I can taste the salty tears and hear the little Karen-shrieks of outrage from the far right faction of Japan but in this case it’s shooting itself in the own foot. I also need to say that China and South Korea do the exact same thing when their thin patriotic skins are offended so it’s a three Spiderman showdown between them all the time. K-ent is reporting that top South Korean actor Hyun Bin, who is also one of the most popular K-actors in Japan, is being actively disinvited to fan meetings being scheduled next year in 2023. It’s been a busy year of K-stars holding fan meetings in Japan, the most recent being Park Eun Bin and Kang Ki Young after their hit drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Reportedly the HAND to Hyun Bin is due to him accepting the lead role in upcoming K-movie Harbin where he plays the real life historical activist figure of An Jung Geun who assassinated the first Prime Minister of Japan Ito Hirobumi at the Harbin railway station and afterwards yelled out for Korean independence from Japan and Russia. You go dude! He was later executed by the Japanese but obvious the two countries see him very differently as he was awarded the highest medal of honor by the Korean government posthumously. Anyhoo, I don’t think Binnie cares either way.
Wow, Didn’t know he had a tragic ending & based on real life. I’m more curious now.
I am sure Hyun Bin is really, really sad about it. Lol. The Japanese keep thinking the have the moral high ground for all the terrible they did in Asia. They needed to be pushed harder. Imagine the Germans being upset at Leonardo taking a role as someone who tried and succeeded at killer Hitler. The sheer nonsense.
You are insane for even comparing Ito Hirobumi to Hitler. And newsflash – he was pressured by forces beyond his control to have Korea annexed and the latter happened anyways after his assassination. Yeah, some progress there…
God help us all if shrieking and point scoring is what passes for historical discourse these days.
I am sure the Koreans feel real bad for Hirobumi that he annexed their country against “his will”lol. To the Koreans who died during Japanese occupation, I am sure they are relieved that they were not gased instead of shot or starved to death. Yeah he was not like hitler, he was his own kind of stupid. Congrats to him in the great beyond.
I don’t think the disinvitations are based on far-right agenda. It would be extremely awkward if he goes to an FM and the MC asks $What is your latest work? How do you feel about it?” – “Oh, I just finished the scenes where I killed the Japanese PM, this bastard”. It was Hyun Bin who should have never accepted these invitations at first place.
But some patriotic PR never hurts.
People these days seemingly have carte blanche to basically slander anybody they want based on politics and feelings instead of taking a nuanced, fact based approach to historical conflicts.
It’s sickening to see probably middle aged Kdrama fans cheer on Korean chauvinism (more generally speaking, not in this instance) at every turn because they want to get into oppa’s pants.
Ah yes, it’s sickening … That Japan occupied Korea, tortured and murdered a good quarter of a million if not more and yet, we should sympathise with the Japanese I take it? Lmfao gtfo
Weird af. He is an actor, acting. But then Japan hasn’t actually accepted what they did. Or learned about it. Lots of my Japanese friends say they had to turn to outside sources to learn about the crimes in WWII for example because it simply wasn’t in their school curriculum.
Man, this holier than thou attitude from Kdrama fans is insane. Korean actors are NOT entitled to universal praise or money from Japan/China. If Japanese fans are offended by the movie, that’s their prerogative.
The Japanese empire’s warcrimes certainly should be more common knowledge but that doesn’t mean that modern day Japanese people are supposed to applaud at the assassination of one of their prime ministers.
They were occupying Korea. They sure as hell don’t have to applaude but they should absolutely understand why he was killed. You Japanese simps are the worst.
For real. That @Rina always has the word takes, and her fellow d*mbf*cks are applauding her lmao
For real. that @Rina always has the WORST takes, and her fellow d*mbf*cks are applauding her lmao
Well said. Agree with you completely.
