Why Is Ha Young Being Criticized in South Korea? "Our Sticky Love" Star's Controversy Explained
- Disha Paul
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Ha Young was having one of the biggest moments of her career. After gaining attention through The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call and Teach You a Lesson, the actress landed her first major leading role alongside Jung Hae-in in Netflix's Our Sticky Love.
But just days after the drama's premiere, Ha Young became the center of a serious controversy in South Korea over her great-grandfather's history during Japan's colonial rule of Korea.
The timing has made the situation even more sensitive, with the controversy unfolding just before August 15, Korea's National Liberation Day. While Ha Young herself has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the backlash has already affected her promotions and raised wider questions about family history, historical responsibility and celebrity culture in Korea.
How Did the Ha Young Controversy Start?
The controversy began after Ha Young appeared on the KBS2 variety show Problem Child in House on August 7.
During the appearance, she spoke proudly about her family's medical background. She said that her great-grandfather had studied Western medicine in Japan before opening a Western-style clinic in Hanyang, the former name for Seoul. She also mentioned that she had heard he treated Emperor Gojong.
Viewers subsequently identified her great-grandfather as Dr. Ahn Sang-ho, a doctor who worked during the Japanese colonial period.
Historical records then resurfaced showing Ahn Sang-ho as a member of the Daejeong Friendship Association in 1916, an organization associated with pro-Japanese activities and assimilation efforts during the colonial period. This quickly turned Ha Young's comments about her family into a much larger public controversy.
Why Is the Issue So Sensitive in Korea?
The backlash needs to be understood in the context of Korea's colonial history.
Japan ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945, and questions surrounding people who collaborated with the colonial government remain extremely sensitive.
The controversy involving Ha Young emerged only days before Liberation Day on August 15, which commemorates Korea's liberation from Japanese rule.
However, there is an important distinction: the controversy concerns Ha Young's great-grandfather and her comments about him, not an allegation that Ha Young herself participated in pro-Japanese activities.
The debate has therefore also raised questions about whether descendants should be held responsible for their ancestors' actions and how public figures should discuss complicated family histories.
Ha Young and Her Agency Have Apologized
The situation became more complicated after Ha Young's agency, Bistus Entertainment, initially described the allegations about her great-grandfather as unfounded.
The agency later investigated the historical records and acknowledged that Ahn Sang-ho's name appeared in the 1916 membership record. It apologized for making its first statement without properly verifying the information.
Ha Young then issued her own handwritten apology on social media on August 12. She said she had known only her great-grandfather's story through family accounts and admitted that she had spoken of him with pride without knowing the full historical record. She said she was reflecting seriously on the history and apologised as his descendant.
The controversy has already affected her career. Promotional activities connected to Our Sticky Love have been cancelled or changed, including a planned August 14 cast roundtable.
Meanwhile, Our Sticky Love Is Trending Globally
The controversy comes at an especially unfortunate time for Ha Young because Our Sticky Love marks an important step in her career.
The Netflix romantic comedy stars Ha Young as Go Eun-sae and Jung Hae-in as Jang Tae-ha. Eun-sae is an elite prosecutor who loses her memory after an accident while investigating a criminal organization. She wakes up in the countryside, where Tae-ha claims to be her boyfriend even though she has no memory of him.
Their unusual relationship becomes the centre of the story as Eun-sae slowly begins uncovering the truth about her past.
The drama premiered globally on Netflix on August 7 and has been gaining attention internationally for its unusual combination of romance, comedy, amnesia and crime. Ha Young's performance has also received attention from viewers discovering her for the first time.
Ha Young is facing intense scrutiny in South Korea while her latest drama continues to attract international viewers.
Final Thoughts
The Ha Young controversy is more complicated than simply calling it a celebrity cancellation. It involves a painful period of Korean history, questions about how family history is remembered, and the difficult line between an individual's responsibility and that of their ancestors.
Ha Young has acknowledged that she did not know the full history of her great-grandfather and has publicly apologized, while her agency has also corrected its earlier statement.
At the same time, Our Sticky Love continues its global run, meaning many international viewers are discovering Ha Young through her acting while the controversy surrounding her family history unfolds in Korea.
What do you think about the controversy surrounding Ha Young? Should celebrities be held responsible for how they discuss their ancestors, or should the focus remain solely on the actions of the people who lived through that period?
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