The producers of Disney+’s fortune teller survival show “Battle of Fates” are facing backlash for using the story of a deceased firefighter in a competition round in which shamans were asked to predict his fate.
In the episode in question, participating shamans were presented with details of real people and were asked to infer their cause of death. The late Kim Cheol-hong, who died in 2001 while responding to a fire in Seoul’s Seodaemun district, was among them.
After the show aired, a social media user identifying as a member of Kim’s family stated that the producers did not clearly explain the nature of the program.
“They said a shaman would appear on the show, but that they would use saju to talk about what kind of person he was and honor his noble sacrifice,” the comment wrote. “But when I watched the show, the shamans were guessing how he died, and the hosts were reacting with amazement and even laughing. I honestly don’t understand how that is in any way honoring my uncle’s sacrifice.”
The controversy centers on the first round segment, where contestants, including shamans, were asked to deduce the causes of death of deceased individuals. Participants viewed his photograph, birth details and time of death to make their inference.
The producer team, however, denied the claims.
“We informed them of the show’s format and concept as a competition featuring fortune tellers, and obtained consent to use related information and images,” the production team said in a statement released Wednesday.
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