Korean TV station MBC is in hot water after Muslims, Arabs and other international fans have criticized it for wrongly depicting the Islamic religion and Arab culture in the drama the "Man Who Dies to Love."
In the drama, actor Choi Min-soo portrays the roles of Count Saeed Fahd Ali and Jang Dal-koo in the fictional Middle East country of Bodoantia.
However, MBC was scored for disrespecting Islam and Muslims by showing a scene of women wearing hijab, or the traditional headdress worn by Muslim women, in bikinis, and with the line "by one princess, get two free."
Choi Min-soo's character was also seen drinking wine while wearing a Muslim attire.
In a statement, MBC said, "The drama 'Man Who Dies to Live' is a fictional story based on an imaginary country called 'Bodoantia.' Please be advised that all characters, names, places and designation are entirely fictional. MBC has no intention in distorting any particular religion, culture or people and we sincerely apologize for any harm that may have caused to the viewers in regards to the drama."
It added, "Once again, there is no intention of fending the values, culture, religion or people of Arabic and Islamic countries. MBC expresses sincere regrets and formal apologies to the viewers who may have been fended watching the drama. Please be assured that MBC will take extreme caution in production from now onwards."
This is the latest cultural appropriation by people in the Korean entertainment industry.
Recently, Super Junior M member Henry apologized for wearing braids in the music video "I'm Good."
"I know there are a lot of people out there who are really upset and offended with the styling that was done in the video. I apologize and I'm really sorry I offended anybody, especially the Black community," he said, according to AllKPop.
EXO member Kai was also criticized for wearing dreadlocks for the boy band's new album "The War."
