A video with South Korean actor Jung Hae-in that shows him seated between two other celebrities speaking to each other at a fashion show in Milan has sparked conversation online.
In the short video posted to the official Instagram account of men's fashion magazine GQ, Turkish actor Kerem Bursin and American singer-songwriter Benson Boone, seated on either side of Jung, lean forward and appear to converse with each other over Jung.
The clip, which filmed at a fashion show hosted by Dolce & Gabbana in Milan on Jan. 17, quickly went viral, prompting criticism over the behavior.
“They could have simply switched seats to talk, but this felt like a blatant snub. Would they have acted the same way toward a Hollywood star?” one user wrote on Threads.
But some voices cautioned against taking the incident too seriously or framing it as racial discrimination, saying it may have been a matter of poor manners.
"If you watch the full footage of the fashion show, the three do talk with each other at times," another commenter wrote. "Men aren’t very attentive when things get hectic, so it could simply be poor manners, not something intentional."
The 37-year-old Jung made his acting debut in TV series “Bride of the Century” in 2014, and has since established himself as a lead through critically acclaimed dramas "Something in the Rain," "D.P." and "One Spring Night."
The latest controversy marks yet another instance in which a Korean celebrity is immersed in controversy over alleged racial discrimination at an overseas event.
Last year, Elle UK drew criticism after posting a group photo that cropped out Blackpink's Rose, a global brand ambassador for Saint Laurent, from an image taken at the brand’s spring-summer 2026 fashion show. The photo featured singer Charli XCX, model Hailey Bieber and actor Zoe Kravitz. The magazine later issued an apology and uploaded individual photos of Rose.
cjh@heraldcorp.com
