Actor Rhee Min-jung criticized online for posing in Venice church with luxury bag

Actor Rhee Min-jung came under fire for taking pictures that some took as sacrilegious in a church in Venice.

Rhee uploaded pictures of herself holding a luxury bag in front of a sculpture of Jesus in a church in Venice on Monday. The pictures were taken by fellow actor Son Ye-jin, according to the caption that Rhee wrote on the post.

Fans, especially from overseas, criticized her as "disrespectful" and "thoughtless."

"I adore you but I think it's disrespectful to pose with a purse with Jesus Christ up in the cross behind you," wrote one user in English on the post. "It's a place of worship too, not just a tourist area to visit. Just sayin."

"Advertising a bag in front of the cross? I feel ashamed as a Korean, regardless of religion," read another comment in English.

Some defended the actor saying that a non-believer could be unaware of the meaning of the cross or the church. Rhee has not made a comment on the matter.

Rhee reportedly followed her husband, actor Lee Byung-hun, who is the lead in auteur Park Chan-wook's new black comedy film "No Other Choice," to support him in the Venice International Film Festival.

Adapted from the mystery novel "The Ax" by American writer Donald E. Westlake, the film is a dark thriller following Man-soo a middle-aged man who, after being abruptly fired from a paper company, takes extreme measures to secure a new job by dealing with his competitors.

The film premiered internationally last week at the Venice International Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim and positive responses.

Rhee and Lee tied the knot in August 2013 and the couple have a son, born in 2015, and a daughter, born in 2023. 

BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]