VANK said on May 20, 2026, that several controversial scenes accused of distorting Korean history in the MBC drama Perfect Crown (KOR: 21세기 대군부인) have been partially corrected on global streaming platforms following the group’s official protest campaign.
According to VANK, the revisions were confirmed at around 8 a.m. on May 20 on both Disney+ and the South Korean streaming platform Waave, where the drama is currently being distributed.
The controversy centered on a royal coronation scene in Episode 11, which aired on May 15, 2026, in which officials shouted “Cheonse” — meaning “Long live the king for a thousand years” — toward the newly crowned monarch while the king wore a nine-strand ceremonial crown known as a “guryu myeollyugwan.”
VANK argued that the combination of the “Cheonse” chant and the nine-strand crown symbolized a tributary state rather than a sovereign nation and could distort Korea’s independent historical identity and national symbolism. The organization warned that international audiences could mistakenly interpret Korean history as existing under the imperial order of China.
The group also expressed concern that the controversial scene was being distributed worldwide through Disney+ with multilingual subtitles, including Japanese, potentially spreading historical misunderstandings to global viewers.
Following the controversy, VANK launched a correction campaign and sent multiple protest letters and formal requests for revisions to Disney+ and Wavve.
According to the organization, the Korean-language subtitles and audio containing the “Cheonse” expression have now been removed from Disney+ Korea. The Japanese subtitles have also been deleted. However, the Japanese-language audio still reportedly includes the expression, meaning the correction remains incomplete.
In the edited version of the coronation scene now available on the platforms, the attendees can still be seen bowing and shouting toward the king, but the chant itself has been muted and replaced with background music.
Wavve also confirmed the revisions in an official response sent to VANK, stating that it had forwarded the concerns to relevant departments and content providers for review and that the episode is currently being serviced in a modified form.
The historical controversy surrounding the drama intensified after critics pointed out that the use of “Cheonse” and the nine-strand crown traditionally reflected the protocol of a tributary kingdom during the Joseon Dynasty, rather than the symbolism of an independent sovereign state. After the establishment of the Korean Empire, the expression “Manse” — meaning “ten thousand years” — became associated with imperial sovereignty.
Although the series is set in a fictional modern-day constitutional monarchy, critics argued that the symbolism used in the coronation scene was historically inappropriate for modern South Korea and risked fueling narratives associated with China’s controversial Northeast Project.
The drama also faced criticism for other alleged historical inaccuracies, including the portrayal of Chinese-style tea ceremonies and insufficient historical research and consultation.
VANK described the incident as a significant example of the growing international influence of historical and cultural representation in the era of global streaming platforms.
“Global OTT platforms now serve as giant international textbooks introducing Korean history and culture to the world,” said Park Gi-tae, head of VANK. “A single scene, subtitle or expression in a drama can easily be accepted by overseas audiences as real Korean history and culture. That is why much more careful historical and cultural verification is needed.”
He added that the case demonstrated how citizen activism and public diplomacy efforts could lead to tangible changes on global platforms.
VANK said it plans to continue monitoring Korean-related content on international streaming services, including Netflix and Disney+, to correct historical distortions and cultural inaccuracies.
The organization has previously led successful correction campaigns involving French subtitles for the Netflix drama Bride of the Water God and German subtitles for the Korean film Time to Hunt, where the East Sea had been incorrectly labeled as the “Sea of Japan.”