JAL stops using controversial Rising Sun flag pattern for in-flight meal

[Seo Kyoung-duk's Instagram]

SEOUL -- Japan Airlines (JAL) has promised to stop using the Rising Sun Flag pattern on the plastic cover of its in-flight meals, bowing to protests by a South Korean activist who argued the pattern is a reminder of cruelty by Japan's imperial army before and during World War II.

Its meaning is little known to the western world. For Koreans, the flag depicting the red sun with rays stretching out from it on a white background symbolizes Japan's harsh 1910-45 colonial rule and wartime atrocities like the Nazi swastika flag.

In an Instagram post uploaded on Thursday, Seo Kyoung-duk, a Sungshin Women’s University professor in Seoul, said he launched an international campaign earlier this month against the Rising Sun flag pattern used by JAL on clear plastic covers for one of its in-flight meals.

"After sending letters of complaint, JAL finally gave me a promise that it will never use covers with the Rising Sun flag pattern engraved onto them," Seo wrote. He said that the Japanese airline described the controversial cover as an old model and promised to use a new one with no patterns.

"It was a shock to learn that images of Japan’s wartime flag appeared on in-flight meals provided by a leading Japanese airline. Fortunately, the company took quick corrective measures," he said.

For years, Seo, 44, has raised awareness of the flag's historical significance, sending parcels including letters, videos and documents about the Rising Sun Flag to Japanese and foreign enterprises which used the symbol in their products.

The flag pattern has long been a controversy in South Korea and China. In May, Steven Yeun, a Korean-American actor who starred in the American drama series "Walking Dead", posted an apology in Korean and English on his Instagram after he came under fire for "liking" an Instagram picture showing a child wearing a shirt with the Rising Sun flag pattern.

For decades, Seoul and Tokyo have been locked in a lingering row over comfort women, school textbooks and other emotional issues related to the past. Many South Koreans still harbor deep resentment against Japan over its colonial rule, and they want Tokyo's sincere apology.

[Tiffany's Instagram]

In August 2016, Tiffany, a member of South Korea's popular girl band Girls' Generation, was expelled from a TV reality program after she uploaded an Instagram post using the politically sensitive emoticon of Japan's imperial army flag.

The post, uploaded a day before South Korea's August 15 Liberation Day commemorating an end to Japan's colonial rule, sparked public resentment. Tiffany apologized for her careless action.

This story was contributed by Jazin Wee, an editorial assistant.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

JAL stops using controversial Rising Sun flag pattern for in-flight meal

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