Current Events > Kpop idol under fire for posing lovingly with Nazi statue.

(+) Yeah! (+)

GFRIENDs Sowon is facing intense criticism after uploading photos of herself posing with a Nazi soldier statue to social media.

On January 30, Sowon uploaded a series of photos of herself to her personal Instagram account, @onedayxne. In the photos, Sowon can be seen posing affectionately with a life-size figurine wearing a Nazi uniform.

The uniform seen on the statue was worn by Nazi soldiers during World War II. The jacket and collar feature patches denoting rank, while the artillery uniform cap is designed with a swastika insignia.

Shortly after Sowon uploaded the photos to Instagram, they were soon deleted. However, one Jewish K-Pop fan on Twitter later noticed the images and proceeded to share them, letting their followers know the violent history behind the statues.

Within hours, the photos received thousands of engagements on social media. Originally, fans assumed they were taken in a museum. However, they were actually taken on the set of a VCR for GFRIENDs Walpurgis Night album comeback show.

Upon seeing the photos, fans of both GFRIEND and other groups are calling on Sowon to apologize for causing hurt and offense to people around the world.

Many are angered and perplexed about why Sowon would pose with the statues to begin with. Some fans believe its unlikely that she knew the meaning of the uniforms while posing for the pictures. Others say that the Holocaust and surrounding events are well-taught in Korean schools, giving Sowon no excuse to be oblivious.

That aside, many have pointed out that whether there is negative intent or not, parties must still be held accountable for harmful actions. Fans are criticizing Sowon for deleting the photos without taking accountability nor posting any clarification or apology for those affected by the images.

As of yet, neither Sowon nor Source Music have issued a statement on the growing controversy. Sowon began trending on Twitter in various countries, including the United States, as fans try to get through the company and the artist.

https://www.koreaboo.com/news/gfriend-sowon-nazi-statue-photos/
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A k-pop idol posing with statues of war criminals?

I did nazi that coming.

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guarantee she didn't even know what the suit was

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Eagle-eyed fans soon uncovered the shooting locationCaf Zino in Paju, South Korea. The caf and chocolatier has appeared in numerous popular K-Dramas in the past, including Crash Landing on You, Goblin, and The Heirs. While the dcor does use European history as its theme, it is unclear why the interior designers chose to add such controversial figures to the mix.

Lol she probably didn't even know.

Say what you will about the Nazis, but their uniforms were sharp as fuck. Putting the fash in fashion.

Unless there's some super obvious indication I'm missing, seems like more of an "oops, my bad" kind of thing rather than the rabid mob acting like she needs to beg for forgiveness in those replies.

what is this /tw I see before these post on Twitter?

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Didnt bts do a shoot in ss uniforms too

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Why is Asia so weird about Nazis? Seems like there's always a story about someone famous there appropriating Nazi stuff for lolz

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Ivynn posted...

Why is Asia so weird about Nazis? Seems like there's always a story about someone famous there appropriating Nazi stuff for lolz

Something something WWII

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Ivynn posted...

Why is Asia so weird about Nazis? Seems like there's always a story about someone famous there appropriating Nazi stuff for lolz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_chic
https://www.asiabyafrica.com/point-a-to-a/asia-nazi-chic-popularity

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Shes a dumbass but who cares about celebrity news? Even worse, idol news

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nemu posted...

Unless there's some super obvious indication I'm missing, seems like more of an "oops, my bad" kind of thing rather than the rabid mob acting like she needs to beg for forgiveness in those replies.

Honestly, I think one of the worst things she could do is apologize to a Twitter mob. They'll just go after her harder once they smell blood in the water. No apology will be good enough, because they don't care if she realizes her mistake. Its not about that, its about the satisfaction that comes from tearing someone down a peg.

InhumaneRaider posted...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_chic
https://www.asiabyafrica.com/point-a-to-a/asia-nazi-chic-popularity

I have to imagine it's because they're so far removed from the European side of WWII.

I imagine they'd get offended if say, a Western celebrity was modeling or being funny with Imperial Japanese uniforms.

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InhumaneRaider posted...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_chic
https://www.asiabyafrica.com/point-a-to-a/asia-nazi-chic-popularity

Hong Kong and Japan have each witnessed a growth in the casual wearing of SS uniforms, as well as increased interest in White power music.

yikes so thats why they try hard to be bri-ish

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She honestly didnt know

Ivynn posted...

Why is Asia so weird about Nazis? Seems like there's always a story about someone famous there appropriating Nazi stuff for lolz

They didn't go to war with the Nazis or get invaded by them for one thing unlike America most of Europe, etc. did.

Also Japan at least is very homogenous so racism is probably less offensive/thought about(compared to say America)

Then again America, Germany and others have disturbingly large Neo Nazi movements so its not like Asian countries are unique in off putting or worse usages of Nazi imagery and ideas.

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Is this a good time to mention that at least one of her group members refers to her as "Kitler", a combination of her last name (Kim) and Hitler?