A special video featuring Ha Young has drawn attention after Netflix Japan posted a compilation of her past roles amid ongoing controversy surrounding her great-grandfather’s alleged pro-Japanese activities during Korea’s colonial period.
Netflix Japan uploaded the roughly four-minute video to its official YouTube channel on August 28th under the title “Strong and Flexible Characters Living Their Own Lives, Portrayed by Ha Young”. The video introduces Ha Young as an actress with a confident presence who “captivates people with her strength and flexibility in living her life authentically.”
The compilation features scenes from Ha Young’s previous Netflix projects, including the recently released Our Sticky Love, as well as Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Boyfriend on Demand and Teach You a Lesson. The video focuses on characters she has played who are portrayed as confident, independent women.
However, the timing of the upload has drawn particular attention in South Korea.
Ha Young has recently faced criticism after reports resurfaced about her great-grandfather, Ahn Sang Ho, who was accused of collaborating with Japan during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945.
The controversy has already affected Ha Young’s activities in South Korea. Advertisements featuring the actress were reportedly taken down, while rewatch services for her appearance on KBS2’s Problem Child in House were suspended. Netflix also canceled previously scheduled interviews with Ha Young and Jung Hae In to promote Our Sticky Love.
Against that backdrop, Netflix Japan’s decision to release a video focused specifically on Ha Young has prompted sarcastic and critical reactions from some Korean viewers.
Comments under the video included remarks such as, “Come to think of it, she can just work in Japan. It’s her real homeland,” and, “Ha Young, you must be happy to be loved in your home country.”
Others questioned whether the video was intentionally provocative, writing, “Are the comments trying to pick a fight with Korea?” and, “The timing is incredible.”
Some comments were even more hostile, with users accusing Japan of favoring the descendant of a Korean collaborator and making sarcastic remarks about Ha Young’s alleged Japanese roots.
The reactions reflect the broader sensitivity surrounding the history of Japanese colonial rule in Korea, particularly when public figures become associated with people accused of collaborating with the colonial government.
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In the meantime, watch trending K-dramas for free on Amasian TV.
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