Historical detail activists in Korea have mounted a new campaign protesting drama series, "Queen Woo", scheduled to premiere on domestic streaming platform TVing on 29 August.

Defenders of the series are rejecting the accusations, saying the drama is fiction not documentary.

Set in the Goguryeo Kingdom, the eight-episode period action show is about a queen’s battle to secure the throne after her husband dies with no heir.

Jeon Jong-seo ("Burning") stars as the queen at the centre of the brutal political jostling that breaks out after the king’s death. Ji Chang-wook plays King Go Nam Moo, and Kim Mu-yeol stars as prime minister Eulpaso. 

The series is written by Lee Byeong-hak ("The Royal Tailor") and directed by Jung Se-kyo ("Oh! My Gran"). Production houses are Andmarq, Compass Pictures and CJ ENM Studios. 

The trailer released on 31 July had 690,000 views on YouTube as of 11 August.

Response to the promotional campaign accuses filmmakers of being over-influenced by China’s Qin Dynasty costume and hair styles, including top-knots, crowns, and fastenings.

Local media highlight the ongoing cultural feud between Korea and China over various issues, including the origins of kimchi and hanbok, according to the Korea Times, which pointed to concerns that the drama “could inadvertently strengthen China’s efforts to distort history such as through the so-called Northeast Project”. 

"Queen Woo" has resurrected the 2021 outcry over Korean broadcaster SBS’ historical-supernatural series, "Joseon Exorcist", which was canceled after airing two episodes after viewer backlash. 

The series was lambasted for historical inaccuracies and Chinese props, including the Chinese traditional mooncakes and a shaman’s Chinese-style costume.

In 2022, tvN’s period drama, "Under the Queen’s Umbrella", faced controversy for falsely portraying Korean history when it came to royal customs and using modern simplified Chinese characters in scenes.