If there is one reliable source of inspiration for TV drama writers, it would be history. With thousands of years of conquest, betrayal, and romance, history is the culmination of high-quality, royalty-free plotlines, and very often the basis of a successful show. Likewise, some of the most beloved TV shows, both in Korea and abroad, are historical. All is good — until the writer messes with the history itself.

The recent Joseon Exorcist was the first ever Korean drama to be cancelled after only two episodes — and for good reasons. The show, set in the Joseon Dynasty, follows the story of King Taejong and his two princes, Yangnyeong and Chungnyeong, as they fight off the evil spirits that returned to the kingdom. Many viewers were disturbed at how the show, in just a span of two episodes, managed to disparage the historical figures of the Joseon Dynasty. For instance, King Taejong was shown to be massacring civilians after seeing a vision; Prince Chungnyeong, who later goes on to invent Hangul, is depicted as a nobody who serves alcohol for the arriving exorcist and insults the dynasty’s great ancestors, which was considered taboo during the Joseon era. Furthermore, viewers were shocked to see how Chinese-esque props and cuisine, such as Chinese swords, mooncakes, and century eggs, were used by kings and princes of Joseon. It was deemed not only historically inaccurate, but highly untimely in the middle of a cultural feud between Korea and China.

It is important to note that the main problem with Joseon Exorcist was not the supernatural elements like the evil spirits, but the distortion of history in areas where the audience would expect the historical “truth”. No one is calling for Joseon Exorcist or any other historical drama to accurately document history day-by-day — it would be tedious, and also impossible. The audience relishes the attempts to entertain by adding elements of fantasy, supernatural beings, and alternate history, mostly because it is amusing, but also because they know that those are works of  fantasy and not history. Unfortunately, many writers abuse the freedom they are granted, tweaking and distorting characters and incidents of history, which are misleading and very often dangerous.

It is like a lie. A blatant lie, almost to the point of being sarcastic, is easily unveiled and hence innocuous. But a lie seasoned thoroughly with bits of truth is easily believed and therefore precarious. For Joseon Exorcist, evil spirits are the former, while all of its other disturbing distortions of history are the latter. Historical distortion in TV dramas is dangerous because it very easily distorts and misinforms the audience’s knowledge of history. When embroiled in such controversy, writers often shield themselves with the right to “freedom of expression in entertainment”. But princes serving mooncakes or a king massacring his people, without any historical evidence to back it up, have nothing to do with entertainment. Rather, they are mostly due to a lack of historical awareness on the writer’s behalf to thoroughly research and fact-check history. If elements like these can be changed without affecting the plotline or the entertainment value, why not be historically accurate?

If a TV drama set during or near present times was as inaccurate as many historical shows, it will receive immense criticism. What’s so different about the past? The only difference may be that historical shows set a thousand years ago are less prone to a potential million-dollar lawsuit. It would not be unreasonable to apply the same moral standards and obligation to writers to ensure that their material is as accurate within the domain of being entertaining. In one perspective, portraying history accurately may actually be more important, as the audience who is less aware of history is more likely to take any falsehood as the truth. For K-dramas, which are increasingly being exported internationally, writers bear an extra layer of responsibility to portray Korea’s history accurately to an international audience who would take in most historical content at face value.

Joseon Exorcist will remain a cautionary tale to future drama writers on the dangers of inaccurate portrayal of history. One line citing historical consultation in the credit scene will not be enough. As much as history provides a plethora of exciting topics, writers should work to respect what happened in the past, and not kill the goose that lays the golden egg.