On September 19, Park went on social media to defend the scenes that the spectators had criticized, citing “five rites of the national dynasty”, the official text of the Joseon era protocol written in 1474, as a base.
The contested scenes involve Yeonhui-Gun (played by Lee Chae-Min) sitting next to a ming correspondent and bows her head greeting. The spectators are strongly objective, claiming that the representation collided with historical documents. A spectator commented, “It doesn’t matter how powerful the Ming dynasty was, an correspondent was still a guest. Records like the annals of the Joseon dynasty clearly say that the envoys knelt in front of the king when they presented decrees.” Another added, “According to the Annals of King Sejong, the king sat on the throne while the envoys were sitting below him. This is far from a historical fact.”
Complaints also extended to the frequent use of Chinese dialogue in the drama. Some spectators said, “Episode 8 seemed more a Chinese drama, with more mandarin than Korean”, And he hypothesized if Chinese funding has influenced production.
Park contrasted these criticisms by referring to the historical documentation. He explained: “Five rites of the national dynasty specify that the correspondent should sit towards the east and the king to the west. In the Confucian tradition, the East is classified higher than the West. Since Ming’s correspondents represented the emperor, their degree was considered higher than that of King Joseon”. On the arch scene, added Park, “According to the text, it was customary for the king to bow first to the envoy. It was not a question of sovereignty, but an international protocol.”
He stressed that the drama joined a manual sanctioned by the state written less than 30 years apart from the temporal sequence of the drama, claiming that it was a question of precision rather than distortion.
Good appetite, your majestyBased on the web novel that survives like the chef of Yeonsan-Gun, it is a fantasy romantic comedy in which a modern chef strikes time in Joseon and wins on a tyrant King through food. With IM Yoona and Lee Chae-Min, the drama recorded assessments up to 15.4% (Nielsen Korea), but the controversy raises questions about how productions should balance historical loyalty with creative narrative.
Sources: Nate
