Son Heung-min’s image graces billboards around the world, as brands like Adidas, Burberry and Calvin Klein highlight the South Korean soccer star’s humility, charity work and athletic success to sell their wares.

But another image this week embroiled him in a heated debate: a female interviewer holding an umbrella for him during a rainy interview after an exhibition game in Seoul between Newcastle and Mr. Son’s club, Tottenham. A post including the photo, showing the interviewer holding a microphone and an umbrella they are both standing under, was viewed more than 8.7 million times on X.

It didn’t help him that the image was paired with another from after the game showing his British teammate Ben Davies holding an umbrella for the same interviewer, Oh Hayoung, better known as a member of the South Korean girl group Apink.

Many social media users in South Korea responded in disappointment, one saying the pictures offered a “harsh reality check” about how South Korean men treat women. Another praised Mr. Davies, writing: “Most Western men are instinctively considerate toward women.”

In the flurry of online comments, many South Koreans projected onto the photo their own raw feelings about the country’s gender divide. It is a delicate issue, particularly among young people, that surfaces in everything from elections to the birthrate and dating norms.

“The fact that a photo can spark such controversy indicates that the gender conflict among young South Koreans has intensified significantly,” said Min Hee Go, a professor of political science at Ewha Womans University in Seoul who has taught on gender issues.