Ha Young's great-grandfather earned a monthly salary that would take a Korean laborer 15 months to match

The 225-won monthly salary received by Ahn Sang-ho, the great-grandfather of actor Ha Young, was equivalent to what an ordinary Korean laborer of the same era would have needed 388 days of work to earn.

The figure comes from a comparison of a staff salary list published in Kim Yong-suk's 1983 book "Research on Court Customs of the Joseon Dynasty" and labor wage statistics from the Japanese colonial period. The salary list includes the entry: "Royal household official Ahn Sang-ho, 225 won."

According to a paper published in a Korea Research Foundation-indexed journal titled "Labor Movements and Their Character in the Japanese Colonial Era," Korean laborers worked more than 12 hours a day for an average daily wage of 58 jeon. Japanese laborers, by comparison, earned an average of 1 won and 16 jeon per day — more than double the Korean rate.

Dividing 225 won by 58 jeon yields 388 working days, or roughly 15 months assuming a six-day workweek. A Korean laborer working 26 days a month would have taken home around 15 won — about one-fifteenth of Ahn's salary. Even compared with Japanese laborers, Ahn's pay was 7.5 times higher.

The same salary list shows that interpreters received 150 won a month and barbers 110 won. Ahn earned 75 won more than an interpreter and 115 won more than a barber.

According to a 2014 paper in the Korean Journal of Medical History by Kim Geun-bae, a professor at Jeonbuk National University, salaried physicians in the 1930s earned around 100 won a month.

According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, the Joseon Bank note during the colonial period was pegged at 2 pun of pure gold per won and issued as a convertible banknote. At that rate, 225 won corresponded to 168.75 grams (45 don) of pure gold — worth more than 33 million won ($23,300) at domestic gold market prices as of August 2026.

The analysis has limitations, however: the reference year for the 225-won figure on the salary list has not been confirmed, and the survey date for the average laborer wage data is also unspecified.

Ha Young had previously spoken on a television program about her family history, saying her great-grandfather studied medicine in Japan, opened a Western-style clinic in Hanyang and treated Emperor Gojong. The controversy grew after reports emerged about Ahn's activities as a council member of the Daejeong fraternal society and his coverage in the Maeil Sinbo, the official organ of the Japanese Government-General of Korea.

In a handwritten apology, Ha Young said she "had known only fragments of her great-grandfather's life" and that after personally reviewing related materials, she learned of "his pro-Japanese conduct." "As a descendant, I sincerely apologize," she said.

DOI: 10.15539/KHLJ.56.4.14

DOI: 10.13081/kjmh.2014.23.429