Tempest actress Jun Ji-hyun faces backlash in China, following controversial dialogue in new Disney+ series
Chinese netizens are angered by a line in the South Korean drama series, as well as a supposedly negative portrayal of the city of Dalian.
South Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun in a scene from the drama series, Tempest. (Photo: Disney)
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After a four-year hiatus since her last drama in 2021, South Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun's comeback isn't panning out quite how she intended.
Tempest, now streaming on Disney+, has blown up online but not in the way the 43-year-old star's fans expected.
Jun is being accused by angry Chinese viewers of being anti-China.
In episode four, her character, a former United Nations-turned-presidential candidate, asks: “Why would China prefer war? That way, nuclear bombs would fall along the border areas.”
That single line set off a firestorm with Chinese netizens branding it as “fabricated” and “politically defamatory”.
“If China favours war, South Korea will no longer be a country,” one fumed.
Others took aim at Jun Ji-hyun herself, saying she should have been smarter with her comeback choice, with many calling for a boycott.
“The good relationships she accumulated in China over the past 20 years are gone," another commented.
But her lines weren’t the only controversy.
Viewers also blasted how the Chinese city of Dalian was depicted as shady and rundown.
Sharp-eyed netizens even noted that Dalian’s backdrop in the show wasn’t even Dalian but is in fact the Cheung Hing Bird’s Nest Factory in Hong Kong.
However, Jun’s fans were quick to jump in to defend their idol, urging the Chinese to remain rational and not to attack her and the cast.
Tempest follows the story of Seo Mun-ju (Jun Ji-hyun), a skilled former diplomat, as she tries to uncover the truth behind an attempt on a presidential candidate’s life. After discovering the candidate has been accused of being a North Korean spy, Mun-ju digs into his past, unlocking a Pandora’s box of deception, state secrets and more.
Protected by Paik San-ho (Gang Dong-won), a mercenary with a suspicious history and a hidden backer, Mun-ju repeatedly finds herself under attack as she uncovers an international conspiracy stretching all the way to the White House.
Disney+ recently announced that the show is the number one most viewed Korean original premiere of 2025 on the platform globally, based on five days of streaming.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
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