Kim Hee-chul Apologizes After Outburst Over Incheon's 'Upside-Down' Taegukgi Banner

Incheon City recently displayed commemorative banners near its city hall to celebrate Liberation Day. However, the Taegukgi (South Korean flag) design on the banners appeared to be upside down, sparking widespread online debate and drawing sharp criticism from Super Junior member Kim Hee-chul (김희철). The city ultimately removed the banners after just two days and explained the design's intent. Kim Hee-chul issued a public apology the following day after the truth behind the incident came to light.

The controversy began with promotional banners created by Incheon City to mark the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day. The Taegukgi design on the banners, which initially looked inverted, led to heated discussions and criticism among netizens. Given that the banners were intended to commemorate Liberation Day, the perceived incorrect display of the national flag ignited a significant dispute.

Upon seeing the banners, Kim Hee-chul expressed his strong dissatisfaction on social media, using intense language such as "f***ing crazy!" to denounce the design.

When his remarks were interpreted by some as a political stance, Kim Hee-chul clarified, saying, "Many people are concerned that my comments about the Taegukgi might be political, but regardless of left or right, it is our national flag." He emphasized that the issue of an inverted Taegukgi was unrelated to political affiliation, stating, "Just for the act of participating in politics, I don't feel I should be praised or criticized." He added that "as a Korean, this is simply natural."

However, as the controversy continued, the true design concept of the banners gradually emerged. Incheon City later issued a statement, clarifying that there was no intention to deliberately invert the Taegukgi.

According to Incheon City, the Taegukgi on the banner was designed from the perspective of "looking up at independence activists holding the Taegukgi from below," which created the visual discrepancy. The city emphasized that the fundamental elements of the Taegukgi, including the trigrams (geon, gon, gam, ri), were correctly positioned. However, when viewed head-on from a flat banner, this specific viewing angle could indeed create the illusion of an inverted flag.

Considering that the design could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings, Incheon City ultimately decided to remove the banners. An Incheon city official stated, "It was indeed our oversight not to carefully consider how it would appear from a flat perspective." The official pledged to conduct more thorough checks in the future to prevent similar misunderstandings.

After learning of the official explanation, Kim Hee-chul re-evaluated his own reaction and admitted that he had been too impulsive. He explained that he had recently seen multiple instances of the Taegukgi being displayed upside down or drawn incorrectly. "It's like the saying, 'once bitten, twice shy,' where you mistake a pot lid for a snake," he said. "I've accumulated a lot of anger recently, which is why it erupted during this incident."

In other words, a series of recent incidents involving the incorrect display of the Taegukgi had caused his accumulated frustration to burst forth in this particular event. However, he did not use these reasons to excuse his behavior. Kim Hee-chul reiterated, "It was my fault for not looking closely at the design. It's natural to apologize when you make a mistake, so please criticize me for not exercising careful judgment."

Finally, he apologized again to the public, stating, "I am sorry. I hope that, including myself, the Taegukgi will not be given other meanings in the future, and that unnecessary misunderstandings will no longer arise." Additionally, Kim Hee-chul personally addressed sudden online questions about his "origin," emphasizing, "I am indeed Korean, and I was born in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province," directly refuting the absurd rumors.