Historian pushes back on claims that actor Ha-young's great-grandfather was a Japanese collaborator

Historian Shim Yong-hwan, director of the Shim Yong-hwan History N Education Research Institute, has pushed back against allegations that actor Ha-young's great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, was a pro-Japanese collaborator.

On Tuesday, Shim wrote on his Instagram that "a certain actress's great-grandfather has suddenly set the internet ablaze," adding that news reports had claimed "the academic community of historians has determined that her great-grandfather was indeed a pro-Japanese collaborator."

Shim is an adjunct professor at Seoul Theological University and a historical writer whose works include "The Imagination of the Constitution" and "Korean History at a Glance."

Shim said that while the theory that Emperor Gojong was poisoned — which he described as an "assassination theory" — served as a catalyst for the March 1st Independence Movement, "it was nothing more than a rumor and is not considered historical fact." He added that while this is common knowledge in academic circles, it is not widely understood by the public.

"Frankly speaking, Japan had no reason to suddenly poison Emperor Gojong, who had offered no resistance for 10 years," Shim said. "Therefore, it is wrong to label someone a pro-Japanese collaborator simply because they served as his personal physician."

On Ahn Sang-ho personally, Shim said it was true that Ahn "was an elite of his time, belonged to organizations with heavy collaborator membership such as the Daejong Chinmok-hoe, and that his family was used by Japan for administrative publicity — so it is fair to say he was not a figure worthy of respect in his later years."

However, Shim said a paper on Ahn by scholar Lee Jeong-eun did not support the claim that he was a collaborator. Ahn was born in 1872, meaning the Japanese colonial period fell in his later years, while the paper focused on his life during the enlightenment era.

"By having the media label the entire academic community as having reached a verdict based on a single scholar's remarks, she has now been branded a descendant of a pro-Japanese collaborator," Shim added. "Once a controversy starts, conflict escalates to extremes far too quickly, and everyone turns a blind eye to the harm caused."

Shim said that if the actress was at fault, it was for failing to offer a sincere reflection on the uncomfortable truths of her family history. "Saying things like 'It's different from what's been reported' or 'I made it on my own' is not far removed from the historical awareness typical of descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators," he said.

Shim also warned that carelessly labeling someone a "pro-Japanese collaborator" risks branding far too many people from the past as collaborators. "Ultimately, the very standard by which we define collaboration — what we should criticize and remember — could disappear," he said.

The controversy began when Ha-young appeared on the KBS 2TV program "Okdapbang-ui Munje-adul," a TV quiz show, on Friday and shared that her family had produced doctors for four generations. Her great-grandfather's identity as Ahn Sang-ho subsequently spread online, and records showing his name on a 1916 Daejong Chinmok-hoe council member list, along with an interview in the Maeil Sinbo — a newspaper published by the Japanese Government-General of Korea — drew renewed scrutiny and fueled allegations of collaboration.

Ha-young's agency, Bisters Entertainment, initially dismissed the allegations raised Monday as "groundless," only to walk back that statement the following day.

On Tuesday, the agency said that "upon further verification, we have confirmed that a record does in fact exist showing great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho's name on the 1916 Daejong Chinmok-hoe council member list," and offered a sincere apology for "causing confusion by hastily responding with 'groundless' without sufficient verification."