Suriname's foreign minister says country will take legal action against producers over unfair portrayal

Korea's hit Netflix series "Narco-Saints" has caused a stir in Suriname, a country located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America, next to Brazil. According to an article in the Suriname Herald published on Sept. 13..

A scene in Netflix's “Narco-Saints,” featuring actors Ha Jung-woo, left, and Hwang Jung-min, right. [NETFLIX]

Korea's hit Netflix series “Narco-Saints” has caused a stir in Suriname, a country located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America, next to Brazil.

According to an article in the Suriname Herald published on Sept. 13, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation Albert Ramdin said during a press briefing on Sept. 12 that he will take legal action against the producers of Korea's Netflix series that is depicting Suriname as a corrupt country associated with cocaine.

The minister is quoted as saying that Suriname has made so much effort to distance itself from such negative images and “is no longer a country associated with drugs.”

“However, the country is on the verge of a crisis of being tainted again with the image due to Netflix’s recent series. I am going to make contact with Korea regarding the issue,” the minister said. The report said that the minister plans to reach out to the U.S Embassy in Korea as there is no Korean embassy in Suriname.

The South American nation became familiar to most Koreans only after being featured in the Netflix series “Narco-Saints,” which is titled “Suriname” in Korean.

The series revolves around a drug lord active in Suriname and undercover secret agents working to capture him. It’s adapted from true events about a Korean drug lord named Cho Bong-haeng who operated a massive trafficking organization in Suriname between the late 1990s and early 2000s.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]