The Israeli Embassy in South Korea faced backlash after releasing a video that depicted a hypothetical terrorist attack in South Korea, similar to the attack on Israel from Hamas.

Titled "Imagine it happening to you," the video, which was circulated across social media platforms on December 26, showed a dramatized terror attack in Seoul on Christmas Day, complete with civilian abductions.

In the storyline, a mother and her daughter are seen at a cultural event when an air raid siren goes off. As they try to flee, a bomb strikes the venue, and the mother is captured by an armed individual, even as she suffers a head injury. The intent was to evoke empathy by drawing parallels between the experiences of Israelis and the imagined scenario in Seoul.

In the video, the mother frantically searches for her daughter, only to find the child's red gloves abandoned on the ground. It ends with "Imagine if it happened to you," striving to share the emotional turmoil experienced by Israelis with Korean viewers. The embassy stated that the video was meant to foster an understanding of Israeli feelings surrounding terrorist attacks, especially during significant occasions like Christmas.

However, the attempt drew criticism from those who felt the embassy was needlessly stirring fears about security in Korea. Commentators noted that Korea's unique situation as a divided and technically still at war nation makes the portrayal particularly sensitive. There was also concern that such dramatic content might mislead international audiences into viewing the Korean Peninsula as inherently violent, potentially leading to harmful misconceptions.

Korean netizens expressed, "Israel is crossing the line," "If this video was not produced for each country separately... If Israel only produced this for Korea... We should sever diplomatic ties with Israel," "Israel has crossed the line, and it's gone too far. Stop. The whole world has much to say but isn't," "Let's not forget we're still at war with North Korea," "To be honest, South Korea's history is closer to what Palestinians are going through. I guess they didn't do their homework," and "The Israeli embassy is out of their mind."

In response to the controversy, the embassy set the video to private on December 27.