'Perfect Crown' backlash update: Fans and netizens debate over KOCCA funding controversy

'Perfect Crown' has been at the centre of major controversy for the past few days. Amid the historical distortion claims and issues with the coronation scene, fans and netizens have also pointed out issues with the KOCCA funding for the show, which reached around 2 billion KRW.Naver reported that the drama was eligible to get funding from KOCCA, which is also known as the Korea Creative Content Agency, which operates under South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a quasi-governmental organisation. The drama received government funding of upto 2 billion KRW, which has prompted strong reactions from the public.Many people pointed out that while ‘taxpayer’ money was used to fund and create the drama, it was highly insensitive and inconsiderate of the team not be more careful about everything. The issue stemmed from certain scenes that showed Korea as a tributary state to China. Not only that, but there were a lot of historical errors, including the costume and crown used during the coronation, to using the wrong congratulatory cheers during the ceremony. A statement from KOCCA addressing the backlash and queries stated that “At the time of evaluation, only the project proposal, synopsis, and portions of the script were reviewed.”Netizens’ reaction has been strong over the show, with many people criticizing the showrunners for not doing their research. On top of that, IU and Byeon Woo Seok, the duo that is leading the show, have also apologized to everyone on multiple occasions, including handwritten notes and public event apologies.Following the backlash, fans and netizens alike called for the show to be pulled off the air completely because of the discrepancies. On top of that, the specific coronation scenes have been completely removed from the show and episodes that have been uploaded online.The pop up store, which had been set up for the show’s support, has also been closed ahead of the planned time because of the issue. However, offline events have been continuing as planned.