Actor Song Jin-woo posted an apology after controversy over historical distortion erupted when he referred to the Japanese colonial period and said, "Back in the day, the two (Korea and Japan) fought."
On the 25th, while appearing on the YouTube channel '354 Samosa' and discussing international marriage, Song Jin-woo made the problematic remark.
Song Jin-woo, who married a Japanese wife, said, "To my child, I made it clear, 'Mom is Japanese but Dad is Korean, we have both,' and I also tell the child, 'Back in the day, the two (Korea and Japan) fought.'"
Hearing this, Alberto Mondi said, "To my son Leo, I told him, 'Japanese people aren't that bad, and this is history so you can learn it,' and 'You have to hear both sides,'" showing agreement with Song Jin-woo's comment.
Once the video was released, controversy grew that Song Jin-woo and Alberto Mondi had made remarks distorting history. On online communities, there were many critical comments such as, "It was Japan that invaded Korea, so is it right to say 'they fought' and that 'you have to hear both sides'?" Many users also posted direct critical comments on the video.
In the end, the '354 Samosa' production team set the video to private and posted an apology on the 26th. The production team said, "In the video uploaded on the 25th, due to our mistake, there was content where a guest's remarks were conveyed with a different meaning, so we switched the video to private," adding, "It was our fault for making the guests' remarks appear as if they distorted certain facts and conveyed incorrect content."
They added, "The expression 'Korea and Japan fought' had no intention whatsoever of downplaying or distorting the historical fact of Japan's invasion," and, "The phrase 'you have to hear both sides' also did not mean to view history through a bothsides lens; it came out while generally explaining the idea that 'when looking at diverse social and historical situations, it is good to have an attitude of understanding multiple perspectives.'"
Afterward, Song Jin-woo also posted an apology through his social media (SNS). Song Jin-woo said, "I sincerely apologize for causing hurt and disappointment to many people with my careless words and actions," and added, "I had no intention of distorting history to educate and protect children. Hearing around me that among children from multicultural families, a sense of hatred arising from parents' nationalities is leading to indiscriminate violence against kids, fear came first." He continued, "I wanted to teach that while historical facts must be known accurately, violence must never be committed under any circumstances," explaining, "In that process, my intention to explain at a child's eye level came first, and I ended up using the wrong word, 'fought.'"