K-pop star apologizes after posting photo pictured next to Nazi imagery
Sowan is a member of the all-female k-pop group GFriend, and took the photos in November. She currently has over 800,000 followers on InstagramSowan is a member of the all-female k-pop group GFriend,
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMembers of South Korean girl group GFriend rehearse in Seoul(photo credit: KIM HONG-JI/ REUTERS)K-pop star Sowan issued an apology after posting photos of her posing next to a mannequin donned in a Nazi uniform on her official Instagram page.Sowan is a member of the all-female Korean pop group GFriend, and took the photos in November. She currently has over 800,000 followers on Instagram.Sowan deleted the post "when she understood the significance of the image," according to CNN, which cites a statement from Source Music, a subsidiary of Big Hit Entertainment.She was apparently shocked when she received backlash for posting the image, as staff for the photoshoot "did not sense an issue with the [Nazi] outfit on a mannequin.""We want to apologize for not being able to check for inappropriate props in the set and not being able to thoroughly filter them during the shoot and uploading and failing to give detailed attention to historical facts and linked social issues," Source Music said, according to CNN. "We bow our head in apology for causing offense through the video and stills."The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a statement in condemnation of the young K-pop star and her management. It follows a statement it issued in November 2018, condemning Big Hit Entertainment for allowing the K-pop boy band BTS – also managed by Big Hit Entertainment – to pose in headgear with a Nazi symbol during a photoshoot at the time."Shame on Big Hit Entertainment as another of its K-pop groups embrace #Nazi symbols," the center said via Twitter on Wednesday. "SWC efforts to educate company useless then apology useless now. Knowingly denigrate 6 million Jews murdered in WWII Nazi Holocaust; boosts today’s racist neo-Nazis."According to CNN, the entertainment company offered its "sincere apologies" for "inadvertently inflicting pain and distress to anyone affected" by the display.
