Vietnamese government asks Netflix to stop showing 'Little Women' series

Television

Published: 05 Oct. 2022, 17:31

Vietnamese government asks Netflix to stop showing 'Little Women' series

A scene from tvN'S drama series ″Litte Women″ which is also available on Netlix [TVN]

The Vietnamese government requested Netflix to stop showing its Korean original series “Little Women” on Wednesday, insisting that the drama distorts the Vietnam War (1960-75) and violates media and cinema laws.

Vietnamese newspaper Tuio Tre reported the news on Tuesday, saying that the Director of the Department of Broadcasting, Television and Electronic Information Le Quang Tu Do requested Netflix to stop showing the Korean drama in Vietnam beginning Wednesday.

The Vietnamese government argued that the depiction of the Vietnam War, especially in episodes three and eight, are misleading.

According to Vietnamese media outlets, Netflix responded to the request by saying that it would remove the series within this week.

The drama series is produced by tvN and is also available on Netflix. When it premiered on the streaming platform last month, it stayed on Netflix’s 10 most-watched non-English series list for several weeks. The show was No. 1 in Vietnam and other Asian countries including Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand last week, according to data analysis company FlixPatrol.

“Little Women,” loosely based on the classic novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott, stars Kim Go-eun, Park Ji-hu and Nam Ji-hyun. Unlike the actual book, which followed four sisters, the series revolves around three.

It is a mystery thriller following the three sisters as they find themselves dealing with the case of a missing slush fund of 70 billion won ($50.6 million) in which the people involved keep dying.

“Little Women” premiered on Sept. 3 and will come to an end at 12th episode on Oct. 9.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]