"Queen Woo" Sparks Outrage for Its Explicit Scenes and Historical Inaccuracies

The 30 billion-won historical epic Queen Woo has been embroiled in controversies. From its resemblance to Chinese-style clothing to historical inaccuracy to explicit and provocative scenes rated 19+, the K-drama has been deemed quite problematic.  

Queen Woo is a historical drama about Queen Woo (Jeon Jong Seo), who becomes the target of five factions and princes of Goguryeo vying for the throne after the king's (Ji Chang Wook) death. Part 1 of the K-drama (episodes 1-4) was released on TVING in South Korea and Paramount+ globally. 

The story is a reimagined "faction" (fact + fiction) drama based on historical records of Queen Woo, who maintained power by choosing the rare practice of levirate marriage (where a widow marries her deceased husband's brother to continue the family line) in Goguryeo.

After its premiere, it quickly became one of the most controversial works of the year with many viewers asking the question, "Were the explicit 19+ scenes really necessary?", especially when the series, TVING's first historical drama, has yet to resolve ongoing historical accuracy debates. 

With a production budget of about 30 billion won, the series contains multiple explicit scenes that feel abrupt and out of place within the story. Unlike Western dramas, K-dramas have traditionally avoided such elements, a key factor which attracted global audiences to the Korean wave. The criticism of the gratuitous use of intimate scenes, which appear several times and often feel out of place, has been longstanding in South Korea. But with the rise of OTT platforms, "vulgar and filthy" scenes that objectify women seem to be increasing, making it more challenging for these dramas to escape backlash.

While explicit scenes are mostly shown only in OTT dramas (unlike in shows airing on nationwide broadcasting channels like KBS, MBC, SBS, etc.), viewers criticize that adding such scenes hinders the drama's immersion, and it seems to be the case that the drama is relying on shock value through excessive 19+ scenes. Many also argue that Queen Woo is simply aiming to gain attention through this element, and lacks in storyline.  

The controversy over historical accuracy, which sparked before the K-drama's premiere, remains unresolved. Queen Woo faced criticism with claims that the characters' costumes and topknots resembled those from Chinese historical dramas. Kim Mu Yeol's character Eul Pa So was particularly scrutinized for wearing attire reminiscent of those seen in Chinese historical dramas. 

At the K-drama's press conference, director Jung Se Kyo responded to this criticism by stating, Director Jung Se-gyo, who was in charge of directing, stated at the production press conference held on the 27th, "When working on this, we didn't do it alone. There were professors who provided us with advice, and we conducted several rounds of verification for the imagery and costumes." He also said, "We referred to Goguryeo-era murals and other materials for the topknots and costumes." He also said, "While there are parts where we had to be creative due to the lack of historical records, those choices were made in order to properly tell the story of Queen Woo." Writer Lee Byung Hak further asserted, "As you will see, this drama has nothing to do with the Northeast Project [China's revisionist project on the history and situation of the frontiers of Northeast China]." 

Despite these explanations, Korean netizens remain skeptical about the K-drama's historical accuracy. Many previous works have fallen into the same kind of controversy, with SBS's Joseon Exorcist (2021) even being canceled after airing just two episodes due to such issues. 

As Queen Woo faces the storm of criticism, its future hangs in the balance, with viewers and critics alike questioning whether the drama's provocative content and historical liberties can sustain its big ambition of retelling the story of one of the strongest women in Korean history.

Sources (1)(2)