Im Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in) plays a graduate student who is discovered covered in blood by Eun Young-ro (Jisoo), a female university student. The girl hides him from the government in her dorm room at her women's university. However, it is revealed that Soo-ho is not who he appears to be. Against the backdrop of political upheaval, the pair's story unfolds and the two develop a romantic relationship.
Cast
Main
Jung Hae-in as Im Soo-ho / Ri Tae-san (27 years old),[5] a North Korean agent sent to South Korea on a mission. He lives as a graduate student of the Department of Economics from the University of Berlin who is preparing a master's thesis.
Kim Jisoo as Eun Young-ro (20 years old),[5] a freshman at Hosoo Women's University in the English Department who falls in love with Soo-ho at the first sight.
Yoo In-na as Kang Chung-ya (34 years old),[5] a charismatic and skilled surgeon who works at a university hospital.
Yoon Se-ah as Pi Seung-hee (43 years old),[5] the housemother of Hosoo Women's University dormitory.
Kim Hye-yoon as Kye Boon-ok (24 years old),[5] a phone operator at Hosoo Women's University dormitory who could not go to college due to financial issues.
Jung Yoo-jin as Jang Han-na (32 years old),[5] an impulsive but passionate agent for National Security Planning Agency.
Supporting
People related to the Agency for National Security Planning
Heo Joon-ho as Eun Chang-soo,[5] the Head of the Agency for National Security Planning and Young-ro's father.
Park Sung-woong as Nam Tae-il,[5] the Secretary-General of the ruling party.
Lee Hwa-ryong as Ahn Kyung-hee[5] the Director-General of the Agency for National Security Planning.
Kim Jung-nan as Hong Ae-ra,[5] a former film actress, Eun Chang-soo's wife and Young-ro's stepmother.
As Young-ro and Soo-ho meet in a group blind date, Young-ro falls in love with him at first sight.
2
"Episode 2"
Jo Hyun-tak
Yoo Hyun-mi
December 19, 2021 (2021-12-19)
Soo-ho comes into the window of Room 207 in Women's University Dormitory and collapses. Young-ro and others try to hide him from the officers.
Production
Development
Written by Yoo Hyun-mi and directed by Jo Hyun-tak, Snowdrop is their second collaboration after having worked together on the hit satirical thriller Sky Castle (2018–19).[14] Based on the memoirs of a man who escaped a political prison camp in North Korea,[15] Yoo Hyun-mi had been planning the series for twelve years.[16] The early working title of the series was Leehwa Women's University Dormitory (이대 기숙사; Idae Gisuksa).[17]
Casting
On June 18, 2020, media reported that Kim Hye-yoon, who was propelled to fame after starring in Sky Castle, was in talks to star in the series; her agency confirmed that she was reviewing the offer.[18] On August 18, reports of Jisoo being cast as one of the lead actresses for the series surfaced.[19][20] It was confirmed later that day by Jisoo's agency, YG Entertainment.[21][22] On August 24, Kim Hye-yoon was confirmed to co-star alongside Jisoo[23] and it was reported that Jung Hae-in had received an offer but was still reviewing it.[24]Jang Seung-jo officially joined the cast on August 26,[25][26] followed by Jung Yoo-jin on September 17[27] and Yoon Se-ah on September 18.[28] On October 5, 2020, the main cast and details on the characters were confirmed by JTBC.[29]Yoo In-na officially joined the cast on December 28.[30]
Filming
On November 24, 2020, JTBC announced that filming for Snowdrop was temporarily halted after a supporting actor came into close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.[31][32][33] The following day, JTBC confirmed that filming would resume after all cast and crew members tested negative for the virus.[33] Filming was completed in late July 2021.[34]
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
This drama airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).
