International fans of BLACKPINK’s Jisoo sign Blue House petition for ‘Snowdrop’ to continue airing (ft. K-netizens’ angry reaction)
Blue House petitions are meant for Koreans to voice their opinions, so foreigners getting involved has caused Koreans to feel angry.
JTBC’s drama “Snowdrop” is drawing heavy criticism and boycott from Koreans even though it has only aired the first 2 episodes. Actions of BLACKPINK or Jisoo fans also get netizens’ attention. In fact, even before the drama’s official broadcast, international fans have angered Koreans with how they show support to BLACKPINK’s Jisoo. A typical example is the fact that a Vietnamese fan group placed a digital board to promote “Snowdrop” in the middle of Jongno – the bloodiest scene of the 1987 Democracy Movement. During the current time when it’s better for fans to stay silent and wait for the final decision from the authorities, Korean netizens are getting more furious at more actions by international fans to defend “Snowdrop“.
After the first episode of “Snowdrop” aired, Koreans submitted a petition to the Blue House asking for a ban on this drama due to history distortion during the turbulent 1987 countrywide Democracy Movement. As of 12 a.m. November 21, this petition has recorded more than 310,000 signatures from Korean citizens – a surprisingly huge number.
Notably, after seeing the petition to ban the broadcast made by Koreans, international fans of Jisoo and BLACKPINK together filed other requests to the Blue House, denying the allegations of distorting history and demanding that “Snowdrop” continue to air as scheduled. On Twitter, international BLINKs have been instructing others how to give their signatures on the Blue House website and calling out for more people to join. Most fans believe that because BLACKPINK has a huge international fandom, they can get more signatures than Koreans.
Despite the efforts of international fans, the number of signatures to protect “Snowdrop” so far has only stopped at more than 3,700 – there is still a long way to go until it catches up to 309,000 signatures against the drama. Moreover, Korean netizens are enraged by the fact that international fans sign on a website that is only for Korean citizens. When this issue is shared on online communities in Korea, many netizens have left comments criticizing BLACKPINK‘s international fans and claiming that they are only tainting Jisoo’s image.
- “What the hell? Why do I-roaches appear on the Korean national petition site? ㅋㅋ..”
- “I really hope an article is coming out ㅋㅋ We need to report all the IDs of I-roaches who signed the petition”
- “Wow… If you want to sign, you should pay taxes to Korea first…”
- “What the hell are they doing?”
- “Isn’t this a KOREA national petition? Why are Indonesians here? Are you kidding? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ In the future maybe we’ll need an ID card to sign it. But if so then what about minors?
- “If you like to sign, pay taxes for us. Who are you to order or teach others about our country’s history being distorted? Why did you sign it?”
- “Like idol like fans ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Now I just feel uncomfortable whenever I see her”
- “Do these people think they can manipulate the results of the petition sent to the Blue House…”
- “Aside from Jisoo and BLACKPINK fans, who else signed this?”
- “You want to manipulate the results of the signatures submitted to the Blue House? Then pay the taxes ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
- “Crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You don’t know a bit of Korean history but still have the courage to do this?”
- “Saya setuju < This is Indonesian”
- “I’m getting more and more frustrated every day. These people are so ignorant and only insist on believing what they want to believe. Do they realize that they are trying to interfere in another country’s historical matters by using a petition space only for Koreans? Do they think this is some kind of awards voting or something? They’re getting called I-roaches for a reason.”
- “Goosebumps…… literally”
- “I will never support BLACKPINK in the future again”
Meanwhile, JTBC has also officially spoken about the controversies related to “Snowdrop“.
Specifically, JTBC still stands firm on Snowdrop not distorting history or disparaging the democratization movement, emphasizing the “fictional” and “creative” elements of the drama. JTBC’s representative said that the audience’s concerns will be resolved in upcoming episodes of “Snowdrop”, which probably means that JTBC is determined to keep broadcasting “Snowdrop” as scheduled.
