The K-pop artist Sowon has apologized after images appeared online of her posing with a mannequin that was dressed in a German military uniform from the days of Nazi rule.
Sowon, a member of the female band GFriend, was shown cuddling the mannequin in now-deleted photographs that were taken late last year while the group was filming a video in Paju, South Korea.
The singer removed the post from Instagram as soon as she “understood the significance of the image,” said Source Music, Sowon’s management agency.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Sowon, 25, was “very shocked” by the association with Nazism, Source Music said in a statement.
“She is pained and feels deep responsibility for posting such image,” the agency added.
“We want to apologize for not being able to check for inappropriate props on 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,” the agency said. “We bow our head in apology for causing offense through the video and stills.”
Sowon, who has more than 800,000 followers on Instagram, is not the first K-pop star to have drawn criticism over the use of Nazi insignia.
In 2018, the agency representing BTS apologized after group member RM posed in a cap featuring the symbol of the Death’s Head Units — Schutzstaffel (SS) squads that ran the Nazi concentration camps.
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