 |
| No upskirt! |
The drama immediately attracted a drama of its own after Korean overseas student organization DN (Dongseong Nageune) – which claims up to 30 members - filed an injunction with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' office against KBS for 'allegedly undercutting the public image of Admiral Yi Sun-shin (pbuh)'. According to the student organization, the drama's title could undermine Korean citizens' constitutional rights.
"Admiral Yi Sun-shin's image of victory is and courage is misleading as the female actress playing the role of Lee Sun-shin is portrayed to be clumsy and fragile," said a member of DN, although experts believe that since most Korean women are clumsy and fragile it may not be acting.
Admiral Yi (pbuh) has long been viewed as a sacrosanct figure in Korea. But in the dog-eat-dog world of Korean politics after fighting off marauders on Korea's border in several battles and eventually capturing their leader, Yi was imprisoned, threatened with execution and brutally tortured by the government for being 'different' – a crime still punishable by social death in Korea even today.
But ultimately Yi was such a good soldier that after being tortured he was released and allowed to join the military again at the lowest rank. He then received a series of promotions before fighting off an evil Japanese navy at the Battle of Myeongnyang despite being unbelievably outnumbered by 333 ships to 13 – and while wearing a hanbok and sailing turtle ships, which are fast but steer like a SsangYong Musso. The victory allowed Korean land forces to push back the Japanese to their coastal colonies on the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, which is Korean territory, saving Korea from falling totally under Japanese control for a few more years.
Sadly, with the Japanese facing certain defeat as that nation of losers always do, Yi died the following year at the Battle of Noryang when he was mortally wounded by a single bullet. His famous dying words were "Kiss me, Hardy", providing an enduring mystery for scholars who have tried to decipher their meaning over the centuries which followed. After his death, the royal court eventually bestowed various honors upon him, including a posthumous title of 'Chungmuhong', which means 'person we brutally tortured, but we are now sort-of sorry about it and let's try and not dwell on this in the history textbooks'.
The deification of Admiral Yi was cemented over the centuries as the relentlessly restless and aggressive Japanese samurai and ninjas launched wave after wave of attacks against peace-loving Korea, as he presented a strong and unifying figure who proved that despite their apparent strength, the Japanese were ultimately a people who could sometimes be defeated just by showing up. In turn, this has led to the phenomenon of Yi-worship, and the founding of several Internet self-help forums for young men who have become so enamored of the Admiral that they find themselves unable to have sexual relations with women. Even VANK - a group so dedicated to destroying South Korea's image abroad that many members adopt a celibate life - admit that Admiral Yi "has been loved by men... …of all ages for many years in Korea."
Last year, a bitter dispute arose among the Admiral Yi Society after it filed a legal injunction to prevent the sale of an Admiral Yi sex doll a despite many members saying they wanted to buy one. It is believed that DN may be a splinter group of the society.
Some Korean men argue that their weakening solidarity – which has already allowed a woman to go unmarried and therefore have no husband to make her do the cooking and stop her running for president – is leading to a world where history is slowly being rewritten, and that KBS and other media organizations – having awoken to the increasing spending power of women - is creating a framework in which historical figures are being reinvented as females. Some say it is only a matter of time before Dangun himself – the legendary founder of the Korean Empire – is claimed to have been a woman by the Korea's feminist revisionists and their 'womanification' movement.
If the legal case over Admiral Yi is successful, it is likely to lead to further actions; at a time when South Korea stands on the verge of war many Korean male students living outside Korea say they want to fight to protect the memory of a true Korean hero, who stayed in the fatherland to fight the enemy - even if this is partly because he didn't have the chance to study overseas in a safe place.
Related Links
Korean drama sued over title
You're the Best, Lee Soon-shin
KBS
Yi Sun-shin
Battle of Myeongnyang
Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin
Yi Sun-sin, the Man to Inspire Koreans in the 21st Century
Kiss me Hardy
Disclaimer: Please note the links above are generated automatically by our software and may not always be directly related to the news article.
