Ha Young (actress)

1. Early life and career

Ahn was born on August 11, 1993, in Seoul, South Korea.^[1] She comes from a family of four generations of physicians. Her great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, opened the first hospital in Seoul under Emperor Gojong's rule.^[2] Her grandfather, Ahn Boo-ho, was a medical officer and professor who worked at Sorokdo National Hospital in the late 1940s and early 1950s.^[3] Her father and older sister are physicians as well.^[4]

Ahn majored in Western painting at Ewha Womans University and went on to graduate school at the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2016 to prepare for her master's degree; she took a leave of absence after one year to pursue an acting career.^[5]

After joining Bistus Entertainment and modelling for various brands, Ahn made her screen debut in the 2019 series Doctor Prisoner as Na Yi-hyeon, the protagonist's younger sister.^[6]

2. Family background controversy

In an August 7, 2026, appearance on Korean Broadcasting System's Problem Child in House, Ahn reportedly spoke "proudly" of her family's history in medicine and mentioned the achievements of her great-grandfather without naming him. Speculation began circulating online that her great-grandfather was Ahn Sang-ho, who has been described as a collaborator with Japanese imperial rule. He was a leader of a pro-Japanese Korean group and was used in the propaganda newspaper Maeil sinbo as an example of a Korean who had assimilated to become "indistinguishable from a Japanese person".^[7] Bistus Entertainment initially dismissed the speculation but later retracted the statement and apologized while acknowledging the familial tie. Ahn issued a personal apology, saying that she had "only partially known about her great-grandfather's life through stories told by her family".^[3][8]

Ahn's grandfather, Ahn Boo-ho, was also delved into. During his time at Sorokdo National Hospital, reports of serious human rights abuses were reported involving Hansen's disease patients, although no evidence of Ahn's involvement has surfaced.^[3]

The Ahn family's wealth was scrutinised during an August 21 meeting of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Lawmaker Park Eun-jung of the Rebuilding Korea Party raised questions about the land previously owned by Ahn Sang-ho, as he was a large landowner who accumulated his wealth during the Japanese occupation. Park also raised the question of whether this falls under the Special Law to Redeem Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property, as Ahn Sang-ho was not officially listed as a pro-Japanese collaborator. In response, Vice Minister of Justice Lee Jin-soo said that the Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property has been reformed and is set to be launched in December.^[9][10]

In response to the controversy, Ahn stepped down from the upcoming seasons of the Netflix original series The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, which is scheduled to begin filming in October.^[11] Netflix has refrained from uploading the second promotional video of the drama Our Sticky Love.^[12] The promotional videos Ahn filmed for Samsung Electronics and Artid were also made private.^[13]

3. Filmography

===Television series===

Key

†	Denotes television productions that have not yet been released

Television performances

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2019	Doctor Prisoner	Na Yi-hyeon		[14]
2019–2020	Chocolate	Kim Hee-ju		[15]
2020	Soul Mechanic	Kang Neu-ri		[16]
	Love Is Annoying, but I Hate Being Lonely!	Jeon Bo-ra		[17]
	Private Lives	Yoo Mi-young		[18]
2020–2021	Royal Secret Agent	Kim Mi-ok		[19]
2021	Mouse	Song Soo-jung		[20]
2021–2022	Now, We Are Breaking Up	Jung So-young		[21]
	Let Me Be Your Knight	Chae Ji-yeon		[22]
2022	Extraordinary Attorney Woo	Kim Hwa-young	Cameo (Episode 2)	[23]
	The Good Detective	Jung Hee-joo	Season 2	[24]
2023	Doona!	Kim Jin-joo		[25]
2024	Face Me	Yoon Hye-jin		[26]
	O'PENing 2024	Shin Seo-hyun	Episode: "My Trouble-Maker Mom"	[27]
2025	The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call	Cheon Jang-mi	Season 1	[28]
2026	Boyfriend on Demand	Lee Ji-yeon		[29]
	Bloodhounds	Nurse Yoon	Season 2; Cameo	[30]
	Teach You a Lesson	Choi Ga-yoon	Special appearances	[31]
	Our Sticky Love	Go Eun-sae		[32]
2027	The Long Shot Trial †	Yeo Sim-hee		[33]

4. Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
APAN Star Awards	2025	Best New Actress	The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call	Won	[34]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2025	Best New Actress – Television		Nominated	[35]
Blue Dragon Series Awards	2025	Best New Actress		Nominated	[36]