For anyone in the US who’s been using a VPN to secretly watch the controversial Korean drama Snowdrop — and based on social media posts, it seems that tons of you are watching it that way — we’ve got some good news. If that method has proven too cumbersome, or if you’ve been frustrated at missing out entirely on this buzzy new K-drama starring one of the members of the K-pop girl group Blackpink, there’s about to be a much easier way to check out this title. It’s arriving, finally, in the US on Disney Plus. And that will happen in just a matter of days from now.
February 9 is the release date in the US. This follows Snowdrop, which stars Blackpink’s Jisoo as well as actor Jung Hae-in, having been out for several weeks now in Disney+’s Asia-Pacific territories. What’s more, it should also be noted that the series has been a top-five title in most of those countries. And that’s in spite of attracting considerable controversy.
Snowdrop Disney Plus US release date
At the heart of this drama is a romance between a university student (Jisoo’s character) and a North Korean spy (Jung Hae-in). And the story takes place in South Korea in 1987. That was the year of the so-called June Democratic Struggle, when mass protests forced the then-ruling government in the country to hold elections in addition to other democratic reforms. The result was, among other things, the democratic government of the present-day South Korean republic.
Jisoo plays a student who lives in an all-female dormitory. Jung, meanwhile, plays a graduate student who shows up in her room suddenly covered in blood. As a result, he proceeds to hide out for an extended period in the dormitory at Hosoo Women’s University. It’s not spoiling anything to add that a romance, consequently, ensues. But, as we noted, Jung’s character is a man with a secret.
As for the controversy we alluded to?
The storyline around the North Korean character set off a huge outcry in South Korea. Specifically, over his character being even tangentially connected to the country’s pro-democracy activists. At the time, that was a common charge leveled at activists — that they were spies from the north. And Korean authorities tortured, jailed, and even killed many of the activists on that basis. Many viewers were, thus, loathe to see that bogus claim seemingly legitimized in a high-profile TV series.
New K-drama could make waves
South Korean TV network JTBC released a statement defending the show early on. It read, in part: “Snowdrop is a creative work that shows the personal stories of individuals who were used and victimized by those in power.”
Meanwhile, one additional thing American viewers can also look forward to? Unlike the way Snowdrop rolled out weekly elsewhere, the whole thing will be available to US Disney+ subscribers right away.
“Snowdrop is a heart-warming fictional melodrama about a young couple in love, and as the story unfolds, find themselves enduring an unbearable pain that one rarely encounters in a lifetime,” director Jo Hyun-tak said in a statement. “I hope global audiences find this heartfelt series also gripping and suspenseful as the two come to face their fate.”
