Avatar:Cultural Ambassadors
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Imported: 2025-12-22
- This article is about the overall Joo Dee program. For Team Avatar's Joo Dee, see Joo Dee.
"I'm Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."
β Mass brainwashing session.[1]
<infobox theme-source="nation"> <image source="image" /> <title source="name"><default>Cultural Ambassadors</default></title> <group> <header>General information</header> <label>Leader(s)</label> <label>Notable members</label> <label>Founder(s)</label> <label>Headquarters</label> <label>Affiliation</label> <label>Purpose</label> <label>Engagements</label> <label>Status</label> </group> <group> <header>Chronological information</header> <label>First appearance</label> <label>Last appearance</label> </group> <header></header> </infobox> The Cultural Ambassadors, often simply known as the Joo Dees,[2] were women assigned as guides to important guests in Ba Sing Se during the late Hundred Year War. Their main purpose was to neutralize outside influences and uphold the Dai Li's harsh restrictions on free speech during the conspiracy to seize power from the Earth King.[3][4] The Cultural Ambassadors could be identified by their calm, polished, and mechanical-like mannerisms.[3][5] In truth, the Joo Dees were all victims of intense brainwashing, which led to their individual personalities and memories being erased.[1][6] Some of these girls were from the Lower Ring who desired to fulfill stipulated contracts. This led to the improvement of their own lives and their families in certain situations.[7] Joo Dee's commonly wore a simple green headdress and yellow robes.
After the Fire Nation coup in the capital, Princess Azula appointed Team Avatar's former Joo Dee as the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of Ba Sing Se.[8] This Joo Dee in practice had to share her post with multiple other women who could pose as her doubles, which were viewed as a necessity due to the complications of brainwashing. These select Joo Dees became known as the "Administrators".[9] After one Administrator allegedly faced an assassination attempt and went missing from the palace, a rumor spread that the Joo Dees had been replaced by an Earth Kingdom noble who was willing to do the job without being brainwashed.[10]
History
Serving the Dai Li
The Dai Li first started the Cultural Ambassador program after tightening rules prohibiting dissent in Ba Sing Se. According to General Sung, the Dai Li chose to call all of the women "Joo Dee" as "they had a hard time telling them apart".[6]
Avatar Aang and his friends were assigned a Joo Dee as soon as they formally arrived in Ba Sing Se. The group grew quickly perplexed and annoyed by her behavior. When the team insisted on exploring the city, their Joo Dee shut down locals from answering questions on topics ranging from the black market to the Fire Nation. As Team Avatar grew frustrated about the delay to meet the Earth King, they decided to sneak into a party in the palace by themselves. Their Joo Dee caught up to Aang and Sokka at the event, and tried to encourage them to leave. Instead, Aang revealed himself as the Avatar before partygoers, causing his Joo Dee to quickly grow worried. When the group was dismissed from the palace by Long Feng, they were greeted by a different guide who also called herself "Joo Dee".[3]
Some time later, Team Avatar's original Joo Dee returned to their Upper Ring house. The group was surprised to see her back after her apparent replacement, but their Joo Dee explained that she had simply taken a short vacation at Lake Laogai. She was also perplexed to hear that a different woman had been calling herself Joo Dee. Their Joo Dee explained that she had come to warn them about dropping up fliers and putting up posters for Appa without proper permission. This caused Aang to snap and shout at the Joo Dee, demanding she stay away. After this, the Avatar's Joo Dee met with Long Feng, and broke down crying over the fact that Aang and his friends no longer trusted her. Long Feng uttered the "Lake Laogai" brainwashing trigger phrase, causing the Joo Dee to accept his orders.[1] Later, Team Avatar infiltrated the Lake Laogai base with Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot, and walked past a Dai Li brainwashing session of the Joo Dees.[1]
Around the same time, Jin's friend Susu accepted a contract in the Upper Ring to pay off her family's debt.[7] When she was on a delivery job, Jin was later shocked to see Susu to be working with a family that was visiting Ba Sing Se University. Susu treated Jin like a stranger, seeming serene and yet clinical in her mannerisms. Jin was eventually told to leave by a guard. Jin was left feeling very uneasy, but ended up concluding that Susu may have acted in such a way to protect her friend from getting caught somewhere she was not supposed to be.[11][5] Later, Jin caught Susu getting on the monorail. This time, there were no guards around, and Susu introduced herself with her new name, "Joo Dee", failing to respond even to news of her grandmother being sick. Jin grabbed Susu by the shoulders to try to stop her from "pretending", but her now-brainwashed friend was terrified by the time Smellerbee and Longshot had to physically pull Jin away from what she was trying to do.[12][13]
After learning about the Dai Li's brainwashing methods from Smellerbee and Longshot, Jin tried to find a way to get to Lake Laogai and save Susu.[13] Following the Fire Nation coup in the capital, Jin, Xuan, and Smellerbee made their move. They met General Sung in the cells, and learned about the basic agenda of the Joo Dee program. Jin and her friends did not find Susu, but discovered a group of young Joo Dees that were being trained at the base. General Sung agreed to help get all of Jin's group, including the Joo Dees, to safety. Jin also planned to destroy the Lake Laogai base so that the Joo Dee program would be heavily disrupted. Her group set some blasting jelly in the base before the underground facility was collapsed by General Sung's earthbending.[6]
Seven Joo Dees in total escaped from Lake Laogai. Four tried to get back to their own families, but the other three had nowhere else to go. Jin set up these three to work at Wen Bakery. Mama Wen welcomed the girls in without hesitation, and was thankful to have more people to help with the business.[2]
Fire Nation puppet rulers
