6 Times Korean Celebrities Were Forced To Apologize For Very Specific Political Reasons

The Rising Sun Flag was a flag used by Japan during the Edo period, which is still used sometimes in the present day for commercial products or advertisements. However, due to its association with Japanese imperialism, South Koreans tend to find the flag very offensive as South Korea had been oppressed by the Japanese. As a result, South Korean netizens have been outraged more than once due to references or connections of celebrities to the Rising Sun Flag. Here are some instances when celebrities were forced to apologize after public outrage over associations with the flag.

Rising Sun Flag

1. Steven Yeun

Steven Yeun has recently been under fire for “liking” a photo of Joe Lynch (the director of Mayhem) as a child wearing a Rising Sun Flag shirt. He later posted an apology in Korean and English for his actions but once again received criticism for his post for claims that his Korean version admits his wrong actions while the English version doesn’t.

He has since deleted the post and replaced it with a new one, again including both a Korean and English version, explaining himself further.

Source: Instagram