Is Princess Lee Seyoung's 2,000-Won Necklace in The Remarried Empress From Temu?

A black-stone necklace worn with a mint-green dress by Princess Lee Seyoung in The Remarried Empress has become the center of an online dispute, with comparisons claiming it looks nearly identical to accessories sold for around 2,000 won on Pinduoduo and Temu. The posts spread quickly enough to land on theqoo, where the thread turned into a debate about what viewers should expect from a fantasy drama's props.

The comparison images suggested the piece was a mass-produced item from ultra-low-cost Chinese e-commerce platforms. That was enough to start a wave of "Chinese imported goods" talk around the show.

Fans defending the production pointed to the credits. According to the theqoo post, the luxury jewelry houses that explicitly sponsored the drama include Buccellati, Damiani, Cartier and Fred, while fashion sponsors include Celine, Prada, bridal labels and Valentino. The post adds that some featured pieces are worth 200 million won.

A widely shared post on X by the user @jutingstar9999 (dated November 9) took the opposite reading of the evidence. It argued that Temu had copied luxury jewelry, not the other way around, noting that Louis Vuitton ambassador Shin Min-ah and the rest of the cast are all luxury ambassadors who would not wear fakes. The post closed with a cheer for the K-romance fantasy genre.

The theqoo reaction was mostly puzzled by the controversy itself, which is a fair reading: a necklace appearing on screen for a scene or two is a small thing to build a scandal around.

What theqoo users said

1. 1

   Why is this even a controversy? Temu isn't illegal, so this is pathetic.

2. 2

   It's a fantasy setting, so nobody needs historical accuracy anyway. Why all the nitpicking?

3. 3

   If a prop only shows up once or twice in a drama, isn't it sensible to use something cheap?

4. 4

   Huh? How does this have anything to do with "historical accuracy"?

5. 5

   Damn, what's the connection supposed to be?

6. 6

   Is this actually a problem?

7. 7

   I suppose you can't make or get sponsorship for every single item, right?

8. 8

   So people are angry because Temu sells copies of luxury brands..?

9. 9

   But this is "fantasy"....