Chinese netizens are flocking to the Lunar New Year greetings posted by Jang Won Young, a member of IVE, and actress/singer Seo Hyun.
On Jan 22nd, Jang Won Young and Seo Hyun each uploaded a photo of them in hanbok on Instagram. The celebrities left their Lunar New Year greetings, saying, “Have a happy Lunar New Year (Seollal),” and “Happy Lunar New Year.“
However, under both posts, Chinese netizens are demanding and terrorizing with comments and emoticons, saying that the idols should revise the phrase “Lunar New Year“, saying, “The Lunar New Year should be called Chinese New Year,” “Please correct the name.“
In response, domestic netizens are rooting for Jang Won Young and Seo Hyun, saying, “Why are those people doing that to celebrities of other countries?” “Stop bothering our kids,” “Lunar New Year is the right phrase,” “Jang Won Young and Seo Hyun must have been bothered a lot because they have a lot of Chinese fans, but I like how they still use ‘Lunar New Year’.“
Lunar New Year refers to January 1st of the lunar calendar, the beginning of the year, and is a holiday celebrated by various Asian countries such as Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Therefore, it is appropriate to describe it as Lunar New Year. However, in Western countries, “Lunar New Year” and “Chinese New Year” are used interchangeably.
Regarding the mixed use of “Lunar New Year” and “Chinese New Year” in Western coutries, Professor Seo Kyung Seok of Sungshin Women’s University said last year, “A big event is always held in Chinatown in major western cities for Lunar New Year, which resulted in the holiday being recognized as ‘Chinese New Year’.” However, Professor Seo explained that it is right to call Lunar New Year as “Lunar New Year” because it is a holiday celebrated by various Asian countries such as Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines, not just China.
Professor Seo also said on his SNS on Jan 21st, “In China, the Lunar New Year is directly translated as ‘Spring Festival’ in English.” Chūnjié, which originated from a festival held to honor the deities in the sky during the ancient era, has been fixed to January 1st of the lunar calendar since the Han Dynasty, about 2,000 years ago, after frequently changing whenever a new dynasty arose. It is an entirely different holiday from Korean’s New Year Day from its origin to its meaning. This is the matter of correcting the Chinese people’s twisted ideas of cultural hegemonic, which claim all Asian culture as China’s own culture.“
Source: Wikitree