Before leaving the Earth Kingdom, Princess Azula appointed Team Avatar's Joo Dee as Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of Ba Sing Se. She told Zuko that the Joo Dee was the ideal candidate to execute Fire Lord Ozai's will both mercilessly and without question.[8] In theory, this Joo Dee was the sole Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator, but a series of doubles with the same build and face shape were selected to also stand in for her. This arrangement was seen as necessary in light of the need to "recalibrate" the Joo Dees on a regular basis. The Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator and her doubles were given the west wing of the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace. Staff simply came to know them as the "Administrators", collectively. The Administrators were tightly guarded, and not even servants were permitted to wait on them. Despite this role, they held no power and were figureheads. Administrators commonly signed forms, met individuals, and were displayed in front of the populace to show all was running smoothly. Meanwhile, actual decisions were made somewhere else.[14] Administrators were given more elaborate robes and a headdress consisting of dangling jewels compared to their normal Joo Dee outfit.[9] With Lake Laogai's base destroyed, the Administrators had to be sent for their "rejuvenation" sessions at a spa in the Upper Ring.[14]
After learning that Susu was likely at the palace, Jin and Xuan got Patron Wu's help to pose as Dai Li and official palace servants.[2] Jin and Xuan executed their plan to save Susu on the Day of Black Sun. They managed to restrain Susu in her bedchamber, but another Joo Dee called the guards. Jin and Xuan were thrown in a jail cell for her alleged assassination attempt.[15][16] The Joo Dees were moved to new rooms after this incident. Talk also began to spread that it may be necessary to replace the Joo Dees in light of what had happened.[17]
Susu came to visit Jin during her imprisonment, appearing to have some doubt what her handlers had told her. Jin tried to remind Susu about the most important parts of her life, though had little success. She invited Susu to come back with an egg tart from the kitchens another time. Susu still believed what Jin said was "just a story", but did not completely reject the idea of coming back.[18] After a few nights, Susu returned, having brought an egg tart with her. She still was uncertain about her memories, but pieces came back to her once she and Jin started to eat the snack together. Their conversation continued, and Susu started to tease Jin about her relationship with Xuan.[19] Susu left the jail cell with more gaps in her memory filled, and having been made aware of the Dai Li plot.[20]
Xuan got Silver Fangs approval from his mother to get Susu out of the palace. The group tried to work as urgently as they could to leave after learning that Susu was due for a brainwashing recalibration session.[14] On the day of the escape, Jin and Xuan headed to the Joo Dees' rooms, but found that Susu had been gagged, and that another Joo Dee was holding a knife to her throat. The Joo Dee demanded that Jin and Xuan leave Susu behind, expressing her fears of being replaced and having to go back to an unhappy life in the Lower Ring. Xuan used his bending to push a statue towards the Joo Dee, while Jin wrapped rock-beads around the woman's hand, causing her to drop the dagger. The statue shattered on her head, and blood ran down her temple. The Joo Dee was furious, but soon collapsed.[17] Jin and Xuan proceeded to get Susu to safety through the secret Silver Fangs passageways.[21] After Susu's escape, a rumor spread that the Joo Dees had been replaced by an ambitious noble.[10]
Training, brainwashing, and purpose
Most Joo Dees were young women from the Lower Ring who desperately wanted a better life, or needed to pay off a family debt.[2] Their families and friends often accepted they would not see them again, believing that they were busy working as a servant for a family in the Upper Ring.[7][22]
The Joo Dees were under some of the most intense brainwashing techniques employed by the Dai Li. While Dai Li prisoners usually only had a portion of their memories removed, the Joo Dees forgot everything about their prior lives, and completely lost their individual personalities. One Dai Li agent was selected to be their main instructor, and drilled them in charm, poise, and dissemination of the Dai Li party line. His dazzling smile also became the basis of the almost-permanent grin on the face of every Cultural Ambassador.[23]
The brainwashing process was not perfect, meaning the Joo Dees had to be "recalibrated" at least once a month.[6] Joo Dees could also be recalibrated more often if they showed signs of mental distress, or started to believe they had failed in their duties. A certain trigger phrase, "the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai", would rehypnotize them and work to stop the worst of any erratic behavior.[1] After brainwashing in Lake Laogai, Joo Dees would undergo more official training sessions as Cultural Ambassadors in the Dai Li wing of the palace.[6]
The Cultural Ambassadors had good knowledge of Ba Sing Se's customs and way of life, but mainly stressed a sense of "order" to the people they were accompanying. They would refuse to leave their guests alone when asked to, claiming that such a prospect would make them "bad hosts".[3] The Joo Dees were known for their calm and polite mannerisms, but they also seemed to often have a slightly unfocused expression.[11]
Many people in Ba Sing Se were unfamiliar with the Cultural Ambassadors,[5] but citizens still found them to be intimidating, and knew not to waver from the rules and laws of Ba Sing Se in their presence.[3]
The Department of Civilian Affairs was ostensibly responsible for complaints about the Cultural Ambassadors' behavior.[11]
Known Joo Dees
Trivia
- Team Avatar's Joo Dee's design and personality was based on Miken Wong, the line producer for the show.[24][25]
- The name "Joo Dee" name sounds like μ£Όλ₯μ΄
(Joo Dung Yi), a Korean term to call someone who has a big mouth or someone who does not shut up. - When Jin first saw Susu as a Joo Dee, she was wearing her yellow robes but a black headdress with green flowers.[11] When she ran into her the second time, she was wearing yellow robes and the green headdress Joo Dee's are known to wear.[12]