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This time, K-drama scene angers Chinese

January 21, 2016

A scene from Tuesday’s episode of “Moolim School” on KBS, where Yoon Shi-woo (played by Lee Hyun-woo), left, and Whang Chi-ang (played by Lee Hong-bin) burn Chinese yuan notes. (Courtesy of KBS)

By The Korea Times Seoul staff

A scene in a Korean TV drama in which two people burn Chinese yuan notes has angered Chinese viewers.

In Tuesday’s fourth episode of “Moolim School” on KBS, Lee Hyun-woo and Lee Hong-bin, who portray students, burned the bills to cause a mountain fire at night. The notes come from the pocket of Wang Chi-ang(Hong-bin), a wealthy Chinese businessman’s son forced to attend the school.

Chinese media outlets reported Wednesday that Chinese netizens are furious about the scene.

An KBS insider said the drama “had no intentions to defame China or Chinese culture” and that the scene would be deleted from any TV repeat and from video-on-demand,” according to Newsis.

The series is about a unique school called “Moolim School,” where teachers teach students from different countries the virtues of honesty, faith, sacrifice and communication rather than academic knowledge.

Earlier this month, Chinese singer Huang An provoked Chinese anger with a Weibo campaign against Korean entertainment company JYP Entertainment and its multi-national K-pop girl group Twice after band member Chou Tzuyu waved a Taiwanese flag during an online broadcast of TV variety show “My Little Television.”

Huang accused the singer of supporting Taiwanese independence from China.

Tzuyu and JYP Entertainment publicly apologized, triggering a backlash from the Taiwan public.

Huang deleted his 4,900 posts after the outcry in Taiwan, according to Hong Kong and Taiwanese media, Wednesday.