[HanCinema's News] "Twenty Five Twenty One" Attacked for Tasteless 9/11 Scene

On April 2nd the turn-of-the-century era romance drama "Twenty Five Twenty One" aired its fifteenth episode, to ratings of 9.592%. But the episode drew significant controversy for a depiction of September 11th that many considered to be tasteless. In the show's internal continuity, the male lead, played by Nam Joo-hyuk, is in the United States working as a reporter. When 9/11 hits, he has to report on the terrorist attack on the spot for South Korean audiences.

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The controversy arises less from the reporting itself as the reaction from the female lead played by Kim Tae-ri. As this is a huge opportunity for her longtime friend, she has a huge, beaming smile in response to this event. The juxtaposition of a real world tragedy with a big career boost for her friend was, perhaps, intended to be ironic. But commenters in South Korea attacked the scene for being in very poor taste, and were surprised that Netflix would air such a scene on its worldwide platform.

Interestingly, the controversy appears to be almost entirely localized within the South Korean zeitgeist. At the time of this writing the only English language publications to report on the controversy are ones devoted exclusively to coverage of South Korean cultural content. "Twenty Five Twenty One" finished its sixteen episode run on April 3rd with ratings of 12.636%.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Twenty Five Twenty One" is directed by Jung Ji-hyun, Kim Seung-ho-III, written by Kwon Do-eun, and features Kim Tae-ri, Nam Joo-hyuk, Kim Ji-yeon, Choi Hyun-wook, Lee Joo-myung, Seo Jae-hee. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2022/02/12~2022/04/03, Sat, Sun 21:10 on tvN.