[Opinion] Are TV Shows More Important Than National Treasures?

A couple had the following conversation in front of a note-covered section of Deoksugung’s stone wall:

“What is all this?”

“It means ‘I love you’ in every language in the world…I am a just petty police detective at the Jongro Police Station. But I am in love with this woman. Will you marry me?”

The proposal scene in the SBS drama series “Lovers in Prague” was truly touching. The drama also has some famous lines, such as: “Love bursts all of a sudden, just like the flash of a camera,” and “Yoon Jae-hee is the president of the land that I have built in my heart.” Moreover it has also left unnecessary wounds in the stone wall of Deoksugung, a national treasure.

The 800 “I love you” notes stuck tightly onto the wall must have been an example of mise-en-scene, showing man’s tough love and woman’s courageous love. However, if this had been reality, this love is a horrible one. Not only is it laughable that a detective could find the time to spend nine hours posting papers on a wall, it is also beyond common sense that one would apply glue to a well-known national treasure. Moreover, he lied to the management office in Deoksugung that he would “only attach 30 Post-its.” The very thought that there could be such a detective in Korea is scary.

This is not the only case where a national treasure has been tampered with during the production of a television drama. While filming the KBS drama “King and Queen,” the production crew was brave enough to install an LP gas tank in the front yard of Changdeokgung’s Injeongjeon, a World Heritage Site. What would have happened if the wood structure happened to catch fire by mistake? Do such acts come from the professional mindset that one should be allowed to do anything for a good film, or the arrogance that a TV show is more important than a national treasure?

The reason why television viewers are still angry despite a letter of apology from the “Lovers in Prague” production team is due to the corrupt TV powers that disrespect our national treasures. They are nothing more than “media terrorists” who do whatever they can to raise popularity ratings, and even distort the facts, in order to ingratiate themselves to the “living powers.” We do not want to hear the excuse: “because of the production conditions…” We are already sick of the political powers that continue to blame others, blame the media, blame the environment and even blame history.

Kim Sun-duk, Editorial Writer, yuri@donga.com