Before the dispute over historical distortion in the film "Assassins" could subside, politicians have turned their attention to a drama series still on air. Conservatives have reacted sharply to K-content dealing with the country's past, while progressives have objected to the depiction of North Korea in a newly released global video game, pushing cultural and artistic content to the center of political conflict.
The media committee of the People Power Party issued a statement on the 27th under the name of its chair, Lee Jin-sook, telling producers not to "use a drama as a weapon for one political camp," in reference to the sixth episode of the SBS (034120) series "Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia." The statement said that "before the controversy over 'Assassins' has even subsided, dramas and films are repeatedly being turned into vehicles for one camp's message," adding that "the Gwangju Uprising must not become the exclusive property of a particular political camp or a particular region."
Lee said a fictional former president named Ji Du-seok, evocative of a real former head of state, appears in the sixth episode. "Events separated by decades and entirely different in nature are blended into a single character to impose an image on a specific political force, turning the Gwangju Uprising into a weapon for one side," she said, adding that critics see it as "a forced device that puts the production team's message first rather than a development that emerges naturally from the story." Ha Tae-keung, head of the Korea Insurance Training Institute and a former lawmaker for the People Power Party, wrote on Facebook that "I came to observe surgery, but the doctor put down the scalpel and started a history lecture," saying the series had lost his interest entirely.
The episode at the center of the dispute depicts a victim shot in the head in Gwangju in May 1980 who suffers pain and hallucinations for decades afterward. The broadcast also featured a fictional former president reminiscent of Chun Doo-hwan. The protagonist, Gye Su-jeong, played by Kim Ji-won, takes on his surgery despite the risk.
After the episode aired, conservatives alleged politically motivated distortion of history and filed a petition calling for the series to be pulled. The petitioner, writing on the National Assembly's public petition platform, said it was "hard to accept that the Gwangju Uprising, which remains politically contested, is being used in a drama out of nowhere." The petition has cleared the 100-signature threshold, and the National Assembly is reviewing whether to make it public.
The controversy over the film "Assassins" also remains unresolved. Na Kyung-won, a lawmaker with the People Power Party, took aim at the film on the 26th at a memorial service marking the 47th anniversary of the death of former President Park Chung-hee, held at Seoul National Cemetery in the capital's Dongjak district. "There have been attempts within our society to contaminate this with conspiracy theories," she said. "Why do they try so hard to belittle the president? Because they are afraid." The film deals with conspiracy theories surrounding the shooting of the late first lady Yuk Young-soo.
More recently, politicians have clashed over "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4," a new first-person shooter from a U.S. developer. Built on a fictional scenario, the game follows U.S. and South Korean forces responding to a North Korean invasion. Some on the progressive side objected that the game, though fictional, graphically depicts human rights abuses by North Korean forces, including executions of civilians. The game also includes a coup within the North Korean leadership and a leadership palace resembling North Korea's Kumsusan Palace.
Kim Ji-sun, co-representative of Seoul Candlelight Action, said on YouTube that the game "commercializes a product in which people kill each other, in a country that is divided and still under armistice," calling it "an amplification of hostility." Kim Sung-jae, chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center, wrote in a newspaper column that the game "turns Korean society's war trauma into entertainment," warning that "if hatred toward North Korea is amplified through a game, unintended and worrying situations could erupt in inter-Korean relations."
The People Power Party has used the game to attack the administration. Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker with the party, criticized President Lee Jae-myung's North Korea policy in a social media post, writing that those who do not understand the risk of North Korean provocations should "at least try playing Call of Duty." Han Dong-hoon, an independent lawmaker, said he hoped "the president would play this game himself and feel firsthand what kind of catastrophe unfolds when security preparations fall short."
As films, dramas and games become material for political battles, some are voicing fatigue. One user on an online community wrote that politicians "tell you to respect creative freedom when it suits them, then attack when the situation is reversed." A political insider said that "in the past, there was a tolerant atmosphere around freedom of expression, with satire of presidents serving as a staple of comedy programs," adding that "as confrontation between the parties has intensified, they are fighting over cultural and artistic content because it carries strong public appeal." Some in politics are pushing back against excessive politicization, including Kim Han-kyu, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party of Korea, who said regulating the content of a game itself is not appropriate.
What stands out is that the works at the center of these disputes are performing well regardless of the political conflict. "Assassins" passed its break-even point as of the 26th, drawing a cumulative 3.37 million admissions. The contested sixth episode of "Doctor X" posted a nationwide household rating of 19.5% according to Nielsen Korea, a series high. "Call of Duty" has topped sales rankings both at home and abroad on Steam, the world's largest game platform, riding a successful commercial run.