Tempest actress Jun Ji-Hyun's agency issues statement on cancelled ad for Chinese luxury brand

Tempest has become the biggest success for Disney Korea in 2025. The political thriller cum romance starring Jun Ji-Hyun and Kang Dong-won is getting huge viewership all over the world. After Buried Hearts, this is the show that is doing really well in domestic and foreign market. However, it is facing anger of Chinese citizens. There are a couple of dialogues that have left people fuming. Jun Ji-Hyun plays the role of a former UN ambassador who finds herself in the middle of impending World War III. As the wife of an assassinated politician and shipping scion, she has to plunged into politics.

Jun Ji-Hyun faces anger of Chinese netizens

There are a few scenes and dialogues that have angered the Chinese viewers. They apparently demanded that all billboards featuring her on luxe brands like La Mer, Piaget and Louis Vuitton be taken down in China. Customer care numbers of such brands are allegedly getting calls from netizens. Reports came that she was supposed to shoot for a Chinese brand in Seoul. However, that got cancelled after this controversy. Her agency, Peachy Company has issued a statement to the media.

“The advertisement in question was postponed before the drama aired,” her agency Peachy Company said on Tuesday. “The timing of the issues led to a misunderstanding, but the ad postponement and the drama are unrelated.”

- Statement to Korea JoongAng Daily

In Tempest, she asks the Chinese ambassador why does “China have a preference for the war?” and how a nuclear attack could possibily annihilate the entire region. She is shown reciting a poem in Mandarin written by Li Bai, one of most respected poets of the Tang dynasty. They said it was incorrect. Also, the town of Dalian has been shown as full of shanties. They have said it is a modern coastal town equipped with every facility. The actual shoot happened in Hong Kong. Kang Don-won as San-Ho was shown travelling to Dalian to help in rescue of his old grandmother from North Korea.

Disney Plus does not air on China so many are wondering how they managed to watch the series.