Pop Culture Critic Refuses To Call “Perfect Crown” A K-Drama—The Brutal Review Goes Viral

She didn’t hold back.
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Jenny Kang
Jenny Kang

IU and Byeon Woo Seok‘s K-Drama, Perfect Crown, has seen its fair share of buzz online—but one pop culture critic’s brutally honest take on it has gone extra-viral online.

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Recently, a post on the Korean online community theqoo gained attention after sharing several tweets from critic Oh Soo Kyung about the show. The post quickly drew attention from netizens, many of whom reacted to her blunt criticism of the series.

In the tweets, the critic responded to a question asking whether she planned to review Perfect Crown. Her answer immediately caught attention.

I was asked whether I’m not going to critique Perfect Crown. But I think of it less as a ‘drama’ and more as a moving photoshoot, so it’s not something I’m interested in as someone who critiques dramas. I did watch the first two episodes and…

— Oh Soo Kyung

The comment quickly spread among viewers, especially because Perfect Crown has drawn divided reactions for its lavish visuals and controversial storytelling.

The critic continued by clarifying that her issue was not with the show’s genre or fictional setting. According to her, she had no problem with the series using a fusion historical concept or imagining a constitutional monarchy.

Korean Historian Criticizes “Perfect Crown” For Inaccurate Portrayal Of History

Instead, she criticized the drama for failing to build a world that made sense on its own terms.

No matter how genre-transcending the content may be, I believe the structure has to at least make sense within that world for the characters and narrative to have plausibility. And that is exactly what Perfect Crown failed at the most.

The drama ruined its narrative and characters? Then I don’t consider that a drama. At that point, I Am Solo is more of a drama…

— Oh Soo Kyung

After her tweets began spreading online, Oh Soo Kyung also appeared to respond to one comment arguing that, whether the drama was “right or wrong,” its popularity still reflected the “spirit of the times” because it followed the public trend.

The critic pushed back on that interpretation.

First of all, it’s not ‘No. 1 globally = a good drama,’ and it’s also not ‘spirit of the times = exempt from criticism.’ Just because something is No. 1 globally and has a strong fandom does not mean you can say that a poorly made work was made well. It probably prioritized being something that would ‘sell well.’ That’s why it comes across like a ‘moving photoshoot’… But then I guess that’s what the public wants.

— Oh Soo Kyung

While some viewers have praised Perfect Crown for its cast, visuals, and styling, the critic’s comments resonated with others who felt the drama’s writing and world-building did not live up to its presentation.

The viral post has since sparked debate over whether the drama’s popularity should be separated from criticism of its quality—and whether a drama can be visually impressive while still failing as a story.

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  • I was curious, so I watched it, but it’s so old-fashioned. I tried to just call it a guilty pleasure, but the setting is sloppy and the lack of originality is obvious, so it annoyed me… I can’t get emotionally invested. The leads are so in love, apparently, but it’s boring to me.
  • LOL. Not even a photoshoot because the leads don’t know how to work their bodies.
  • ‘I Am Solo is more of a drama,’ LMAO.
  • Even so, it’s interesting that the viewership numbers are coming out like that. Is it actor power? Maybe people are watching just to see those actors looking pretty and handsome, so calling it a moving photoshoot might be right.
  • It doesn’t have even 1% of authenticity…
  • If they wanted to make a masterpiece through viewership ratings, The Penthouse is more of a masterpiece. Besides, it had good acting. LOL.
  • The highborn setting, narrative, and originality are worse than free web novels written by amateur writers…
  • It’s garbage.
  • It’s not even pretty enough to be called a photoshoot… The similar-setting dramas from 20 years ago were prettier.
  • Oh, true. It’s just a photoshoot. But even as a photoshoot, it wasn’t good…
  • For a photoshoot, even the visual beauty is just whatever…
  • Not even because the male lead has one look and one look only. Not just for this show but for all of his commercials too. He looks like a robot. What exactly am I watching?

Read more about the fierce backlash that the cast, too, is currently facing:

“Perfect Crown” Actor Fiercely Bashed Despite 10 Years Of Experience

Source: theqoo
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