CJ Night in Celebration of Frieze Seoul

Ansel Elgort appears in Japanese summer garment

Ansel Elgort. [Getty Images]
Ansel Elgort. [Getty Images]

Hollywood actor Ansel Elgort, 32, known for films including "West Side Story," has drawn criticism after appearing at a Seoul event dressed in traditional Japanese attire.

The "CJ Night in Celebration of Frieze Seoul" was held Wednesday at Leeum Museum of Art in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, drawing a star-studded crowd that included Lee Byung-hun, Lee Min-jung, Lee Jung-jae, director Park Chan-wook and G-Dragon.

Elgort, who gained recognition in South Korea for his lead role as "Baby" in the 2017 film "Baby Driver," attended the event during a visit to the country.

He posed on the photo wall wearing a yukata — a lightweight Japanese garment typically worn at summer festivals.

Critics called it inappropriate for him to wear traditional Japanese festival attire to a high-profile public event in a country that endured Japanese colonial rule, even though the gathering was privately organized.

The backlash was particularly sharp given that the event was understood to have been organized to promote Korean culture and lifestyle to the world. Online communities responded with heated reactions, with some asking, "Is he out of his mind?"

Angry comments in Korean flooded Elgort's social media accounts. "If you're coming to Korea, just wear a suit — and you showed up in a kimono or yukata?" one user wrote. "Why did you wear a kimono in our Korea?" read another.

His social media accounts feature a considerable amount of Japan-related content, suggesting a strong affinity for Japanese culture.

Elgort previously starred in "Tokyo Vice," an HBO Max crime thriller based on the true story of Jake Adelstein, an American journalist who became the first foreign reporter hired by a Japanese newspaper in the late 1990s.

This year, he welcomed his first son with a Japanese American woman.

Elgort had previously identified himself as a BTS fan, making his latest move a source of considerable disappointment for his Korean following.


jshan@heraldcorp.com