Korean household worker's associations have complained about the title of upcoming SBS drama "Suspicious Housekeeper" or "Susanghan Gajeongbu" but SBS says it has no plans to change the title.
The drama focuses on a mysterious housekeeper who is hired by a recently widowed father to care for his home and help raise his four children. While the housekeeper shows little emotion, her actions ultimately help the family members better understand each other and heal their troubled relationships.
The drama stars actress Choi Ji Woo as the housekeeper Park Bok Nyu. It's her first drama role in two years. Lee Sung Jae, who recently appeared as the villain in "Gu Family Book," plays the widower Eun Sang Chul. Kim So Hyun is his eldest daughter Eun Han Kyul and Chae Sang Woo is his second eldest son. Also in the cast are Nam Da Reum, Kang Ji Woo, Wang Ji Hye and Park Geun Hyung.
The complaint has nothing to do with the storyline or the word suspicious. The complaint lodged against SBS focused on the use of the Korean word for housekeeper. The word "gajeongbu" also means house woman and a group representing Korean women workers have complained that the word belittles anyone who does such work.
According to the National Institute of Korean Language the word is discriminatory and a better word would be gasa-doumi or housework helper.
At a recent press conference, a member of the National House Management Cooperative, one of the worker's organizations, which lodged a complaint, said, "We are trained professionals who work with pride."
They would prefer to be called "gajeong-gwanlisa" or house managers.
SBS will not budge on the title. According to an SBS representative, the script was changed so that the actors would not use the word "gajeongbu. And during the drama one of the characters even corrects children who use the word.
"But there is nothing we can do about the title," said an SBS representative.
The drama is originally based on a Japanese drama called "Kaseifu no Mita," which aired in 2011. As part of the deal made by SBS to remake the original version, the network needed to retain the word gajeongbu, because it is the Korean equivalent for "kaseifu." Also, posters for the drama have already been released.
"Kaseifu no Mita" starred Nanako Matsushima, one of the biggest Japanese television stars and reached ratings of 40 percent, making it the third-most watched program ever in Japan.
No concern has been expressed by SBS that the protests will make the show less popular in Korea.
