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Byun Sung-hyun, the director of Netflix’s latest Korean movie, Kill Boksoon, was recently alleged to have promoted Ilbe, a controversial online site, in the film. He was accused of being a member of the infamous online community after Korean viewers noticed an allegedly problematic scene in the movie.
Netflix released a statement sharing that the scene in question held no “political meaning” except showcasing assassins’ ranks.
Ilbe, short for Ilgan best, which translates to 'daily best,' is a community website that is considered extremely problematic. It posts anti-feminist, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBTQIA+ content regularly, as per Koreaboo.
The controversial scene was about the mission envelopes contract killers are given based on their ranks. An envelope with a red seal implies a low-level killer’s mission while a blue seal signifies a higher-grade assassin’s mission. The former contained the words ‘Suncheon-Jeolla’ typed on it, while the latter read, ‘Seoul-Korea’ in the film.
Viewers believed that the director showcased his prejudice towards the Jeolla province by separating it and making it rank lower. The Jeolla province has often been a target of ridicule by the Ilbe community.
Netflix states the controversial Kill Boksoon scene was to “show the differences in the scope of work”
Netflix’s Kill Boksoon landed in trouble after its director, Byun Sung-hyun, was alleged to be a member of a controversial online community called Ilbe.
The controversy arose because of a scene that assigned the Jeolla province to a low-ranking assassin. The scene shows how the contract killing company, MK ENT, distinguishes the hierarchy of assassins.
A-rank killers, such as Gil Bok-soon (Jeon Do-yeon), were given international missions in blue sealed envelopes such as ‘Vladivostok-Russia’ and ‘Seoul-Korea.’ On the other hand, low-rank assassins were given an envelope with a red seal with ‘Suncheon-Jeolla’ written on it.
Netflix issued a statement on April 4 denying the director’s involvement in the Ilbe community. They explained the scene and added that it had no political undertones.
Translated into English as per Koreaboo, the statement read:
“In Kill Boksoon, there is a mission in which the killers of the assassin firm MK ENT are separated by grade. A-grade killers, alongside Gil Bok Soon, also received global missions, so they received envelopes with the country labeled on them. C-grade killers only take part in domestic missions, and so they are given an envelope with a province written on it.
It added:
This was done to show the difference in the scope of work and doesn’t hold any other political meaning.”
Apart from the scene including color-coded envelopes, Kill Boksoon has garnered rave reviews from both critics and viewers online.
The story revolves around a contract killer, Gil Bok-soon, who tries to balance her life as an assassin and a single mother. The movie earned an 80% critics score and an 84% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
