[Sportschosun reporter Jung Yu-na] As controversy grows over alleged pro-Japan activities by Ahn Sang-ho, the great-grandfather of actress Ha Young (born Ahn Ha-young), a video showing her family home that she once revealed on a variety show has been made private.
Ha Young appeared on KBS 2TV's "Shin Sang-Release Pyeonstorang" last May and showed off her cooking skills while also revealing the refrigerator at her family home.
At the time, Ha Young looked over the refrigerator at her family home and said, "There are four refrigerators at home." She then added, "No one would know if I took something. We never eat it, so it always goes bad," drawing attention.
The family home shown on air had a total of five refrigerators, including a main refrigerator, one for storing meat and seafood, a built-in refrigerator for spreads, sauces and dairy products, a pantry refrigerator, and a kimchi refrigerator.
KBS later uploaded the broadcast to YouTube under titles such as "Ha Young from a Doctor Family," "Ha Young Sneaks Into Her Family Home With Five Refrigerators," and "Ewha Womans University Western Painting Major, Admitted to One of New York's Top Three Art Schools! Why Did Art Elite Ha Young Switch to Acting?" Most of the video has since been made private, except for scenes related to mukbang and cooking.
Earlier, Ha Young mentioned her family's history as a "fourth-generation doctor family" on a recent program. After it became known that her great-grandfather was Ahn Sang-ho, who worked as a doctor during the Japanese colonial period, suspicions of pro-Japan activity arose over his conduct at the time.
Ahn Sang-ho was listed among 21 council members of the Daejeong Friendship Association, an organization founded in 1916. According to a 2007 paper, "The Daejeong Friendship Association and the Naeseon Harmony Movement," by Jang Shin, a senior researcher at the Institute for Korean Historical Studies, the Police Bureau of the Government-General of Chōsen described the Daejeong Friendship Association in 1927 as "a Naeseon harmony group that acknowledges colonial rule and aims to promote harmony between Koreans and Japanese."
Bang Hak-jin, secretary-general of the Center for Historical Truth and Justice, who has participated in compiling the Biographical Dictionary of Pro-Japan Collaborators since 2009, also told KBS and YTN in an interview that "Ha Young's great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, was indeed a pro-Japan collaborator."
As the controversy intensified, Ha Young eventually released a handwritten apology on the 12th and said, "I deeply accept my wrongdoing and sincerely apologize as a descendant. I am especially sorry that my shortcomings caused concern at a time leading up to National Liberation Day of Korea."
jyn2011@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
