A scene from ‘Butterfly Lady’ broadcast on KBS1’s ‘KBS Junggyeseok’. Photo|KBS Broadcast Capture
‘It seems like a screw is loose in the public broadcaster KBS. On Liberation Day, are they going to play old-fashioned music, airing a documentary film glorifying former President Lee Seung-man, causing public uproar.’, ‘At 0:00 on the 15th, KBS1’s ‘KBS Junggyeseok’ aired ‘Butterfly Lady,’ which depicts the love story between a 19th-century Japanese geisha and an American Navy lieutenant.’,
A scene from ‘Butterfly Lady’ broadcast on KBS1’s ‘KBS Junggyeseok’.
Capture of KBS viewer petition board.
‘Immediately after the broadcast, the viewer petition board was in an uproar. Many criticized the appropriateness of airing this work on Liberation Day because most of the characters in the drama were wearing kimonos and a traditional Korean song was played in the middle of the show. One netizen expressed dissatisfaction on the KBS viewer petition board, saying, “Are they crazy for airing a kimono show? Is this really a public broadcaster? Are they in their right mind?” Another netizen criticized, “Is this an appropriate programming decision? It’s ridiculous and unbelievable.” This petition garnered 2,683 agreements as of 10 a.m., demonstrating much public anger.’,
Official poster of the documentary ‘The Miracle Begins’ about Lee Seung-man.
‘That’s not all. On the same day, KBS1’s ‘Independent Cinema’ aired a documentary glorifying former President Lee Seung-man’s dictatorship. Although ‘Independent Cinema’ is a program that airs every Friday, they specifically scheduled ‘The Miracle Begins’ to be broadcast on the eve of Liberation Day.’, ‘The documentary ‘The Miracle Begins’ has received mixed reviews for portraying the founding of South Korea as the achievement of former President Lee Seung-man, while also depicting incidents like the March 15th rigged election or the April 19th revolution as events caused by others’ faults, not him. The film, which previously applied for recognition by the Korean Film Council as an independent film but was denied recognition due to reasons such as ‘a lacking objectivity in a documentary on a public figure,’ has stirred controversy.’, ‘Due to KBS’s decision, on the 12th, the KBS headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the Institute for National Problems Studies, and others held a critical press conference, and on the 13th, KBS Jeju Branch of the National Union of Journalists of Korea, KBS PD Association Jeju Branch, KBS Video Production Association Jeju members, and KBS Announcer Association Jeju members jointly released a statement condemning the decision.’, ‘Criticism against this decision was also seen on the KBS viewer petition board. A post on the 13th titled ‘A movie glorifying dictatorship airing on Liberation Day? Is this really what a Korean public broadcaster does?’ garnered 1,218 agreements, adding fuel to the criticism.’, ‘KBS must provide a response from the relevant department within 30 days if a petition receives agreement from 1,000 people. Interest is focused on what explanation KBS will give regarding the programming decision that goes against common sense and disrespects the commemoration of Liberation Day.’, ‘Reporter Lee Da-won edaone@kyunghyang.com’, Sports Kyunghyang Main News, ‘▶ Sports Kyunghyang SNS ‘, , , ‘▶ ‘, , , ‘▶ ‘, , ‘[ⓒSports Kyunghyang(‘, , ‘), All rights reserved]’,