Surinamese government threatens legal action over South Korean series ‘Narco-Saint’ by Netflix after accusations of false depiction of the country.
South Korean Netflix series ‘Narco-Saint’ (Suriname in Korean) is being sued by the South American country Suriname, which serves as the backdrop of the show, according to an article in the Suriname Herald published on September 13, Tuesday.
In the article it stated that Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation Albert Ramdin held a press conference on September 12 saying that the country will take legal action against the producers of the Netflix series as they are depicting Suriname as a corrupt country associated with cocaine.
Minister Ramdin expressed his dissatisfaction explaining that the drama was destroying the image of their country by portraying it as a drug nation when in reality, it “is no longer a country associated with drugs.”
“However, the country is on the verge of a crisis of being tainted again with the image due to Netflix’s recent series. I am going to make contact with Korea regarding the issue,” the minister said.
The newly- released show revolves around the story of a man who risked his life to join a top secret mission that aims to capture a Korean drug lord operating in Suriname, based on real-life events from a Korean drug lord named Cho Bong-haeng who operated a massive trafficking organization in Suriname between the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“Whether the practices presented… are true or false, it’s creating a negative perception. The whole world sees these things, so this is not good,” Minister Ramdin added.
The Korean government was then asked if an official message of protest from the Surinamese government has been passed to their office, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “After the Netflix series aired, the Surinamese government has not expressed its position to our government. We are continuing efforts to maintain friendly relations with Suriname."
Tags: #Netflix, #drugs, #series