PETALING JAYA, Feb 2 — K-pop singer Sowon from GFriend has come under fire for sharing photos of herself hugging a mannequin in a Nazi uniform.
The 25-year-old posted the controversial images last weekend which showed her gazing lovingly at a life-sized figure of a Nazi soldier while touching its cheek.
The uniform worn by the mannequin resembled those worn by German soldiers in World War Two and a swastika can be seen on the Nazi Party symbol printed on the headgear.
Sowon deleted the photos shortly after uploading them but several K-pop fans took to Twitter to criticise her over the insensitive post.
Some GFriend supporters tried to defend Sowon by claiming that she may have been unaware of the violent history behind the Nazi regime.
Others argued that ignorance is not an excuse for making light-hearted posts about an issue that has impacted the lives of many Jewish people.
This is really upsetting since Gfriend is literally one of my og ggs. I really want them to apologize because the holocaust is not something to joke about. I get not everyone’s perfect but this is serious and sowon (my bias 😒) posting that pic makes me concerned.
— ᴱᴺ⁻ Rosé ✼ BHM ‼️JIHYO BIRTH (@sunoorsee) February 1, 2021
korea has one of the best education systems in the world. i find it extremely hard to believe that sowon would be unaware of the Holocaust when korea itself was heavily affected by ww2
— river (@suhnnymy) January 31, 2021
okay but why are people defending sowon?? koreans know about the holocaust they’re not centered around korean history. the amount of antisemitism im seeing is so gross
— lolly🎱 (@JUHOLlC) January 31, 2021
GFriend’s label Source Music released an apology on social media yesterday saying that Sowon feels “deeply responsible and heartbroken” after learning about the meaning behind the Nazi uniform.
The label also explained that the photos were taken at a cafe where the girl group was filming behind-the-scenes content for their new album.
“On the day of filming, the department responsible for checking the set was unaware of the problem with the mannequin’s attire.
“We apologise for not checking the filming site for inappropriate props in advance, for not thoroughly inspecting the content during the filming and uploading process, and for not paying closer attention to historical facts and societal issues.
“We sincerely apologise to everyone who felt uncomfortable due to the aforementioned video and photos,” said Source Music, based on translations by Soompi.
The company also stated that they had edited out images of the mannequin from GFriend’s promotional videos and promised to be more mindful of the content they produce in the future.
