Trivia

"Joseon Exorcist" is a story based on the assumption of exorcists of the West and the revival of the undead during the founding of the Joseon Dynasty.

On March 24, 2021, the production company and the broadcaster SBS apologized for the historical inaccuracies. They promised to remove the controversial portions and initially said that they would take a break for one week to change the content.

After the airing of the first two episodes, many viewers criticized the content of the series for historical inaccuracies. Korean and Chinese viewers were angered over the usage of Chinese-style props for a show set during the Joseon dynasty. The Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association, made up of descendants of Joseon's royal family, criticized the series for its depiction of King Taejong, Prince Yangnyeong, and Prince Chungnyeong, and called for immediate cancellation of the show. Over 216,000 people also petitioned the Blue House to cancel the show. More than 3,900 complaints were sent to the Korea Communications Standards Commission concerning the television show.

Due to the public backlash, corporate sponsors, such as Samsung Electronics and LG Household & Health Care, pulled their ads and cut their ties with the show. Local governments also withdrew their support for the production. On March 26, 2021, the SBS announced that the show was canceled after the first two episodes due to the intense public backlash and the withdrawal of support from corporate sponsors and local governments.

The first two episodes aired on SBS TV on March 22 and 23, 2021, before being canceled due to historical inaccuracies and Chinese props present in the series that resulted in the backlash from many people such as Korean history professors.