Snowdrop

Synopsis

Snowdrop takes place in 1987, a pivotal year in South Korean history that included the June 1987 Democracy Movement, a mass protest movement with the purpose of forcing the dictatorship in South Korea to hold fair elections, and the resulting December 1987 democratic elections, which led to the end of the authoritarian Fifth Republic of Korea and the establishment of the democratic Sixth Republic of Korea.

Snowdrop is set in November and December 1987. Lim Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in) plays a graduate student who is found covered in blood by Eun Yeong-ro (Jisoo), a female university student who hides him from the government in her dorm room. However, it is revealed that Soo-ho is not who he appears to be. Against the backdrop of political upheaval, the pair's story unfolds and the two develop a romantic relationship.

Cast and characters

Main

Jung Hae-in as Lim Soo-ho (27 years old), formerly named Ri Tae-san, alias Lim Soo-hyeok. He is a North Korean agent with a mission assigned in South Korea. He lives as a graduate student preparing for a master's thesis in the Department of Economics at the University of Berlin. He fell in love with Yeong-ro at first sight.

Jisoo as Eun Yeong-ro (20 years old), a freshman at Hosu Women's University in the English Literature Department and daughter of Eun Chang-su who is the director of the ANSP. She fell in love with Soo-ho at first sight.

Yoo In-na as Kang Cheong-A / Kim Eun-Hye (34 years old), a charismatic and skilled surgeon at a university hospital. She is later revealed to be a North Korean spy.

Jang Seung-jo as Lee Gang-mu (36 years old), the leader of Team One in the Anti-Communist Investigation Bureau, Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP), who seeks to arrest Soo-ho over the death of his colleague. He gets taken hostage by Soo-ho afterward.

Yoon Se-ah as Pi Seung-hee (43 years old), the housemistress of Hosu Women's University dormitory.

Kim Hye-yoon as Gye Bun-ok (24 years old), a phone operator at Hosu Women's University dormitory, who could not go to college due to financial issues. She was friends with Yeong-ro but became enemies after accusing her to be the cause of the hostage situation.

Jung Yoo-jin as Jang Han-na (32 years old), an impulsive, but passionate ANSP agent, who is Gang-mu's junior and fiancée who was left behind six years ago.

Supporting

Kim Min-kyu as Joo Gyeok-chan, a North Korean agent, who is prone to violence.

Jang In-sub as Lee Eung-cheol, a North Korean agent, who is trusting and friendly towards Soo-ho.

Heo Nam-jun as Oh Gwang-tae, a friend of Lim Soo-ho and a university student who likes Seol-hui.

Jeon Moo-song as Lim Ji-rok, the Head of United Front Dept., DPRK and Soo-ho's adoptive father, who adopted both Soo-ho and his sister Soo-hui from a coal mine.

Jung Ae-ri as Choi Soo-ryeon, the Deputy Director of Ministry of State Security, DPRK.

Huh Joon-ho as Eun Chang-su, the Director of the ANSP and Yeong-ro's father. He truly cares for Yeong-ro despite their strained relationship.

Kim Jung-nan as Hong Ae-ra, a former film actress, Eun Chang-su's wife and Yeong-ro's stepmother, who has a poor relationship with Yeong-ro.

Park Sung-woong as Nam Tae-il, He is the Secretary-General of the Aemin Party and former Director of the ANSP.

Ariane Desgagnés-Leclerc as Gong Gil-soon, a longtime friend of Kang Cheong-ya posing as ABK Partners fund manager Linda Young.

Jung Hye-young as Cho Seong-sim, daughter of a four-star general and Nam Tae-il's wife.

Jung Shin-hye as Ko Hye-ryeong, a fourth-year student in the Department of Vocal Music and Yeong-ro's dormmate. Her birth name was Ko Hye-ja before she legally changed her name.

Kim Mi-soo as Yeo Jeong-min, a fourth-year History major student and Yeong-ro's dormmate, who joined the democratic protests against the authoritarian government.

