Tokyo Station-like image in gov't video for Liberation Day draws ire

A train station resembling Tokyo Station in Japan appears in a video clip that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport produced to review the 120-year history of Korean railways on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. Captured from the ministry's YouTube channel

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is facing public criticism over a 56-second video clip it produced to review the 120-year history of Korean railways on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

In the short-form clip recently uploaded on the ministry's YouTube channel, viewers noticed a train station resembling Tokyo Station in Japan, which appears with subtitles that read, “With the spirit of the 80th anniversary of liberation, Korean railways are heading for tomorrow.”

Internet users pointed out cars passing on the left and the track width, raising suspicion the footage shows Tokyo Station. Some claimed the video is sold online as a time lapse of Tokyo trains at night.

In the wake of the controversy, the ministry took down the clip from YouTube.

A ministry spokesperson denied that Tokyo Station’s image was used, explaining that the image was generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

“It seems that the quality of AI is still imperfect,” he said. “The people who made the video were not railway experts, so they did not realize the image looks like Tokyo Station.”

He added that the ministry will be more careful with AI-generated visuals from now on.

This is not the first time state-run rail operators have faced controversy involving Japanese imagery.

A snack box distributed on the SRT high-speed trains shows a Turtle Ship flying a Japanese flag. Captured from Bobaedream

SR, the transport ministry-owned company that operates the SRT high-speed trains, was criticized last month for distributing snacks in boxes that showed a Turtle Ship flying a Japanese flag. Designed by Adm. Yi Sun-sin during the Joseon Dynasty, the warship was used in the war against Japanese naval forces supporting Toyotomi Hideyoshi's attempts to conquer Korea from 1592 to 1598.

SR withdrew all the snack boxes and apologized to customers and the public.

In 2022, Korea National Railway, a government-owned railroad construction and management company, used images of Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train and Mount Fuji in a social media post commemorating the 77th anniversary of National Liberation Day.

Also including the Korean flag and national flower, the post read, “Marking National Liberation Day, we want to talk about railways, which had once been the means of exploitation and which have now become the symbol of modernization.”

Facing backlash, the company removed the post and issued an apology.

“There is no excuse for causing discomfort by using inappropriate photos as a responsible organization,” the company said at the time.