Joseon Exorcist and the ‘Uncanny Valley’ of Korean Historical Dramas: On the Problems of ‘Distorted’ Representations of History in Korean Popular Culture Products

Abstract

It was in March 2021 that SBS, one of the representative private TV broadcasting stations in South Korea, launched a new drama series Joseon Exorcist (Chosŏn kumasa). From the beginning, it was publicized as an ambitious, large-scale project, to be aired in sixteen episodes, with the production budget amounting to 32 billion won (approximately 28 million dollars). Considering that its genre identity was decidedly nonmainstream, its large production budget was considered unusual. We can speculate that SBS had been stimulated by the worldwide success of Netflix’s Kingdom, a zombie horror TV series set in the 17 century Chosŏn Korea following the Imjin Wars. Running for two seasons in 2019 and 2020, Kingdom has received a good deal of praise both inside and outside Korea for its fresh subject, innovative direction and captivating storyline. Initially, Joseon Exorcist seemed like a surefire hit. Its first episode