On August 15, the Korean Liberation Day, a offline event named "Clearing Pro-Japanese Cafés - Mockery Banquet for Traitors" became popular near Seodaemun District in Seoul. The main participants were young people aged 10 to 20. Before the event started, more than 500 people were queuing, and some waited about 3 hours to get in. At the event, products related to pro-Japanese figures were made into internet memes and souvenirs, such as the "Wajin Blood Red" five-flavor fruit tea and a捏捏 toy based on the pro-Japanese figure Lee Wan-yong, which sold out quickly.

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AI Scanner Goes Viral, Daily Visits Exceed 2 Million

At the same time, an online tool called "Pro-Japanese Collaborator Scanner" developed by civilian developers using AI quickly became popular. Users only need to input their surname and ancestral origin, and the system will compare official records and list information about individuals who committed pro-Japanese anti-national acts and those who contributed to the independence movement with the same surname and lineage. The database includes 19,000 records of contributors from the Korean National Pension Service and an official list of 1,006 known pro-Japanese individuals.

The website's daily traffic exceeded 2 million, causing frequent server crashes. Search volume for "finding ancestors" increased dozens of times compared to the same period before Liberation Day. The trend was sparked by an incident involving actress Ahn Ga-yeon, who had a TV show mishap — she boasted that her great-grandfather was a royal physician of the Joseon Dynasty, but it turned out he was actually a pro-Japanese collaborator. After writing a handwritten apology letter, the issue further triggered widespread public discussion.

It should be noted that this tool can only search the officially registered list and cannot absolutely confirm direct ancestry. Having the same surname and ancestral origin does not necessarily mean having a blood relationship, so there is a risk of misjudgment. As public opinion heated up, the Korean government also plans to restart the recovery of unjust property of pro-Japanese individuals under a new law in December, expected to recover 32.5 billion won to compensate descendants of contributors.