Tempest: Jun Ji-Hyun faces boycott in China after 'controversial scenes'; netizens demand removal of luxe ads

Korean actress Jun Ji-Hyun is facing a boycott in China over Tempest. It seems Chinese are upset with some of the dialogues in the show.

Published: Sunday,Sep 21, 2025 09:03 AM GMT+05:30

Urmimala Banerjee

tempest jun ji-hyun — Tempest actress Jun Ji-Hyun facing huge boycott in China after certain scenes/dialogues in the show

Tempest starring Jun Ji-Hyun and Kang Dong-won in lead roles is the biggest hit of Disney Korea in 2025. In the show, Jun Ji-Hyun plays the part of Seo Munju, a former UN ambassador who finds herself in the presidential race for South Korea after the demise of her husband, Junik (Park Hae-Joon). The biggest challenge before her is to halt a war on the Korean peninsula based on rumours of North Korea building an underwater submarine. There are references to nations like the US, Iraq, China and North Korea in the series. It seems the ratings tanked in China after episode four and five of the Tempest. Netizens want actress Jun Ji-Hyun to be boycotted due to misrepresentation of the nation.

These scenes of Tempest angered Chinese netizens

In one of the scenes, we can see Seo Munju (Jun Ji-Hyun) talking to the Chinese ambassador. She makes a remark, “Why does China have a preference for war?”. Chinese fans did not like how the city of Dalian was shown in Tempest. The character of San-Ho goes there to find his grandmother, as he tries to get her out of North Korea. The city was shown as an area of full of slums, when it is a modern town. The actual filming happened in Hong Kong. Even villains are shown talking in Chinese and Jun Ji-Hyun reads Li Bai’s poem wrongly as she speaks to the ambassador.

Ban on Jun Ji-Hyun in China

Chinese netizens are demanded a ban on her shows in China. They do not want to see her in events as well. Jun Ji-Hyun, the highest paid actress of the South Korean industry is the face of major luxe brands like La Mer, Louis Vuitton and Piaget. They want them to sever ties with her and are threatening to boycott their goods if they do not comply. Customer service numbers have been flooded with calls. This is reported by Chinese outlet 163. Piaget removed her ads from the online shopping platforms. Many netizens said it was a fictional series but others feel she was also a party in painting China in a bad light.

TL;DR

Tempest, which is the biggest hit for Disney Korea in 2025 is facing the heat of Chinese netizens. There is one dialogue that has infuriated social media in China. Also, they did not like how Dalian was shown in the movie. They said it is represented as a fishing village when it is a modern town.