Chinese City of Zhangjiajie Uses 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' for Promotion, Criticized for Unauthorized Viewing

The city of Zhangjiajie in China has stirred controversy by sending invitations to the cast and crew of the Netflix series 'When Life Gives You Tangerines.' This move has been criticized as an admission of unauthorized viewing, given that Netflix is not officially available in China.

Starring IU, Park Bo-gum, Moon So-ri, and Park Hae-jun, 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' has been praised for its heartwarming story and stellar performances, climbing the ranks of Netflix's global charts. Amidst its global popularity, Zhangjiajie's unexpected actions have caught attention.

In the series, a character named Ae-soon (played by Moon So-ri) tells Gwan-sik (played by Park Hae-jun), "Let's go see the autumn leaves in Zhangjiajie next year." The Zhangjiajie officials quoted this line on their official social media, thanking the show for mentioning their city and encouraging people to visit immediately, capitalizing on the show's international fame.

Professor Seo Kyung-duk from Sungshin Women's University criticized this, stating, "Netflix is not officially available in China, which means they are openly admitting to watching 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' illegally."

He further commented, "This isn't the first time. When 'Squid Game' Season 2 was released, the same thing happened. Unauthorized viewing has become a norm in China, and the lack of any sense of shame is astonishing."

Professor Seo Kyung-duk also pointed out, "It's a significant issue when local governments use pirated content for public promotion. It's time for our government to take action. We must strongly protest against this unauthorized viewing."

[Photo: Scene from Netflix's 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' mentioning Zhangjiajie]

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)