Girls Generation Tiffany Rising Sun Flag Controversy Fallout Continues

One of the members of popular Kpop groups Girls Generation, Tiffany is battling controversy over her use of Japan's rising flag symbol on her social media accounts. The use of the Japanese Flag in an Instagram picture of her, Sooyoung and Yuri at SM Town's Tokyo show might have gone generally unnoticed expect for a few nationalists fans, but since it was posted on Aug. 15, Korea Independence Day, there has been a big uproar about it. To add insult to injury for many, she also posted on her Snapchat that day a picture of a Louis Vuitton bag with the Japanese Rising Sun filter, denoting she was in Tokyo.

The rising sun is a symbol of Japanese aggression for many Koreans who still remember the brutal Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula during the first half of the 20^th century. On Aug. 15, Koreans celebrate their independence from Japan, so the connection is even stronger.

Since the post blew up online, Tiffany has edited her Instagram post to remove the flag and the Snapchat story has gone away, but obviously fans got screenshots of both before they disappeared or were altered.

The fallout has been everywhere with some radio and television commentators slamming the kpop star. Netizens have taken both sides either blasting her for not knowing it was Korea Independence Day and bringing up terrible memories of Japanese occupation, or defending it as a small miscalculation and something that has been overblown.

Snapchat apparently removed the rising sun filter in the past few days, though it is unclear if this incident directly led to it according to allkpop.

It does not stop there. She has also been removed from the Sister's Slam Dunk show. Her band mates have been quiet about the whole controversy, neither supporting her nor coming out against her. Two of the Girls Generation members released a new song, but did not comment on the controversy.

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Girls Generation, Tiffany