The production team of tvN’s new television drama series “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty” issued an apology after viewers spotted a typographic error in the Chinese characters used during the premiere episode.

The mistake appeared in a scene where chef Yeon Ji-young, played by Girls' Generation member Yoona, time-slips to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and encounters Yi Heon, portrayed by Lee Chae-min.

In the background, a banner meant to display the phrase “Taepyeongseongdae,” which refers to a peaceful and prosperous era under wise rule, incorrectly used a character of the same pronunciation meaning “big,” instead of the correct one meaning “era.”

“There was an error in the Chinese character representation of ‘Taepyeongseongdae’ in the first episode,” the producers said in a statement on Monday. “The production team has recognized the issue and is currently working to correct it. Once the revisions are completed, they will be reflected in reruns and on-demand services.”

“We will be more careful during production and review processes to ensure such errors do not happen again,” the statement continued. “We apologize for the confusion.”

Viewers criticized the error, with some commenting, “It’s absurd to see incorrect Chinese characters in a historical drama,” and “It broke my immersion.”

Given that the drama is available in more than 190 countries via platforms like Netflix, some have also expressed embarrassment about how international audiences might perceive the oversight.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]