Lee Seung Hwan, a trainee on the Mnet survival program Boys Planet, recently received adverse reactions from Japanese fans for wearing a pin dedicated to comfort women.
The term “comfort women” refers to women forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. The phenomenon occurred in the occupied lands of Imperial Japan, including Korea, the Phillippines, Vietnam, China, and more. The topic of comfort women still remains a point of tension in the South Korea-Japan relationship, and ordinary citizens on both sides mostly carry opposing views on the topic. Over the years, South Korea has honored the struggles and pain of its comfort women by commemorating them through monuments, statues, and a dedicated memorial day (August 14). Memorial pins are another way of honoring the victims, especially popular among young Koreans.
Lee Seung Hwan was recently spotted wearing a similar memorial pin at the Gangnam Subway Station. The idol trainee had gone to the station to see the ads his fans had put up for him. Some…
