Here Are The 3 Reasons Why JTBC Can’t Cancel “Snowdrop” — According To Netizens

The highly anticipated K-Drama Snowdrop has been receiving heavy criticisms since news of its production began back in March. The series, which follows the story of the democratic movement in South Korea, has proven to be extremely problematic as Korean netizens throughout the nation continue to express their anger with the K-Drama.

As demands for Snowdrop‘s cancellation take over numerous petition sites, a recent online community discussion has started to go viral about why it might be hard for JTBC to halt this production. According to an anonymous netizen, there are numerous factors that play into the overall reason why Snowdrop will most likely continue to be broadcast despite all the backlash.

Poster for “Snowdrop” | JTBC

1. Disney Plus Contract

Snowdrop previously made headlines after partnering up with the streaming service, Disney Plus. This was an incredible deal as the JTBC series would become one of the streaming platform’s first ever Korean dramas to be featured on the site. Not only that, but Snowdrop is only available to watch on this streaming platform, which makes its accessibility even more limited than other productions.

| Disney Plus, JTBC

Given all of these factors, netizens speculate that the contract between JTBC and Disney Plus is immeasurable and breaking such a contract would prove to be detrimental to the Korean broadcasting company. While the exact number is unknown, many believe this may be the biggest reason why JTBC is unable to cancel the production of Snowdrop.

Jung Hae In (left) and BLACKPINK’s Jisoo (right) in “Snowdrop” | JTBC

2. Chinese Company Investment

Another large factor that may be preventing JTBC to cancel the series is the investment that the K-Drama received from a Chinese company. According to different reports, it was confirmed that Snowdrop received a whopping investment of ₩100 billion KRW (about $83.9 million USD) from a Chinese IT company called Tencent.

Logo for Chinese IT company, Tencent.

The IT company is an internet service platform—and a massive Chinese conglomerate. Similarly to Disney Plus’s contract, the agreement between JTBC and Tencent also becomes grim if the broadcasting company were to go forward with Snowdrop‘s cancellation. They would be contractually obligated to not only return the investment to Tencent, but also repay back the money they already spent while filming the production.

| JTBC

3. JTBC’s K-Drama Until the Morning Comes

Last, but not least is another JTBC production. You may be wondering what another Korean series might have to do with Snowdrop‘s cancellation demands. According to netizens, it’s because JTBC’s upcoming production Until the Morning Comes is based on a Chinese novel that has similar governmental sentiments to Snowdrop—and it also received criticisms because of its plot.

Lead actors in “Until the Morning Comes” Ha Seok Kyu (left) and Jung Yu Mi (right).

The plot follows the story of the Communist Party in China and the alleged truth behind it.  The original author of the novel criticized the Hong Kong democratization movement that happened back in 2019, even going as far to calling the protesters “lazy.” 

While it’s not the same exact plot, there are overlapping political elements in both Snowdrop and Until the Morning Comes. This means that if JTBC were to cancel the production of Snowdrop, they would be “forced” to cancel the production of Until the Morning Comes. However, it’s been reported that Until the Morning Comes has filmed up until the 8th episode, making it extremely difficult for the production team to consider cancelling the series.