On the first day of Grammy winner Adele’s large-scale tour, the songstress was the recipient of massive backlash. Reportedly the long outdoor screen on the stage which is poised to make the Guinness World Record an image of the Rising Sun flag appeared in the background on LED lights which hurt the sentiments of the Koreans. The symbolism has strong political connections to Korea’s past and the display has offended several of Korean fans of Adele.

As reported by AllKpop, The Rising Sun Flag is associated with Japan’s militarism and is immensely offensive to the Korean population. The use of the imagery in Germany further made waves among Koreans and media outlets. The Rising Sun symbols hold the same significant meaning in Korea as the Swastika in Germany. Both the symbols are seen as taboo in their respective countries and symbolise imperialism and war crimes of the past.

#Adele faces backlash from Korean fans for using controversial Rising Sun Flag imagery at concert https://t.co/0A0UOtB3ra

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— allkpop (@allkpop) August 4, 2024

The controversy has taken over the internet and the string of backlashes continues. Fans are taking to social media to voice their ire and disappointment over the action. One fan took to a Korean social media platform to express their anger in a message that translates to, “How should I put this… White people seem really ignorant and uncivilized. They don’t even know why the Nazis are taboo; they just get fed information that Nazis are bad, so they just accept it, right? Otherwise, why would they keep using the Nazi symbol of the East? They are so ignorant.”

westeners expect asians to know about hakenkreuz but never ever educate themselves about the horrors that the japanese regime did that time and how the rising sun flag is such a horrible symbol https://t.co/TpJoBxI1Rc

— tzuliet is (@tzuontop) August 5, 2024

Several users found the action deliberate with one of such comments reading, “Do they want to use the Nazi symbol in Germany but can’t, so they use the Rising Sun flag instead? It seems intentional rather than ignorant.”

Adele kickstarted her concert tour on Saturday, August 3 in Munich, Germany, and is expected to entertain 800,000 people across 10 performances. The ‘Rolling in the Deep’ singer’s 10-show residency in Munich is her first mainland Europe performance since 2016.