(ECNS) -- South Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun's new TV series Tempest has sparked backlash in China over dialogue accusing the country of "favoring war" and scenes depicting China's Dalian City as rundown, prompting boycotts and the removal of her advertising materials.
Tempest tells the story of a globally renowned UN ambassador, played by Jun, who gets caught up in an assassination attempt sparked by the presidential election and a stunning conspiracy amid international power rivalry.
Controversy arose from Jun's contentious question "Why does China have a preference for war?" in episode 4. Come netizens condemned the line stigmatizes China's image and as a distortion of reality.
Additionally, a scene in the drama featuring dilapidated shantytowns in Hong Kong, shot in dark tones, was labeled as prominent Chinese city Dalian. Many netizens noted that this depiction bears no resemblance to Dalian's actual image as a modern coastal hub and accused the production of intentionally portraying Chinese cities negatively.
Jun is well-known in China and previously gained popularity among local audiences through hit Korean dramas such as My Love from the Star. As the controversy continues, some brands have removed her advertising materials in the Chinese mainland.
Luxury skincare brand La Mer has removed all content related to Jun from its official Weibo account. Meanwhile, PIAGET, the Swiss luxury watch and jewelry house for which Jun also serves as brand ambassador, has taken down all its advertising materials featuring the star.
On Saturday, the drama's rating on Douban, a popular Chinese film review platform, had dropped to 4.2 points.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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