Vincenzo, the popular K-drama currently airing on tvN, is facing backlash from its South Korean viewers after the show's two lead characters were shown eating bibimbap made by a Chinese brand.
The scene, which aired on March 14, featured Vincenzo stars, Song Joong-ki and Jeon Yeo-bin, digging into a bowl of bibimbap. While the set-up seemed harmless and non-controversial, eagle-eyed fans quickly noticed the product placement as the brand Zihaiguo was clearly shown on camera.
This drew outrage from netizens on social media who blasted the network for using Chinese-made instant bibimbap, a South Korean staple. One netizen said that it was not acceptable for the TV network's production to choose a Chinese product when bibimbap originated from Korea.
Others said it was concerning because Vincenzo's international audience on Netflix might think bibimbap is a Chinese dish. While they knew that the product placement was all about making money for the network, given the production cost of the drama series, the South Korean viewers said this was taken too far.
Following the outrage, reports stated that tvN has discussed cancelling the contract with Zihaiguo. The brand might be well-known in China but it is not mainstream in South Korea.
According to AllKpop, the instant food also had a logo of Chungjungone, a South Korean company. Apparently, the brand has a collaboration with Zihaiguo but viewers of Vincenzo were still upset that the show was associated with anything remotely Chinese.
It comes as South Koreans have had growing cultural feud with the Chinese on social media after Global Times, a state-owned newspaper in China, published a story that kimchi, another popular South Korean dish, originated from their culture and is called paocai. Netizens also debated over the origin of the hanbok, a traditional Korean clothing. The Chinese claimed that hanbok is actually their hanfu.
Meanwhile, Vincenzo is set to air its ninth episode on Saturday, March 20, following the filler episode last week. The series follows the story of Vincenzo Cassano, a suave Korean-Italian lawyer, who moves back to South Korea after a fight with his adoptive Italian brother, who threatened to kill him. In his native homeland, Vincenzo had the ultimate goal of recovering gold bars hidden at an abandoned apartment complex.
Only Vincenzo knew of the vault buried in the apartment complex, which belonged to a client, a Chinese tycoon who has passed away. However, Vincenzo needs to use his skill as a lawyer to take ownership of the property from a real estate company. In the process, he became involved with Hong Cha-young (Jeon), another lawyer.
Reception for Vincenzo has been outstanding as it is currently the number one series in South Korea and has been topping Netflix streaming across the world.
