South Koreans dig into family roots amid K-actress Ahn Ha-young’s ancestry controversy

A South Korean website dedicated to tracing family origins has experienced a significant increase in user traffic following public scrutiny of actress Ahn Ha-young's ancestry. The controversy centers on allegations that Ahn's great-grandfather was a pro-Japanese collaborator during Japan's colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945.

The website, whose name translates to "in search of roots," saw its servers overloaded for several hours on August 12 and experienced intermittent crashes on August 13 due to the surge in users. The site provides genealogical information on 287 South Korean family lineages.

Public interest intensified as users investigated Ahn's great-grandfather, whom the actress had previously described on television as a doctor who established the first Western-style clinic in Seoul and treated Emperor Gojong. Online allegations surfaced suggesting Ahn Sang-ho, the ancestor in question, had ties to collaborators.

Ahn Ha-young's agency initially denied these claims, which only led to further investigation and searches for historical records. On August 12, the actress issued a public apology, stating she was unaware of her family's past and regretted speaking about it with pride. This controversy emerged just days before South Korea's Liberation Day on August 15, which commemorates the nation's independence from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.

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I had been unaware of my family’s past and regretted having spoken proudly about it.