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| Poster for SBS drama “Racket Boys” / Courtesy of Pan Entertainment |
By Dong Sun-hwa
The production team of SBS’s ongoing TV series “Racket Boys” apologized Thursday over its negative portrayal of the Indonesian badminton team and audience.
The apology came three days after the network aired the fifth episode of the drama, which featured a Korean badminton player heading for Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, to compete against a local player. In the episode, a Korean coach surnamed Fang ― played by Ahn Nae-sang ― grumbled that the Indonesian staff deliberately did not provide a proper space for his player to practice and criticized the Indonesian audience for “cheering at their opponent’s mistakes” during their game.
The scenes drew the ire of many Indonesian viewers, who say the drama belittled Indonesians.
“It’s really disappointing,” an internet user commented on SBS’s Instagram. “We Indonesian fans never mock other countries. Please clarify what Fang said.”
Another wrote, “So many Indonesians enjoy this drama, but you disappointed them with racist scene… You have to apologize.”
Such reactions pushed SBS to issue an apology.
“We apologize for offending our viewers in Indonesia. We did not intend to insult any particular country, player or audience … We will make sure to take extra care on filming our next episodes,” SBS said on Instagram.
“Racket Boys,” starring Kim Sang-kyung, Oh Na-ra, Tang Jun-sang among others, follows 16 junior badminton players living in a small town. Premiered on May 31, the 16-part series has been smooth sailing in terms of viewership ratings, with its latest episode scoring 5 percent viewership nationwide.
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| Alex Lee, a character in SBS’s ongoing drama “Penthouse: War in Life” / Courtesy of SBS |
This is not the first time that a Korean drama has taken flak for being culturally insensitive. The production team of the third season of SBS’s suspense drama “Penthouse: War in Life” also made an apology on June 14 for its controversial depiction of a Korean-American character named Alex Lee, played by actor Park Eun-seok. In the series’ second episode ― which was broadcast June 12 ― Lee appeared in thick dreadlocks and with golden grills on his teeth. Many viewers took offense with his look, saying it reflects racial stereotypes linked to the African American community.
Actor Park also took to TikTok ― a Chinese video-sharing platform ― to apologize.
“I’d like to apologize to the people who took offense by the character (Alex)’s appearance,” he wrote. “It was more admiration of the culture than mockery but now I am aware that the approach was more CA (cultural appropriation.) It was a wrong attempt for character development. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to grow in awareness.”
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