Writer So Jae-won criticizes actor Ha Young over great-grandfather's pro-Japanese collaboration allegations

Writer So Jae-won. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]

Writer So Jae-won has publicly criticized actor Ha Young over allegations that her great-grandfather collaborated with Japanese colonial authorities.

On Monday, So shared a news article about the controversy on Instagram, writing that he had "come across a bitter article just ahead of Liberation Day."

"We now live in a world where even an ancestor with a pro-Japanese record is something to boast about," So wrote. "To think I would live to see someone brag about a pro-Japanese ancestor — isn't that the fault of our history's failure to punish collaborators? If history had dealt with pro-Japanese collaboration, would a descendant have been able to speak so proudly about it?"

He then added a lengthy passage addressed to his son, writing that "we may have to teach our children that selling out one's country is the formula for success and glory."

Writing in an ironic register, So continued: "Son! If our country were ever taken from us, you must become a traitor. Use weapons to oppress those who seek to reclaim it, and amass wealth by doing so."

He went on: "Son! Do you truly wish to see this kind of history repeat itself, as your father has described? Do you want to spend your life watching the descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators proudly flaunt that heritage, generation after generation? If not, we must change things now."

So concluded: "Only when the descendants of collaborators feel shame and the descendants of independence fighters stand tall can we hold our heads high before history and before those great fighters and their heirs. Let us make it a precedent that treason was punished, so that descendants who boast of betrayal will know disgrace and shame."

The controversy began after Ha Young spoke about her family background on television and in interviews. The actor, whose real name is Ahn Ha-young, mentioned on several entertainment programs — including KBS 2TV's "Okdabang-ui Munje-a" — that her family had produced doctors across four generations.

After the broadcasts, online users identified the family member in question as Ahn Sang-ho, a physician who practiced during the Japanese colonial period, prompting renewed scrutiny of his past conduct.

Ha Young's side initially said Monday that while Ahn Sang-ho was indeed her great-grandfather, the allegations of pro-Japanese collaboration were groundless — only to reverse that position the following day.

Her agency, Bisters Entertainment, said Tuesday that "upon further review, we have confirmed that a record does in fact exist showing great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho's name on the list of council members of the Daejeong Chinmok-hoe in 1916," and apologized for "causing confusion by hastily responding that the claims were groundless without sufficient verification."

So Jae-won has worked on the films "Beastie Boys," "Sowon," "Tunnel" and "Air Murder," as well as the drama series "Goodbye to Goodbye."

dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com