Cameos

Lee Jung-hyun as Park Geum-cheol, a North Korean agent and Soo-ho's colleague, who committed suicide upon his arrest by Gang-mu. (Episode 1–2, 12)

Song Geon-hee as Eun Yeong-u, Yeong-ro's brother, was forcibly sent into the military by his father after his involvement in the democratic protests was discovered. (Episode 2, 5, 6, 8)

Chae Won-bin as Lim Soo-hui, Soo-ho's younger sister. (Episode 2, 10)

Yum Jung-ah as Song Hye-joo, the former housemother of Hosu Women's University dormitory. She was believed to have committed suicide. (Episode 16)

Production

Development

Written by Yoo Hyun-mi and directed by Jo Hyun-tak, Snowdrop is their second collaboration after having worked together on the hit satirical thriller Sky Castle (2018–19). Based on the memoirs of a man who escaped a political prison camp in North Korea, Yoo Hyun-mi had been planning the series for twelve years. The early working title of the series was Ehwa Woman's University Dormitory (이대 기숙사; idae gisuksa).

Casting

On June 18, 2020, media reported that Kim Hye-yoon, who was propelled to fame after starring in Sky Castle, was in talks to star in the series; her agency confirmed that she was reviewing the offer. On August 18, reports of Jisoo being cast as one of the lead actresses for the series surfaced. It was confirmed later that day by Jisoo's agency, YG Entertainment. On August 24, Kim Hye-yoon was confirmed to co-star alongside Jisoo and it was reported that Jung Hae-in had received an offer but was still reviewing it. Jang Seung-jo officially joined the cast on August 26, followed by Jung Yoo-jin on September 17 and Yoon Se-ah on September 18. On October 5, 2020, the main cast and details on the characters were confirmed by JTBC. Yoo In-na officially joined the cast on December 28.

Filming

On November 24, 2020, JTBC announced that filming for Snowdrop was temporarily halted after a supporting actor came into close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The following day, JTBC confirmed that filming would resume after all cast and crew members tested negative for the virus. Filming was completed in late July 2021.

Original soundtrack

The following is the official track list of Snowdrop (Original Television Soundtrack) album. Singles included on the album were released from December 18, 2021, to January 22, 2022.

Reception

Critical response

Pierce Conran of the South China Morning Post awarded the series a 1 out of 5 stars rating, describing it as a "clumsy political thriller" and a major disappointment. Conran criticized the "static" nature of the plot, noting that the narrative became trapped in a "repetitive cycle" once the hostage crisis began in the university dormitory. He took issue with the show's "jarring" tonal shifts and its "insensitive" handling of the 1987 pro-democracy movement, specifically pointing out that the attempt to humanize national security agents and North Korean spies felt "ill-judged" given the historical context. Furthermore, he stated that despite the casting of Jisoo and Jung Hae-in, their performances were stifled by a script that prioritized "melodramatic tropes" over meaningful character development.

Rhian Daly of NME rated the series 3 out of 5 stars, defining it as an "ambitious but flawed tale of star-crossed lovers." Although the review noted the drama's strong initial premise, it criticized the "convoluted storytelling" and a significant lack of narrative focus, stating that the series became "overly extended" and "tedious" as it progressed. Daly concluded that the plot struggled to sustain its "emotional stakes" through the 16-episode run, ultimately hampered by a repetitive central conflict.

Viewership

The episodes of Snowdrop were released weekly on Disney+ in Asia-Pacific regions simultaneously with the television airings. On January 4, NME reported that Snowdrop was ranked first among the most-watched series on Disney+ in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In Japan, the program was the third most-watched series on the streaming platform, behind Hawkeye and The Book of Boba Fett. The series later premiered on February 9, 2022, on Disney+ in the United States, Canada and Europe while in Latin America it was released on Star+ and on Hotstar in India. The series also premiered in the Philippines on November 17, 2022, when Disney+ launched in the country.

