[SBS Star] Hwang Jung Eum Criticized for Visiting 'Poorly Conditioned' Zoo & Posting Those Images

Actress Hwang Jung Eum received negative comments after posting photos and a video of zoo animals that appeared to be in poor condition.

On July 26, Hwang Jung Eum uploaded photos to her Instagram, captioning, "Great to meet you. I put on my glasses to look at you.", "Cute paws!"

The photos showed Hwang Jung Eum gazing upward at a tiger outside, lying flat on the top of the steel cage where she is in.

A person near her is holding a piece of meat toward the tiger outside the cage.
Hwang Jung Eum also shared footage of a lion seen through the cage's metal bars.

The lion appeared to be living in poor conditions and was so skinny that its spine was visible through its skin.

The video also showed a person assumed to be a zookeeper using tongs to hold a piece of meat right under the lion's nose, so the tourist could get a clear shot of the animal.

The person thrusts the meat into the corner of the metal bars, which the lion cannot reach.

The lion desperately tries to lick the meat.
Hwang Jung Eum's posts received negative reactions on the internet.

Some internet users were outraged by her lighthearted presentation of images of zoo animals living in what appeared to be poor conditions.

Some Instagram users commented, "Where is this zoo, and what is the name of it? It is a horrible prison for animals. Did you have fun watching them?", "They've been mistreated, and you put on your glasses to take a better look at it? WOW."

However, some other users defended Hwang Jung Eum: "Why criticize Hwang Jung Eum for something that is not her fault?", "There are pros and cons of zoos of course, but to bash and hate a person is cruelty also."
As the criticism grew, Hwang Jung Eum took down the lion video.

And she responded to some of the criticism by adding a note in the caption of her post with the tiger.

"It is not what it looks like. It is a reversed zoo where people are in a steel-caged bus and the tiger is in the wild.", she noted, with animal-shaped emojis.
(Credit= 'jungeum84' Instagram)

(SBS Star)