According to Kyunghyang, in an interview on October 2, the screenwriter and director of the film "Tempest" mentioned the controversy surrounding the dialogue of the work that caused actress Jun Ji Hyun to be boycotted by Chinese audiences.
In The Giord, Jun Ji Hyuns character Moon Ju has a line: Why does China like war?. This line along with some other details are believed to be deliberately defaming and insulting China.
Regarding this issue, screenwriter Jung Seo Kyung said that the world in the film is completely fictional. The screenwriter and production team once thought about naming new countries, but due to concerns about the realism, the film eventually used the names of some countries in real life.
"Maybe I was the one who felt the most pain after that incident. I feel heartbroken to see Jun Ji Hyun, who only plays the lines I write, enduring such hardship," she shared.
Director Kim Hee Won also said that the actors did their roles thinking that this was a completely fictional work.
"Jun Ji Hyun is very interested in global audiences. All actors are aware of that and try to portray their roles sincerely, the director emphasized.
Screenwriter Jung Seo Kyung expressed his gratitude to Jun Ji Hyun, because she still comforted them despite the controversy.
The screenwriter shared: "I am very impressed by Jun Ji Hyun's calmness in this situation. She cares about the fans' feelings and may be disappointed, she apologizes to the production crew and has really comforted us a lot.
The character Seo Moon Ju in the film is a person who always tries his best, and Jun Ji Hyun is similar to her in this point.
Director Kim Hee Won added: "Jun Ji Hyun has a huge fan base around the world. She has no political motivation, but is simply an actress who wants to do her best and please the audience.
She is a very kind actress. Even if the director or screenwriter had to stay on set alone, Jun Ji Hyun was always there to cheer and say, "let's try our best." She encourages me all the time.
She told me, "It's a pity, but if the audience watches it until the end, they'll understand. Don't be too discouraged."
According to the media, many big brands such as La Mer, Piaget and Louis Vuitton have removed Jun Ji Hyun's advertisements on Chinese shopping platforms and social networks. The Korean star could suffer an estimated loss of more than 200 million yuan (over 200 million yuan) due to canceled promotion contracts in the country of a billion people.
However, when news of Jun Ji Hyun's advertising filming schedule with a Chinese brand was canceled at the end of September due to controversy related to the film, the actress's management company denied it.
Jun Ji Hyun's side said that the photos and promotional photos with this brand were only postponed, not canceled. At the same time, he emphasized that the postponement of events had been decided before the release of Giong to, due to local circumstances and had nothing to do with the film.
