K-drama 'King the Land' issues new statement amid the Arab prince controversy

The production team of King the Land issued a second apology this week, following their initial statement.

In a new statement released via JTBC's social media accounts, the production team said that they would like to apologize "for causing unnecessary inconvenience to our viewers without full consideration of other valued cultures." They reiterated that they had no intention of "caricaturing or distorting" a particular country or culture.

"It has been our sharp realization that there has been a lack of understanding, experience, and consideration for other cultures," they added.

They promised that they will "do [their] best" in creating content that is universally appealing, and most importantly, inclusive and respectful of all cultures.

"We will take a thorough look into the part of the video which was considered problematic, and do our best to make sure that right measures are taken. We earnestly promise to our viewers that more care will be taken down the road so that there will be no inconvenience in viewing our content."

Previously, the team behind King the Land commented briefly on the issues of cultural misrepresentation in their recent episodes, 8 and 9, which portrayed the new character Arab Prince Samir (Anupam Tripathi) as a womanizer who enjoys drinking.

“The characters, regions, place names, etc. appearing in the drama are fictitious settings, and there was no intention to satirize or distort a specific culture. The production team respects various cultures and will pay more attention to production so that there is no discomfort in viewing,” they stated.

King the Land airs every Saturday and Sunday on Netflix.