Previously, GFRIEND member Sowon was under fire after sharing a number of photos of her posing with a Nazi statue to her Instagram account. Since then, Source Music has released a statement concerning the manner.
What is the controversy?
On Saturday, Jan. 30, Sowon shared three photos of her posing with a statue wearing a Nazi uniform. In one photo, she is seen affectionately holding the statue's cheeks. In another one, Sowon is seen with an arm wrapped around him and resting her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed. In the third photo, she is seen puckering her lips up at him.
Following backlash from fans concerning the controversial photo, Sowon quickly took the post down but did not address the comments. People were baffled by her ignorance concerning World War II, Nazis, the Holocaust, and anti-semitism. Many Koreans have come out to say that in school, they were extensively taught about the Holocaust and Nazi Germany due to its connection to South Korea's history with Japanese Imperialism. Because of that, people believe Sowon has no excuse to not know about the controversial nature of the statue.
After some digging, it was discovered that the photo was taken at a cafe where GFRIEND filmed their VCR for "Walpurgis Night." The cafe is themed around European history and makes use of Nazi soldiers as their point decor. It is unsure why that is the cafe.
RELATED: GFRIEND Sowon Under Fire for Taking Photos with Nazi Statue
Source Music's Statement Concerning GFRIEND Sowon's Nazi Photo Issue
On Monday, Feb. 1, Source Music released a statement concerning both Sowon's Instagram photos and their VCR for the album comeback show of "Walpurgis Night." They claimed that staff members did not notice the controversial attire of the mannequin, and the behind the scenes videos of the filming went live on their YouTube channel with no one noticing. They have since been edited out.
They also stated that Sowon had recently learned about the photo's meaning and immediately deleted it upon learning it. According to Source Music, she feels deeply responsible for uploading such photos.
Their whole statement reads:
“Hello, this is Source Music.
We would like to genuinely apologize for causing controversy regarding the behind the scenes VCR of GFRIEND’s comeback show, as well as the photos uploaded by Sowon.
In Nov. 2020, a staff member from an external broadcast station rented out a cafe in Paju to film the VCR for GFRIEND’s comeback show. Our staff members also filmed videos there for our behind the scenes clips and take pictures for the members’ social media.
The staff member in charge did not realize there was an issue with the mannequin’s attire during the on-site inspection and continued filming throughout the day. Since then, a behind the scenes video was uploaded on Dec. 12, 2020, and photos were uploaded on Jan. 31, and both had to go through internal inspection before being released. Yet, they were posted without the problem being recognized.
We would like to apologize for failing to check in advance if there were inappropriate props at the filming location, for not carefully inspecting the filming process and posting the content, and for not giving proper attention to the potential societal issues and historical facts. We would like to bow our heads in apology to everyone who may have felt discomfort with the videos and photos.
The problematic clips of the video have been deleted. Sowon was also very shocked to learn about the meaning of the photos and deleted them immediately. She feels deeply responsible for posting such pictures.
We will make sure to carefully track the content we produce and share and see how it can affect groups of people. We will pay more attention to social issues in the future.
Once more, we would like to sincerely apologize to those who may have been hurt by the photos or video.”
What do you think of the situation?
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Written by Alexa Lewis
