Directors of Ha Young's hit shows quietly show support after actor's pro-Japanese ancestry apology

The directors of two hit series starring actor Ha Young quietly showed their support Wednesday after she issued a handwritten apology over allegations that her great-grandfather had collaborated with Japanese colonial authorities — both liking her Instagram post.

Lee Do-yun, director of the Netflix drama series "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call," and Hong Jong-chan, director of "Chamgyoyuk," both liked the handwritten apology Ha Young posted on Instagram on Wednesday.

The gesture was widely interpreted as a show of support for Ha Young's decision to acknowledge wrongdoing and apologize directly.

In the post, Ha Young wrote that she had known only fragments of her great-grandfather's life through stories passed down by family, and that it was only while researching the matter herself that she learned of his pro-Japanese activities. "I reflect on having casually mentioned my family history without properly understanding our country's painful history under Japanese colonial rule," she wrote. She added that her ignorance did not excuse looking away from or taking lightly that history. "I accept those wrongs with gravity and sincerely apologize as a descendant," she said, pledging to examine her family's history more carefully and to study Korean history in depth. She also vowed to honor independence movement figures and all those who worked for Korea's liberation and well-being.

Ha Young played lead nurse Cheon Jang-mi in "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call," released last year, and teacher Choi Ga-yun in "Chamgyoyuk," which became a major hit this year.

Having raised her profile with back-to-back hits, Ha Young became embroiled in the pro-Japanese ancestry controversy while promoting her latest Netflix drama series. The controversy began when she mentioned on a broadcast that her family had produced doctors across four generations — her great-grandfather, grandfather, father and older sister.

It later emerged that her great-grandfather was Ahn Sang-ho, who was active during the Japanese colonial period. Ahn's pro-Japanese record then came under renewed scrutiny: he was a council member of the Daejeong Chinmok-hoe, a pro-Japanese organization whose members included prominent collaborators such as Yi Wan-yong and Min Yeong-gi. He also treated Yi Wan-yong after Yi was attacked and wounded by an independence activist, and his name appeared on a memorial preparatory committee for Ito Hirobumi, who was killed by independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun.

In a press interview, Ahn Sang-ho also said he dressed and ate in the Japanese style, spoke only Japanese at home so that his children did not know the Korean language, and had no dealings with Koreans. The Japanese Government-General held him up as a model of everyday "Naeseon ilche" — the colonial-era slogan promoting the complete assimilation of Korea into Japan — among successful Korean intellectuals, actively using him to justify colonial rule.

paq@heraldcorp.com