Koreans and the Korean media have raised issues of illegal photography and sexual harassment against Apple TV+ drama “Pachinko” actor Jin Ha over an old Tumblr blog that was published 10 years ago.
Jin Ha, a Korean-American, plays the role of Solomon Baek, the grandson of Sunja (played by Youn Yuh-jung) in “Pachinko.”
The issues of illegal photography, sexual harassment and voyeurism were raised by Korean media on March 25, the day “Pachinko” was released.
A Korean posted online, targeting Jin Ha’s purported old Tumblr blog titled “Flowers in Bloom,” in which he posted photos of elderly Korean women who are wearing clothes with floral prints.
Jin Ha’s first post was published on July 14, 2010 and the last post was made on Sept. 6, 2011.
“I have noticed something. Elderly Korean women are staunchly devoted to wearing flower prints. Gaudy, chic, loud, subdued, multicolored, monochromatic--they rock it all,” Jin Ha wrote in the introduction to the blog.
He added, “Inspired by The Sartorialist, I have decided to launch a photography series fondly entitled ‘Flowers In Bloom’ to exhibit this captivating fashion trend in South Korea.” The Sartorialist is a fashion blog in New York City.
A Korean posted online with the title “Korean-American actor in ‘Pachinko’ posted on blog of illegal filming of Korean grandmothers (post not taken down).”
The accuser added, “Korean-American actor Jin Ha, who appeared in ‘Pachinko,’ uploaded illegally filmed photos of Korean grandmothers on his portfolio website. Illegally taken photos and self-comments were posted for two years from 2010 to 2011, and have been released for more than 10 years until 2022.”
The poster picked descriptions from two posts from Jin Ha’s blog, which the accuser said were sexual harassments of grandmothers.
One is a post dated Aug. 16, 2010 in which Jin Ha uploaded a photo of a sleeping grandmother and wrote, “Working with such a provocative model, I found it hard to keep myself and my concupiscence under control.”
Another is a post dated Aug. 9, 2010 in which Jin Ha uploaded a photo of a woman wearing a blouse with large floral prints and wrote, “Now we have an excuse to stare directly at her right nipple.”
“Illegal filming is also a problem, and it is very unpleasant to write down what you feel as if you were criticizing grandmothers. I am writing this in hopes that the actor apologizes to the victims and takes down the post because it has become a public issue,” the Korean added.
Other comments by Koreans on the online post also criticized Jin Ha.
"Pachinko" stars Youn Yuh-jung, Kim Min-ha, Lee Min-ho, Kim Min-ha and Jin Ha.