Jin Ha‘s old Tumblr account featuring photos of older Korean women taken without their consent, along with sexually suggestive captions, got embroiled in a controversy. Soon, the actor himself deleted and apologized for what he described as “inappropriate.”
He started off his apology, “Thank you for this opportunity to address a failing in my past that was long overdue. My ‘Korean Flowers in Bloom’ Tumblr account from 2011 should not have been made at all.”
The Korean Flowers in Bloom that Jin Ha uploaded photos of older Korean ladies taken on Korean subways and streets. Those photos were taken without the ladies’ consent. But to make matters worse, he wrote sexually suggestive captions along with the photos – “Working with such a provocative model, I found it hard to keep myself and my concupiscence under control,” and “Now we have an excuse to stare directly at her right nipple” – enraging the people.
“It was a breach of privacy for the elder women featured, and many of my captions were inappropriate. I deeply regret my actions, and I apologize for them,” Jin Ha continued. “I was wrong to take these photos 11 years ago, and I was wrong to post them online. I was negligent in allowing these photos and captions of people I did not know personally to stay online. We requested Tumblr to delete this account immediately �” which they have done.”
Lastly he wrote, “Thank you again for granting me this chance to rectify this blunder of a blog and for bringing it to my attention when it should have been clear to me from the beginning.”
Meanwhile, Jin Ha plays Solomon Baek, Seon Ja’s grandson, on Apple TV’s Pachinko. Based on the New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, Pachinko recounts the hopes and dreams of four generations of a Korean immigrant family. Starting with the forbidden love, the show chronicles the war and peace, love and parting, victory and judgment while traveling back and forth between Korea, Japan, and the States.
Translator Kim Hoyeun: If you are a fan of K-drama, K-movie, and K-pop, I am your guy. I will continue to provide you with up-to-date K-entertainment news.