Why can’t they applaud? Italians can applaud a movie bashing Mussolini. Germans can applaud a movie bashing Hitler, Russians can applaud of movie bashing Stalin, why can’t Japanese applaud movies bashing the guy who was in charge when his country was messing with Koreans? More movies need to be made about the atrocities commited by Japan. they shouldn’t get a pass just because they make animes. Too many Japanese think their war criminals are heroes. This has to be confronted head on.
^ exactly. Germans and Italians aren’t throwing fits over movies bashing Hitler and Mussolini or showing the atrocities committed against Jewish people under their regime. Even British people aren’t having a fit about Indians making movies about their independence movement that portray the British colonisers negatively. Spain doesn’t have this attitude about Mexican movies set in colonial times or portraying their independence movement.
But what makes Japan special that they can have this attitude about a Korean playing a role in a movie about his own country’s colonisation and oppression?
@Royal We
“But what makes Japan special that they can have this attitude about a Korean playing a role in a move about his own country’s colonisation and oppression?”
Because Korean celebrities like Hyun Bin actively seek out the Japanese market for money. Japan is the most immediate market for Hallyu activities. Sure artists can do whatever they want, but their sponsors can also disagree and cut off the purse strings.
Japan also has reckoned with their history differently than Germany, Britain, and Italy, so those aren’t good comparisons.
@peanut gallery
Actually those are great comparisons because it shows how one country accepts their past and mistakes while another doesn’t. The fact that Japan still can’t deal with their past – that’s a them problem. Why should they be considered as an outlier when their wrongdoings is comparable to what Germany, England or Italy did, yet can’t handle it with more maturity than a 5yo?
Also, Hyun Bin isn’t actively seeking out Japan as a market the way someone like Park Yoochun or even Jang Geun Suk previously did. Hyun Bin’s KOREAN drama got popular there and both Japanese companies and him mutually benefit from their collaborations. Now that this happened and they don’t want him, that’s cool. They have every right to pull the plug as much as everyone else has the right to say “lol how sensitive”. But HB wasn’t going around looking for work in Japan only to suddenly backstab them.
What exactly is the holier than thou attitude you talk about? That kdrama fans think Japan should cut it out? Or that Japanese ppl think Hyun Bin shouldn’t enter the country now that he’s playing a role they don’t agree with?
Both have their perspective and it is their prerogative on how they react to it. If anything, you are acting holier than thou by grouping fans as “Korean Chauvinists” when it is their history as much as it is Japan’s. Being contrary all the time doesn’t make you the mature one, as is clear with your “get in oppa’s pants” comment. Get over yourself.
Exactly. “ThEy WaNt To GeT iN tHeIr OpPa’s PaNtS” Super ironic comment, coming from Rina, who is the biggest pick-me and men’s defender on this site 😂
Exactly. “ThEy WaNt To GeT iN tHeIr OpPa’s PaNtS” Super ironic comment, coming from Rina, who is the biggest pick-me and men’s defender on this site 😂
She’s projecting for real 😂😂😂
You go, Hyun Bin! Props! Cannot wait to see this. Sounds like you are playing a hero!
LOL I burst out laughing throughout this article. I understand both sides on this because war is always straightforward for those involved: i.e the other side is at fault. The reality doesn’t matter in this case as we can all see with the current war going on.
I’m sure Hyun Bin is crying in his bed at night because of his pain of not being able to go to Japan tho 😂
lmao your last sentence 😂 yeah i’m sure he’s crying, never mind that he just had a kid and a beautiful wife at home, not to mention millions of money 😂
(just to be clear because it’s hard to read tones online, i get that you’re being sarcastic, i’m being sarcastic in my comment too 😂)
There are always going to be snowflakes who get offended by the most random things. Whether it’s true or not that Japan is “canceling” him, I think Harbin will still do well in Korea and the rest of Asia. I think HB accepted this role for his career and because he wants to depict his country’s history. If Japan was offended, so be it. He has other fans around the world. Looking forward to Harbin and HB’s performance!