Jin Ha of 'Pachinko' issues apology for inappropriate photos on his blog

Actor Jin Ha during a red carpet event for “Pachinko" at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles on March 16. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Actor Jin Ha of Apple TV+’s new series “Pachinko” (2022) on Saturday apologized for his candid photographs of elderly Korean women and sexually suggestive comments about them on his social media page.

“I sincerely apologize to the senior women I photographed,” wrote Ha on his personal blog. “I apologize, as well, to the viewers whom I offended with this Tumblr account. My lack of judgment in 2011 has been pointed out by readers wiser than I have proved to be, and for that I am grateful.”

Ha had posted photographs of middle-aged and elderly women on the subway or in the streets with their faces clearly showing on his Tumblr account “Korean Flowers in Bloom,” which he created in July 2010. He actively posted on the page until 2011.

Along with the photos, Ha made comments like “Working with such a provocative model, I found it hard to keep myself and my concupiscence under control,” and “Dirty hands mean that they work well in the kitchen.”

Admitting that his actions were a “breach of privacy of the elderly women who were featured” and that his captions were “inappropriate,” Ha said that he has deleted his Tumblr account.

Ha portrays Solomon Baek on “Pachinko.” Baek is a grandson of the series protagonist Sunja portrayed by Academy-winning actor Yun Yuh-jung.

Other actors in the new series are Lee Min-ho, Kim Min-ha, Jung Min-chae, Anna Sawai, Kaho Minami and Jung Woong-in.

Apple TV+'s Korean-language series "Pachinko" premiered on March 25.

Based on Korean-American author Min Jin Lee's bestselling 2017 novel of the same name, the story of "Pachinko" follows four generations of ethnic Koreans in Japan, known as Zainichi Koreans.

An episode of the eight-part series drops every Friday until April 29.

Ha is a Korean-American actor, known for his roles in the television series “Devs” (2020) and “Love Life” (2020), and the musical “Hamilton” (2021).

The actor drew public attention during a red carpet event for “Pachinko” at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles on March 16 by dressing up in the female version of hanbok, or Korean traditional dress. Ha told the reporters that he chose the outfit because he “wanted to look beautiful regardless of my sex.”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]