IVE member Jang Won-young (장원영) has once again become a trending topic online due to a recent event video. While attending an event for Italian luxury brand Bulgari as a brand ambassador, she was observed reacting differently to face-touching greetings from various brand executives during a photo opportunity. She shared an affectionate face-to-face greeting with a female CEO but appeared to smile and step back when a male executive approached for a similar greeting. The footage quickly went viral on social media, unexpectedly drawing her into a "refusal to greet" controversy.
The incident occurred on October 28 at a Bulgari exhibition event, where Jang Won-young was invited as a brand ambassador to pose for photos with executives, including CEO Laura Burdese. After the event, footage circulated on Korean online communities, with many netizens focusing on Jang Won-young's interaction with a foreign male executive.
In the video circulating online, Jang Won-young is seen engaging in a face-touching greeting with the female CEO in the photo zone. However, when the male executive approached, seemingly preparing for a similar greeting, she suddenly turned her head and stepped back slightly, preventing the face-touching greeting from occurring. As the footage made it appear as though she deliberately avoided him, it quickly sparked discussion among some netizens, with some even questioning her demeanor and suggesting she had "rejected" his greeting.
However, the viral video was only a few seconds long, and the full context of the situation was not completely visible. It could also have been affected by the filming angle and timing. Consequently, many argued that it was premature to conclude that Jang Won-young had "deliberately refused" based solely on this footage, leading to a polarized debate.
Addressing the public's questions, Jang Won-young personally clarified the situation on a fan communication platform on the 4th. She explained that she was simply flustered during the photo session and accidentally missed one of the face-touching greetings. She stated, "Because it was during the photo session, I was a bit flustered myself, so I missed the face-touching greeting with one of them. It seems some people misunderstood because of that."
She further revealed that she is actually very familiar with the people involved in the event. "We even greeted each other with 'Ya~' before the event started; we're like family," she said. She emphasized that she genuinely did not notice the other person's gesture at the moment and couldn't help but ask, "Does anyone really think I did it on purpose? If someone truly thinks that, I would find it quite surprising."
After Jang Won-young's personal explanation, a large number of fans came to her defense, believing she shouldn't have to clarify a few seconds of footage. One fan directly stated, "Being a female celebrity is really tough. Honestly, if a foreign man suddenly approached like that, it might indeed make one feel a bit uncomfortable, and now she has to specifically come out and explain it. It's truly absurd."
Other fans commented, "Jang Won-young works so hard," "Go, Princess Won-young!" and "It's ridiculous that she even has to clarify something like this." Some even speculated that she clarified the situation out of concern that relevant staff members might be blamed. "It feels like she came forward to explain because she was afraid the staff would get criticized," one person said, while another added, "If only she herself was being criticized, I don't think she would have said anything at all."
Even more fans expressed their anger, exclaiming, "Please leave Jang Won-young alone!" "People who constantly nitpick are truly terrifying," and "It's so inexplicable that such a small matter can be used for attack; there are really many strange people in the world."
In fact, Jang Won-young has been scrutinized over minor details multiple times this year, frequently finding herself embroiled in controversy. Earlier this year, she was mistakenly thought to be late due to miscommunication by event organizers. Subsequently, she was involved in several airport-related controversies, and even small gestures like being photographed holding someone's arm at an amusement park were over-interpreted by netizens, repeatedly making her the focus of online debates.
Now, once again, a short event video has led to her being questioned for "refusing a face-touching greeting from a male executive," even requiring her to personally clarify the situation. This has once again drawn sympathy from her fans. From a brief interaction lasting only a few seconds to a controversy that required her personal explanation, many fans exclaimed, "They really are too good at nitpicking."
