Pop singer Adele faced criticism from her South Korean fans after using an image of the Japanese rising sun flag during a concert in Germany.
In response to the backlash, Adele removed the image from the concert footage without issuing a formal apology.
Adele held a solo concert at a special stadium in Munich, Germany, on August 2. During the performance, Adele displayed a collage on a large outdoor screen that included several images of the rising sun flag, a symbol associated with Japan’s military aggression during World War II.
Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University who has been leading a global campaign against the use of the rising sun flag, immediately sent a protest email to Adele’s team.
Many others also flooded Adele’s social media with critical comments. According to Seo, some concertgoers reported that the video shown at subsequent performances had been edited to remove the flag.
However, Seo expressed some disappointment, saying, “While it was a good move to promptly remove the rising sun flag from the video, it’s a bit regrettable that no public apology was issued. Two years ago, Maroon 5 faced a similar controversy when it used the rising sun flag pattern on its website’s background, but it quickly removed it following public outcry.”
He emphasised the importance of raising awareness about the historical background of the rising sun flag to prevent its future use.
“Instead of just expressing criticism and anger, it’s crucial to ensure that the historical context of the rising sun flag is widely understood, so it is not used again,” Seo said. “In the future, if another pop star uses the rising sun flag, the appropriate actions taken by Adele and Maroon 5 can serve as important precedents.”
This story was first published by The Korea Times
