Korean drama Perfect Crown apologises after backlash over royal coronation inaccuracies
The production team behind the drama starring IU and Byeon Woo-seok said it will revise the audio and subtitles for future broadcasts and streaming releases.
Popular Korean drama Perfect Crown has addressed the backlash against portrayal of the royal coronation ceremony in the series. (Photo: Instagram/disneypluskr)
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K-drama Perfect Crown has addressed backlash for inaccuracies related to the portrayal of the royal coronation ceremony.
On Saturday (May 16), the production team behind the series led by IU and Byeon Woo-seok released a statement acknowledging criticism from viewers over historical inaccuracies in the coronation scene in the second-to-last episode.
The scene in question is the depiction of Prince I-an’s ascension to the throne, which included chants of "Cheonse". Meaning “Long live for 1,000 years”, fans and critics argued that this term was used historically for rulers of lower rank and state monarchs.
They believe the show should have used “Manse” instead, which means “Long live for 10,000 years”, used traditionally for an independent sovereign ruler.
Some viewers also pointed out that the crown shown in the scene featured nine strands of beads, known as the Guryu Myeollyugwan, instead of the traditional 12, which is the Sibi Myeollyugwan, associated with a sovereign monarchy.
In the statement posted on the official homepage of the series, the team behind Perfect Crown wrote: “We sincerely apologise to viewers who have supported the drama with love for causing concern over issues related to the series’ fictional setting and historical accuracy.”
“The production team failed to carefully examine how Joseon court protocols changed over the course of history. As Perfect Crown is both a romance and an alternate-history drama, we should have been much more cautious and considerate when approaching the points at which the fictional world intersects with real history, but we fell short in refining the world-building and reviewing the details more thoroughly.”
The team added that it will “revise the relevant audio and subtitles as quickly as possible for future rebroadcasts, VOD [video-on-demand] and streaming services”.
The backlash comes even as the series has continued to perform strongly in ratings and online popularity rankings throughout its run, which concluded on May 16.
IU also appeared to indirectly address criticism during an event marking the show’s finale, where she told fans she would reflect on any shortcomings and strive to improve, though she did not explicitly reference the controversy.
Set in a reimagined contemporary Korea where the monarchy still exists in 2026, Perfect Crown follows a contractual marriage between Seong Hee-ju, a wealthy heiress to the nation's top conglomerate (played by IU), and second son to the king, Prince I-an (portrayed by Byeon).
