As actor Ha Young faces scrutiny over her great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho's alleged pro-Japanese collaboration, an anonymous post believed to have been written by one of Ahn's descendants 13 years ago has resurfaced online.
According to online communities Thursday, the post was published on May 18, 2013, under the title "[Joys and Sorrows of the 20s and 30s] Confessions I Can Make Because It's Anonymous."
The author wrote that "my great-grandfather was the royal physician suspected of poisoning Emperor Gojong," adding, "I only found out four years ago. His name appeared briefly on TV."
"Honestly, my family is well-off," the author continued. "I've heard we've been comfortable for generations. Given that we lived without trouble even during the Japanese colonial period, my great-grandfather — and probably my grandfather after him — must have collaborated with Japan. I feel disgusted to have been born into this family."
The broadcast the author referenced is believed to be a 2009 KBS documentary, "History Special — Emperor Gojong: The Truth Behind His Death," which examined the theory that Gojong, emperor of the Korean Empire, was poisoned. The program cited a rumor that "His Majesty's sudden death was because Min Byeong-seok and Yun Deok-yeong conspired with officials of the Government-General and ordered Ahn Sang-ho to administer poison." The poisoning theory is not accepted as fact by the academic community and remains an unverified rumor.
Internet users have raised the possibility that the post was written by Ha Young herself or by another descendant of Ahn Sang-ho, such as her older sister.
Ha Young had recently drawn attention by describing her family as a "four-generation medical household" — spanning her great-grandfather, grandfather, father and sister. The controversy deepened when it emerged that her great-grandfather was Ahn Sang-ho, who was active during the Japanese colonial era. Ahn served as a council member of the Daejeong Chinmok-hoe, a pro-Japanese organization whose members included prominent collaborators such as Lee Wan-yong and Min Yeong-gi. He also treated Lee Wan-yong after Lee was wounded in an attack by an independence activist. In a press interview, Ahn said he dressed and ate in the Japanese style, spoke only Japanese at home so that his children did not know the Korean language, and had no dealings with Koreans. The Government-General held him up as a model of everyday "naeseon ilche" — the colonial slogan calling for the assimilation of Korea ("Joseon") and Japan ("naichi," the Japanese mainland) into one body — and actively used him to justify colonial rule.
On Wednesday, Ha Young posted a handwritten letter on social media. "Until now, I had only a fragmentary understanding of my great-grandfather's life through stories passed down within my family," she wrote. "In the course of looking into related materials directly following this incident, I came to learn of my great-grandfather's pro-Japanese conduct." She said she "reflects on having casually mentioned family history without properly understanding our nation's painful history under Japanese colonial rule." She added: "I do not believe that my ignorance can serve as a reason to turn away from or take lightly that history. I accept those wrongs with a heavy heart and sincerely apologize as a descendant." Ha Young also pledged to "look more carefully at family history and that era, and to approach history with a more cautious attitude going forward," and said she would "study our history in depth and do my utmost to honor, with respect, the independence patriots and all those who devoted themselves to Korea's liberation and well-being."
paq@heraldcorp.com
