IZ*ONE Miyawaki Sakura receives criticism from Korean netizens because of her Chinese fans

Former IZ*ONE member Miyawaki Sakura is being criticized by Korean netizens for her birthday advertisements from Chinese fans.

Sakura‘s Chinese fans installed an electronic display for Sakura’s birthday at Samsung Station on Feb 28th. This advertisement will run for one month until Mar 31st. The problem is that the scene of Sakura’s birthday electronic display included a design reminiscent of the Rising Sun Flag.

Korean netizens who saw the electronic display’s design commented, “It’s confusing that Chinese people advertise a Japanese singer in Korea”, “Did you have to do that Rising Sun Flag?”, “Can’t we protest that?”…

Miyawaki Sakura debuted as a member of girl group HKT48 in Japan in Nov 2011. Afterwards, she gained recognition in Korea while working under girl group IZ*ONE.

Sakura returned to Japan after IZ*ONE‘s disbandment, but returned to Korea in Aug 2021. At the time, it was speculated that she would sign a contract with Source Music, a label under HYBE, and prepare for her debut with a new girl group. However, HYBE said they could not confirm it.