Model's Instagram photo angers desolate nation after ferry tragedy

Model Huh Jae-hyuk posted on Instagram a photo of himself under water, which provoked viewers to recall drowned victims of the sunken ferry "Sewol" off the southwestern coast.

By Ko Dong-hwan

• Published Apr 17, 2014 5:47 PM KST
• Updated Apr 17, 2014 5:47 PM KST

By Ko Dong-hwan

While the “Sewol” ferry tragedy at the nation’s southwestern coast is still making headlines, a male fashion model stoked anger among netizens with an inadvertent SNS photo, MyDaily said Thursday.

On Thursday morning, Huh Jae-hyuk posted on Instagram a photo of himself lying in a water-filled bathtub facing upward. Wearing black clothes, the eerie image reminded viewers of a drowned man.

But the photo couldn’t have been released to the public at a worse time. Netizens criticized Huh for shamelessly mimicking drowned passengers in the Sewol ferry.

An apologetic Huh responded online, saying because he doesn’t own a television or a computer he didn’t know about the tragic news earlier. He said he only found out about the news recently and was sorry about his photo.

But netizens discovered that Huh had posted photos of himself using his laptop on his SNS, and are questioning the truthfulness in his statement.

Huh terminated his account from virtually all SNS channels.