"Go to Sorokdo" vs "Labeling someone a pro-Japanese collaborator is dangerous"... The controversy over the Ha Young family's alleged pro-Japanese collaboration continues to heat up daily [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Writer So Jae-won and historian Sim Yong-hwan expressed differing views amid allegations of pro-Japanese collaboration against actor Ha Young's family.

Recently, Ha Young appeared on KBS 2TV's "Problem Children in the Attic" and proudly mentioned that his family has been a lineage of doctors for four generations. However, following the broadcast, allegations emerged regarding his great-great-grandfather's pro-Japanese collaboration. In response, So Jae-won, the author of the film "Wish," raised concerns about Ha Young's remarks on his personal SNS on the 11th and shared his own experience of visiting Sorokdo.

Writer So Jae-won pointed out that Sorokdo holds a history that is not honorable under either the Japanese colonial era or the subsequent South Korean government. According to a 2005 survey by the National Human Rights Commission on the human rights situation of Hansen's disease patients, Sorokdo Hospital forcibly performed vasectomies on 1,191 Hansen's disease patients from 1949 to 1958 and implemented policies allowing cohabitation only for couples who underwent surgery.

Painful experiments were also conducted, such as inserting needles into patients' chests to detect bacteria in their bone marrow. Some patients died due to deteriorating health during these procedures. The bodies of deceased patients were used for dissection practice without the consent of their families. Dissections continued until the 1960s, forced isolation until the 1970s, and abortions and sterilization surgeries persisted into the 1980s.

Writer So Jae-won stated, "For ordinary people, medicine was a benevolent art that saved lives, but in Sorokdo, it became an art of killing." He added, "If you have ancestors who were so proud and confident, go to Sorokdo. Confront the tragic history of both the Japanese colonial era and what the Republic of Korea did there! Confirm with your own eyes and ears how your three-inch tongue has trivialized such precious sacrifices and unjust, grievous history!"

Previously, it was confirmed that Ha Young's great-great-grandfather was a doctor named Ahn Sang-ho during the Japanese colonial period. Records show that he was listed as a council member of the Daetong Friendship Association, a pro-Japanese organization, in 1916, sparking allegations of collaboration. This controversy further expanded when Ahn's grandfather An Bu-ho (Prof.)'s work history at Sorokdo Hospital was re-examined.

In this context, Sim Yong-hwan, director of the History N Education Research Institute, expressed a somewhat different perspective on his SNS on the same day. He first noted that rumors about Emperor Gojong's poisoning were merely gossip that sparked the March 1st Movement and should not be considered historical fact. He also argued that labeling Ahn Sang-ho as a pro-Japanese collaborator solely because he was the royal physician at the time was incorrect.

Director Sim Yong-hwan acknowledged that Ahn Sang-ho was an elite of his time, belonged to the Daetong Friendship Association, which included many pro-Japanese figures, and that his family was utilized for Japanese colonial propaganda, making him not someone worthy of respect. However, he emphasized that it is dangerous to definitively label someone a "pro-Japanese collaborator" based solely on membership in a specific organization without clear evidence of concrete collaboration.

He also commented on the background of the growing controversy, stating, "Ha Young's great-great-grandfather was an outstanding medical elite who received favor from Prince Imperial Heungseon in his youth and appears to have not ignored certain social responsibilities. Of course, if his specific acts of collaboration with Japan are revealed, he would be considered a pro-Japanese collaborator, but that can only be discussed after such facts are confirmed."

While Writer So Jae-won strongly criticized Ha Young's careless remarks by highlighting the tragic history of Sorokdo, Director Sim Yong-hwan focused on the strictness of defining "pro-Japanese collaborators" and warned against public opinion overheating. Both agreed that Ha Young's broadcast remarks sparked the controversy, but they hold distinct positions regarding the allegations of pro-Japanese collaboration surrounding Ha Young's family.

Meanwhile, Ha Young's side stated, "We have confirmed that there is indeed a record showing our great-great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, was listed as a council member of the Daetong Friendship Association in 1916. We sincerely apologize for causing confusion by hastily responding with 'baseless' without sufficient verification."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.