Actor HaYoung Faces Backlash Over Accusations Involving His Great-Grandfather’s Pro-Japanese Past, but Calls It ‘Baseless’

Truth Behind the \u201cPro-Japanese\u201d Frame\u2014A Fourth-Generation Doctor Family That Responds With Facts

Harsh \u201cpro-Japanese\u201d allegations leveled at actor HaYoung (real name Ahn HaYoung, 33) have finally fizzled out as a farce. In a stance marked by clarity and firmness, her agency drew a line against controversy surrounding the pro-Japanese activities of her great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, which erupted right after the variety show aired, and moved to rein in the distorted public mood.

HaYoung\u2019s agency, Visters Entertainment, said in an official statement on the 10th, \u201cIt is true that the actor\u2019s great-grandfather is \u201cdoctor Ahn Sang-ho,\u201d but the \u201cpro-Japanese controversy\u201d raised in online communities is completely baseless.\u201d

The controversy began with the KBS 2TV variety show \u201cOktabangui Munjea Deul\u201d broadcast on the 7th. At the time, HaYoung said, \u201cMy great-grandfather learned Western medicine in Japan and opened a clinic in Korea as the first doctor,\u201d and revealed the fact that she comes from a \u201cfourth-generation doctor\u201d family. The broadcast captions added the phrase \u201cEven Emperor Gojong was treated,\u201d drawing heightened attention from viewers. But immediately after the show aired, some netizens questioned her great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho\u2019s history during the Japanese colonial period and fueled \u201cwitch-hunt\u201d-style accusations of pro-Japanese ties.

As a result of a \u201cfact check\u201d using historical records, it was confirmed that Ahn Sang-ho (1872\u20131927) was a pioneering figure who graduated from Japan\u2019s Tokyo Jae Hye Medical Professional School in 1902 and obtained the \u201cfirst-ever Japanese doctor license for Koreans.\u201d According to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, there is a record that he served as a contract attendant and looked after King Sunjong\u2019s body rather than treating King Gojong. Above all, the most definitive exoneration point lies in credible materials that set the benchmark for judging pro-Japanese actions. Nowhere in the \u201cEncyclopedia of Pro-Japanese Collaborators\u201d published in 2009 by the Institute for Research in National Issues after rigorous verification is Ahn Sang-ho\u2019s name listed. The passage shows how the irresponsible frame pasted on based solely on the context of the era collapses to pieces.

Meanwhile, after making a mark on the living-room screen in 2019 with KBS 2TV\u2019s \u201cDr. Prisoner\u201d, HaYoung built a solid filmography through Netflix\u2019s \u201cSevere Trauma Center\u201d, \u201cMonthly Boyfriend\u201d, \u201cTrue Education\u201d, and more. In particular, on the 7th, the Netflix global hit \u201cThis Effing Love\u201d, in which she worked alongside Jung Hae-in, was released worldwide, further firmly establishing her presence as an actress. With her next acting transformation promised for next year\u2019s SBS \u201cThere Is a Turnaround\u201d, observers are watching to see whether she can rise above unnecessary noise and reach even greater heights.