Episode 3-5 will be aired from December 24 to December 26, 2021 in order to alleviate the concerns of the viewers.[37]
Controversy
Pre-release
In March 2021, Snowdrop became the subject of controversy related to purported historical inaccuracies in the script. Parts of the synopsis and character profiles were leaked online, which revealed that the male protagonist is actually a North Korean spy posing as a pro-democracy student activist who infiltrates South Korea to instigate chaos and political instability.[1][38] The premise drew backlash from South Korean netizens due to the drama being set in 1980s, which was the key decade that led to the establishment of the present-day democratic republic.[39][40]
Netizens pointed out that the reveal of the male protagonist as a North Korean spy invokes false claims made by the authoritarian Chun Doo-hwan administration against pro-democracy activists that framed them as North Korean spies.[1][38][39] Netizens also criticized the character Lee Kang-moo, a fictional agent of the real-life Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP), which served as the intelligence agency of the Chun dictatorship, being purportedly portrayed as just and righteous despite numerous human rights abuses committed by the ANSP.[1][38][39]
On March 26, JTBC released their first official statement on the controversy that read, "The drama is not distorting the pro-democracy movement nor is it glorifying the Agency for National Security Planning. It is a black comedy drama satirizing the political situation between the two Koreas under the authoritarian government in the 1980s. Also, it is a romance drama showing young people who sacrifice their love."[1][41] On March 30, JTBC released a second statement regarding the controversy that read, "Snowdrop is set around the 1987 presidential election, and not a drama that deals with the pro-democracy movement".[40] The statement continued, "The drama portrays a fictional story about the military regime, the ANSP, and others in power at the time colluding with the North Korean dictatorship and planning a conspiracy to retain their power."[42] Regarding the character Lee Kang-moo, who is an agent of the ANSP, the statement read, "The character is portrayed as a man of principle who turns his back on the corrupt organization and does what he thinks is right." The then-name of the female protagonist, Eun Young-cho, had drawn scrutiny, as the given name "Young-cho" bore similarity to the name of real-life pro-democracy activist Chun Young-cho.[43][44] The statement denied that the name of the female protagonist character was in reference to Chun Young-cho, but confirmed that the character's name would be changed.[44]
On March 30, protesters parked a truck bearing protest signs at the site of the JTBC building in Seoul.[43]
In the period from March 26 to April 25, a total of 226,078 people signed an online petition to the Blue House demanding that production on Snowdrop be stopped.[45][46] The petition was started shortly after the cancellation of the SBS drama Joseon Exorcist due to accusations of historical distortion.[1] On May 14, the Blue House issued an official response to the petition, rejecting the calls for the show's cancellation.[47][48] The response stated that the Blue House did not intend to interfere in the production of Snowdrop, citing the protection of freedom of expression in South Korea's Broadcasting Law, which guarantees broadcasters' independence and prohibits extrajudicial regulation or interference. The response stated, however, that the Blue House was continuing to monitor the controversy, stating that "programming that violates broadcasting responsibilities, such as through excessive historical distortion or violation of regulations, are liable for a review by the Korea Communications Standards Commission," and that the Korea Communications Standards Commission would watch over the broadcasts.[45][47]
Post-release
This section needs expansion with: JTBC's official statement. This section may also not give the complete summary of the on-going controversy. You can help by adding to it. (December 2021)
On December 19, 2021, a new online petition to the Blue House was filed demanding that it suspend the airing of the drama.[49] In few hours over 80,000 people signed the petition, and over of 200,000 people signed the petition by the end of the day.[50][51] The petition reached 300,000 signatures by December 21.[52]
By December 21, around 3,000 requests to cancel Snowdrop were posted to JTBC's website and around 740 complaints were made to the Korea Communications Standards Commission regarding the drama.[52] On the same day, it was reported that an official complaint by a citizen with Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission has been filed against JTBC's Snowdrop's screenwriter Yoo Hyun-mi and director Jo Hyun-tak for violating the National Security Act.[53][54] Mr. A, the accuser, stated, “JTBC said there was no spy leading the democratization movement, which is absurd. It is clear that the drama glorifies and romanticizes spies on the backdrop of the democratization movement era in Korea.”[53] According to Article 7 (1) of the National Security Act, it is illegal to praising, encouraging or sympathizing the actions of a treasonous anti-state organization or its members, knowing that it jeopardizes the existence and security of the country or the basic free and democratic order, and those who have done so may be imprisoned for 7 years or fewer.[53] The World Citizen's Declaration, a youth nonprofit that works to support citizens resisting government violence, stated that they will file an injunction in court against Snowdrop.[55] Co-CEO of the World Citizen's Declaration, Lee Seol-ah, stated, "This is an obvious insult to those who have been fighting the military dictatorship with their whole body."[55]
Advertisers such as TEAZEN, Ssarijai, Heung Il Furniture, Ganisong, P&J Group, and Han's Electronics announced they were pulling advertisements from the broadcast of the show and issued apologies.[56][57]Daegu University, where Snowdrop was filmed, stated that it requested the name of the university be taken off of the drama's credits.[58]
Institutions related to the 1987 June Struggle peaceful mass protest have criticized Snowdrop. The Bak Jong-cheol Memorial Foundation spoke out against the drama, calling it a "disparagement of the democratization movement" and "a drama with an obvious intention to distort."[59]Bak Jong-cheol was a democracy activist and student at Seoul National University who was framed as a communist sympathizer by the Chun dictatorship and killed by torture at the Anti-Communist Office of Namyoung-dong [ko], which became a key inciting event of the June Struggle. The Lee Han-yeol Memorial Museum also called on the drama to be cancelled. Lee Han-yeol was a student activist who was killed in June 1987 while peacefully protesting, and Lee's death was another key inciting event of the June Struggle.[60][61][62]
On December 23, Justice Party presidential candidate Sim Sang-jung spoke out against the drama, stating "If we are going to shine a light in a harsh era, the protagonist should be our ordinary citizens who shed blood, sweat and tears for the democracy of the Republic of Korea, not the security guards and spies of the South faction under the dictatorship."[63] She also said that "Creative freedom should be humble in the face of the scars of history."[63]
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