Singer Chungha. [Newsis]
Singer Chungha. [Newsis]

Singer Chungha, whose real name is Kim Chan-mi, said her maternal grandfather was the late independence activist Kim Yeong-geun, expressing admiration for him.

Chungha appeared as a special MC on SBS variety show "My Little Old Boy," which aired Sunday.

During the episode, cast member Seo Jang-hoon asked, "Is it true that your grandfather was an independence activist?" Chungha replied, "He took part in the independence movement, served in the Korean War and also participated in the May 18 pro-democracy uprising."

Her maternal grandfather, Kim Yeong-geun, refused to participate in Shinto shrine worship during the Japanese colonial period, joined the anti-Japanese resistance movement and was imprisoned for his activism. After Korea's liberation, he volunteered to serve in the Korean War, and during the May 18 pro-democracy uprising he sheltered students who had been placed on a wanted list.

Chungha also shared that she had earned a Level 1 certificate in the Korean History Proficiency Test during a hiatus from her career.

"My mother encouraged me to learn Korean history so I could better understand our past, so I studied for about two months," she said.

Her remarks drew wide attention online, coming amid a separate controversy involving actor Ha Young, whose great-grandfather's pro-Japanese colonial-era record had recently come to light.

Earlier, Ha Young had appeared on KBS2 variety show "Problem Child in House" on Aug. 7, saying her great-grandfather had opened the first Western-style medical clinic in Hanyang and treated Emperor Gojong, and that her family had produced doctors across four generations. After the broadcast, controversy erupted when it emerged that her great-grandfather was Ahn Sang-ho.

According to historical records, Ahn was listed as a council member of the "Daejeong Chinmok-hoe," a pro-Japanese organization formed in Seoul in 1916, and was among the medical staff who treated Lee Wan-yong after he was seriously wounded in an attack by independence activist Lee Jae Myung.

As the controversy grew, a promotional interview for Ha Young's Netflix project was canceled and calls mounted for her to be dropped from a drama she had been confirmed to appear in. She ultimately withdrew from the Netflix series "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call."


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com