Celebrity

Sowon (G-FRIEND) got into big trouble after posting photos on Instagram

International netizens criticized the female idol, but K netizens thought that Sowon did not deserve such criticism

Sowon (G-Friend) is currently facing heavy criticism for the photos posted on her personal Instagram on January 31.  In these pictures, Sowon can be seen posing next to a life-sized statue.  The story will not be worth mentioning if many netizens do not discover the uniform this statue is wearing.

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The clothes of the aforementioned statue are the uniforms that Nazi soldiers wore during World War II, which caused the Holocaust massacre that resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent people, including Judaism.  The patch on the jacket and the collar shows the soldier’s denoting rank. Additionally, the artillery uniform cap showcases the swastika insignia.

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Perhaps Sowon quickly noticed the problem in her photos.  This series of photos was also deleted shortly after posting on Instagram.  However, netizens still pay attention to those images.  A Jewish with a family history associated with the Holocaust reposted Sowon’s pictures on Twitter with a clear explanation of the crimes committed by the Nazis.

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Within hours, the photos received thousands of engagements on social media. Originally, fans assumed they were taken in a museum. However, they were actually taken on the set of a VCR for GFRIEND’s Walpurgis Night album comeback show.

Fans even discovered that the shooting location was Café Zino in Paju, South Korea.  This cafe has appeared in many popular Korean dramas such as “Crash Landing on You”, “Goblin” or “The Heirs”.  Netizens could not understand why although space was decorated in European style, Café Zino put the statue in Nazi uniform.

After seeing the above photos, the international netizen angrily urged Sowon to make a satisfactory apology for hurting and insulting everyone in the world.  Many people cannot understand why Sowon posed with this controversial statue.  Some fans believe that the leader of G-Friend did not know the true meaning of that uniform when posing for photos.  Still, others believe that the Holocaust genocide and other events surrounding the Nazis were already included in the Korean curriculum, so there is no reason for Sowon not to know the Nazis.

Besides, many netizens also pointed out that even if Sowon does not have bad intentions, she still must be responsible for her actions.  Many international fans are also upset because Sowon only deleted photos without explaining or posting any apologies to people who might be affected or hurt by the images she posted.

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However, in contrast to the anger of international netizens, Korean netizens reacted slightly to this incident.  Most of the comments on Korean online forums said that Sowon may not know the statue is related to the Nazis, even suggesting that Westerners are too sensitive to this issue.

– What Sowon did was wrong but please don’t take this as an advantage to leaving nasty hate comments on Sowon or Gfriend. Educate not spread hate.

– “Maybe she didn’t know it was related to the Nazis? But it is true that this will make the foreign fans very angry. If you have to compare it, it is like hugging Chun Doo Hwan (former  President of Korea) and took pictures like that “

– “To be honest, most Koreans who don’t know anything about world history probably won’t know who it is. I think like a celebrity, she was too careless and should be criticized.  She should apologize and if she doesn’t do it again it’ll be fine. Stop everything here. But I’m afraid these losers will bring her out to relieve the stress”

– “But if Westerners are so sensitive to the Nazis, then why are they so lenient with the flag of the Rising Sun and the Japanese Empire ….? They look down on us when we criticize  people who use the sunrise flag and even treat us as if we are too selfish … It’s funny to realize they don’t know any basic knowledge of Eastern history but they forceppp us to know all the cultures of the West “

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