Ha Young was becoming one of the more recognizable new faces in Korean television. The 33 year old South Korean actress gained international exposure playing trauma nurse Cheon Jang mi in Netflix’s “The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call,” a Korean medical drama that drew 34 million views worldwide in the first half of 2025. She was expected to return for its follow up. Now she is leaving the series over a controversy that began not with something she did, but with the actions of her great grandfather more than a century ago.
Netflix confirmed on Sept. 1 that Ha, whose full name is Ahn Ha young, would not appear in the next installment after she informed the production that she could no longer participate. The departure offers foreign viewers an unusually stark example of how Korea’s unresolved history with Japan can still shape the careers of its modern celebrities. As Korean dramas have become a regular part of Netflix’s global catalog, controversies once largely confined to Korea can now alter the casts and promotion of shows watched by millions around the world.
That makes Ha’s case about more than the disappearance of one actress from a television series. Korean entertainment has become increasingly global, but the industry remains rooted in a society where Japan’s colonial rule from 1910 to 1945 carries political and emotional weight. A 2025 survey found that more than 70% of South Koreans believed remnants of Japanese colonial rule remained unresolved eight decades after liberation. The label of having collaborated with colonial Japan can therefore carry consequences that may be difficult to understand without that historical context.
The controversy began in August when Ha appeared on KBS, South Korea’s public broadcaster, and spoke proudly about coming from four generations of doctors. She discussed her great grandfather Ahn Sang ho, describing him as a physician who studied Western medicine in Japan and became an early practitioner of Western medicine in Seoul.
Her remarks prompted people to examine Ahn’s history more closely. Records subsequently drew attention to his name appearing in 1916 among the counselors of the Daejeong Friendship Association, an organization associated with support for Japanese rule. Ha’s management agency initially dismissed allegations about his pro Japanese activities as groundless before reversing its position after reviewing additional historical material.
Another record came from a 1918 interview Ahn gave to Maeil Shinbo, a newspaper published under the Japanese colonial government. In the interview, he described living in a heavily Japanese manner, including wearing Japanese clothing and raising his family according to Japanese customs. He also served as a physician connected to the Office of the Yi Royal Household under the colonial administration.
Ha apologized after the records surfaced, saying she had known only part of her great grandfather’s life through stories passed down within her family and regretted publicly presenting him as a source of family pride.
The timing made the controversy especially sensitive. The dispute erupted only days before Aug. 15, when South Korea commemorates its liberation from Japanese colonial rule. The issue quickly moved beyond criticism on social media and began affecting Ha’s work.
Promotional activities surrounding “Our Sticky Love,” a Netflix romantic comedy released in August in which Ha starred alongside Jung Hae in, were disrupted. Advertising videos featuring her were also removed from public view, including material produced for Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s largest technology company.
Another television project has proved more difficult to change. Ha is starring with Lee Je hoon in “The Long Shot Trial,” an upcoming legal comedy from SBS, one of South Korea’s major television networks. Most filming had already been completed when the controversy broke, leaving the broadcaster to continue discussions over how to handle Ha’s participation and the eventual broadcast.
“The Trauma Code” presented a different calculation because its follow up had yet to begin filming. Ha had been expected to reprise her role alongside Ju Ji hoon, Choo Young woo and Yoon Kyung ho after the first season became one of Netflix’s more successful Korean series. Her departure removes one of the original members of the trauma team before the story continues.
The episode also illustrates a less visible side of K culture’s global expansion. Netflix can carry a Korean drama instantly to viewers in the United States and dozens of other markets, but the people making those shows still operate inside Korea’s own historical and social environment. International popularity has not made those domestic sensitivities disappear.
For audiences who discovered Ha through Netflix, her sudden absence from “The Trauma Code” may initially look like an ordinary casting change. In South Korea, it is the latest example of how a colonial history that ended more than 80 years ago continues to shape public life. As Korean entertainment reaches further beyond the country’s borders, more of that history is traveling with it.
