enjoys strong popularity among upper-class consumers, particularly in China.
Piaget, a luxury jewelry and watch brand that also has Jun Ji-hyun as its ambassador, followed suit by removing promotional content featuring the actress. The comment sections of these brands have since been flooded with demands for contracts with Jun Ji-hyun to be terminated. Netizens emphasized that “artists who insult China should not be accepted in the Chinese market.”