Controversy

Pre-release

Snowdrop became the subject of controversy due to accusations of historical negationism. In March 2021, parts of the synopsis and character profiles were leaked online which revealed that the male protagonist is actually a North Korean spy posing as a pro-democracy student activist who infiltrates South Korea to instigate chaos and political instability. The premise drew backlash from South Korean netizens due to the drama being purportedly set against the backdrop of the 1987 June Struggle peaceful mass protest movement that had led to the establishment of democracy in South Korea. Netizens pointed out that the revelation of the male protagonist as a North Korean spy invokes false claims made by the authoritarian Chun Doo-hwan administration against pro-democracy activists that framed them as North Korean spies. Netizens also criticized the character Lee Kang-moo, a fictional agent of the real-life Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) which served as the intelligence agency of the Chun dictatorship, being purportedly portrayed as just and righteous despite numerous human rights abuses committed by the ANSP.

On March 26, JTBC released their first official statement on the controversy that read, "The drama is not distorting the pro-democracy movement nor is it glorifying the Agency for National Security Planning. It is a black comedy drama satirizing the political situation between the two Koreas under the authoritarian government in the 1980s. Also, it is a romance drama showing young people who sacrifice their love." On March 30, JTBC released a second statement regarding the controversy that read, "Snowdrop is set around the 1987 presidential election, and not a drama that deals with the pro-democracy movement". The statement continued, "The drama portrays a fictional story about the military regime, the ANSP, and others in power at the time colluding with the North Korean dictatorship and planning a conspiracy to retain their power." Regarding the character Lee Kang-moo, who is an agent of the ANSP, the statement read, "The character is portrayed as a man of principle who turns his back on the corrupt organization and does what he thinks is right." The name of the female protagonist at the time, Eun Young-cho, had drawn scrutiny, as the given name "Young-cho" bore similarity to the name of real-life pro-democracy activist Chun Young-cho. The statement denied that the name of the female protagonist character was in reference to Chun Young-cho, but confirmed that the character's name would be changed.

On March 30, protesters parked a truck bearing protest signs at the site of the JTBC building in Seoul.

Post-release

On December 18, 2021, the first episode of Snowdrop aired. On December 19, a new online petition to the Blue House was filed demanding that the airing of the drama be suspended. In a few hours over 80,000 people had signed the petition, and over 200,000 people had signed the petition by the end of the day. The petition reached 300,000 signatures by December 21. By December 22, there were at least 30 active petitions to the Blue House demanding the cancellation of the drama's broadcast. On December 24, a separate online petition to the Blue House was filed demanding the shutdown of JTBC for its "unconstitutional drama", which reached 30,000 signatures on its first day.

By December 21, around 3,000 requests to cancel Snowdrop were posted to JTBC's website and around 740 complaints were made to the Korea Communications Standards Commission regarding the drama. On December 21, an official citizen complaint was filed with South Korea's Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission against Snowdrop's screenwriter Yoo Hyun-mi and director Jo Hyun-tak for violating the National Security Act. The World Citizen Declaration, a youth civic nonprofit that supports citizens resisting government violence, filed an injunction in the Seoul Western District Court to halt the broadcast of Snowdrop on December 22. That same day, Head of JTBC Studios Jung Kyeong-moon held a meeting with The World Citizen Declaration in which JTBC Studios reiterated that it did not intend to distort history. The Seoul Western District Court dismissed The World Citizen Declaration's lawsuit on December 29, finding in its decision that even if there was distortion of history in the plot, there was insufficient evidence to show the infringement of the group's civil rights or that the drama's audience may blindly accept the historical content as genuine.

Advertisers such as TEAZEN, Ssarijai, Heung Il Furniture, Ganisong, P&J Group, and Han's Electronics announced they were pulling advertisements from the broadcast of the show and issued apologies. Daegu University, where Snowdrop was filmed, stated that it requested the name of the university be taken off of the drama's credits.

Memorial institutions of student activists Bak Jong-cheol and Lee Han-yeol, whose deaths became key inciting events of the 1987 June Struggle, have criticized Snowdrop. The Bak Jong-cheol Memorial Foundation spoke out against the drama, calling it a "disparagement of the democratization movement" and "a drama with an obvious intention to distort." The Lee Han-yeol Memorial Museum also called on the drama to be cancelled. JTBC Studios attempted to arrange a meeting with a representative of the Bak Jong-cheol Memorial Foundation, but its efforts were unsuccessful.