‘To The Moon’ teasers: The glimpse faces backlash over racist undertones: Broadcasters issue formal apology—Deets inside

New teasers from a new K-drama, ‘To The

Moon

,’ have just been shared. The teasers, since their release, have faced a lot of backlash from netizens for appropriating Arab and Indian cultures and for mockingly representing them. Read more to find out what happened. Netizens call out ‘To The Moon’ broadcasters for a culturally insensitive moment in the new drama‘To The Moon’ had been creating a lot of positive buzz ever since its announcement; however, that attention has turned negative after new video teasers from the show were shared online. In the teasers, actresses

Lee Sun-bin

, Ra Mi-ran, and

Jo A-ram

can be seen dressed head to toe in stereotypical ‘Arab’ attire, with bindis on their foreheads.

This was paired along with an ‘Arab-style’ headpiece and was accentuated with dramatized and derogatory dance moves that are often used to stereotype and racially define Arab and Indian people. The teasers were heavily criticized for reducing two cultures to mere “props” and “tools for comedy.” Many expressed their disdain over the matter and took to social media platforms to express their opinions.One netizen commented, “Koreans started the year of 2025 with racism against Black people and are now ending it with being racist towards the Middle East and Indians,” while another mentioned, “I really don’t know what to say other than ‘wtf’ as someone who is from the Middle East.” You seem to be inspired by Aladdin, who is Middle Eastern/Arab, so tell me why there are bindis, dances that mock Indians, and hula dancing in this video? It’s 2025.”Broadcasters issue a formal apologyAfter the massive backlash online, according to Koreaboo reports, the official broadcasters of the show issued a formal apology over the matter. They stated that “The drama’s storyline is set against the backdrop of a confectionery company, and the teaser was created as a parody of a famous ice cream commercial from the 1980s and 1990s. We failed to consider the perspectives of other cultures during this process. We will be more careful and considerate in the future to avoid causing discomfort.”