On the 2nd, K-Pop star Hyeri of the Korean idol group Girl’s Day apologized after she received criticism from Korean fans for wearing a T-Shirt embroiled with the Japanese naval flag.
Hyeri apologized formally through her agency, “I bow my head and apologize for not being more cautious.”
“Because I caused a lot of trouble to many people I am truly sorry, and I will be careful to make sure this won’t happen again.”
Hyeri continued, “When I saw the shirt I was only thinking of the message of helping Japan, I didn’t pay attention to the print. Whatever I say it’s a mistake that I can’t excuse.”
Hyeri received shirts from Japanese fans at certain event rehearsals and wore these shirts onto the stage, where she was taped by fans who published these pictures onto the internet.
In Korea, the Japanese naval flag symbolizes Japanese militarism and the Japanese occupation of Korea. K-Pop stars active in Japan must take precaution when it comes to topics on Japan related topics and words, as it is easy to take criticism from their home country.
Korean media called out Hyeri for the print of the clothing. The Dong-a Illbo, a Korean newspaper, criticized Hyeri, “Recklessly wearing clothes from fans is dangerous.”
Hankook Ilbo, another Korean newspaper, also had words for Hyeri after specifying the flag’s connotations with Japanese militarism, “In this case, ‘I didn’t know’ won’t work at all.” They also stressed K-Pop stars who are active in other countries should practice their love for Korea.
Girl’s Day, who debuted in 2010, is currently active in Japan, holding solo concerts on the 2nd and the 6th.
Source: urageispo.com, translated by: omoxi