'Snowdrop': JTBC To Air 3 New Episodes Of Controversial Series This Week Amid Backlash

South Korean network JTBC has announced it is airing three new episodes of "Snowdrop" this week. This comes amid a petition calling to shut down the network and cancel the controversial drama starring Blackpink's Jisoo.

JTBC released an official statement Thursday saying Episodes 3, 4 and 5 of "Snowdrop" will air from Friday to Sunday to help viewers have a better understanding of the show's narrative.

"Episodes 3 to 5 of 'Snowdrop,' which will air for three days from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26, will reveal the background story of Su Ho (played by Jung Hae-In), a North Korean spy dispatched to South Korea, coming to Korea and the unfair power situation, which will explain the probability of the initial setting," the network said as per Soompi.

"In the drama, it will turn out that the Agency for National Security Planning is the organization that brings the spies to South Korea, and the leaders of North Korea and South Korea will collude for power and money. In addition, [the episodes will contain] stories of young people who get caught up in their secret operations," it added.

Criticisms against the show's plot have poured in since its Dec. 18 premiere. According to viewers, the series distorts the truth in the nation's unforgettable 1987 pro-democracy movement, which led to the demise of many people, including student activists who fought against the oppressive military regime.

JTBC already explained that the drama is fictional and its characters do not represent government organizations but to no avail. A signature campaign calling for the cancelation of the drama was filed before Seoul's Blue House (South Korea's executive office). The show's advertisers also pulled out after netizens on an online forum urged each other to boycott brands featured in "Snowdrop."

A new petition was lodged at the Blue House on Thursday calling to shut down JTBC following its refusal to pull the plug on the drama. The said petition also provided a detailed explanation of what makes the show problematic.

"The drama glorifies the Ministry of National Security Agency (NSA or An-Gi-Bu), which became an institution of dictatorship. However, in the series, they portray the institution as a place where just people worked, which distorts the history that South Korean people worked for in the democratization movement," the petitioner wrote as per Koreaboo.

"Snowdrop," which also stars Jung Hae-in, is a romance drama set in 1987. It follows the love story between Su Ho (Jung) and Young Ro (Jisoo) who meet in an unexpected encounter amid chaotic street protests. The series begins with North Korean spy Su Ho rushing into a women's university dorm while covered in blood. Young Ro, a university student, takes care of him and hides him from authorities.