Korean netizens are criticizing China for including Hanbok in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony
Netizens of the two countries are having a fierce debate.
Amid controversy over the use of Korean culture at the opening ceremony of the 24th Beijing Winter Olympics, shocking videos that were not broadcasted in Korea are being shared.
At the ceremony, representatives from 56 ethnic minorities in China appeared in the process of moving the Chinese flag. Among them, a female performer wore an outfit that looked like hanbok. The performer seemed to have appeared at the opening ceremony on behalf of the Korean-Chinese. This part of the ceremony was not broadcast in Korea at all but was shown in China and some countries.
Some netizens said that China may be engaged in a so-called “cultural process” of insisting that Korean culture is theirs. Less than a day after the Winter Olympics began, the Internet became a battlefield. Korean netizens believe Hanbok is not the only part of Korean culture that was used at the opening ceremony.
Anger is understandable at first glance. All Asian cultures were influenced by China, so the claim that they were all Chinese culture subclasses is a dangerous idea to view culture as a one-way street. Moreover, the Chinese government has been labeling various histories and cultures as Chinese without any explanation. Korean netizens were already dissatisfied with the nationalistic and exclusive attitude, and the opening ceremony hanbok set fire to the forest. Of course, the growing anti-Chinese sentiment has raised controversy.
Culture influences and enriches each other. At the 2018 Melon Music Awards, BTS presented a spectacular stage incorporating mask dance, fan dance, and samulnori in hanbok. BLACKPINK drew attention for redesigning hanbok in a modern way in the music video of “How You Like That” in 2020. A distinctly different outfit from the late Joseon Dynasty comes to mind when we think of Hanbok. This is because we exchanged various clothing cultures and influences, including the West. On the other hand, Hanbok is also the clothing of the Korean-Chinese living as a minority in China. Their cultural traditions should also be respected.
As such, culture continues to interact and flow, and the Chinese government claims exclusive ownership, citing history thousands of years ago. It is a kind of cultural imperialism that attempts to use culture in politics. The policy of exterminating minority cultures such as Uighur and Tibet and the suppression of human rights such as the so-called “re-education camp” in China are examples of extreme side effects.
The power of Korean culture that has captured the world comes from freedom, inclusion, and diversity. There is no reason to argue over exclusive ownership. The right thing to do is to let the culture flow naturally.
