Chinese SNS Erupts Over Actress Jiang Shuying's Name Controversy

"Koreans Even Steal Chinese Stars' Names,"
Chinese Netizens Outraged Over "Kang Soyoung"
"Korean-Style Name" Comments Spread on Weibo
Chinese Netizens Say, "Not Enough to Take Our Culture, Now They Distort Names Too"

Chinese actress Zhang Shuying. Photo by Zhang Shuying Instagram capture.

[Asia Economy, reporter Hur Midam] Chinese actress Jiang Shuying (江疏影) has come under fire from Chinese netizens after domestic portal sites in Korea transcribed her name into Korean pronunciation as "Kang Soyoung." Chinese netizens criticized this move, claiming, "After stealing Chinese culture, Korea is now insisting that a Chinese actress's name is Korean." Jiang Shuying is one of the main cast members in the recently released Netflix drama "Nothing But Thirty" in Korea.

The controversy over Jiang Shuying's name began when some netizens questioned why her name was introduced in a Koreanized form. One netizen commented, "Her name sounds Korean. She might be a descendant of our people who were taken to the Qing Dynasty during the Joseon era," adding, "She even looks more Korean than Chinese. Kimchi belongs to Korea."

Photo by Weibo capture.

Afterward, the comment was translated into Chinese and quickly spread on Chinese social networking services (SNS) such as Weibo, sparking further controversy.

Chinese netizens responded by saying, "Koreans are not satisfied with taking Chinese culture and now insist that Chinese actors are their own," "Koreans are even stealing the names of Chinese stars," and "After claiming Chinese culture as their own, now they're even pointing out Chinese actors' names."

As the controversy grew, on the afternoon of the 23rd, the Weibo hashtag "#KoreanNetizensJiangShuyingHasAKoreanName" reached 1 billion views.

A domestic portal site transcribed Chinese actress Zhang Xuying's name into Korean pronunciation as Kang Soyoung. Photo by Naver Capture.

Amid the controversy, Jiang Shuying posted a Chinese phrase on her Instagram: "A faint shadow slants across the clear shallow water, and a subtle fragrance lingers in the moonlight at dusk (soyeonghoengsasucheongcheonanhyangbudongwolhwanghon)." This is a line from the Song dynasty poet Lin Bu's poem "Small Plum Blossoms in a Mountain Garden (山園小梅)." Through this, Jiang Shuying appeared to subtly reveal the origin of her name.

Chinese netizens cheered and shared screenshots of Jiang Shuying's Instagram post. Some even used the hashtag on Weibo, "Jiang Shuying responded to Korean netizens," to spread news of her response.

Meanwhile, Chinese netizens have recently been causing issues by distorting Korean history and culture. They have not only made unfounded claims that key elements of Korean traditional culture such as kimchi and hanbok originated in China, but have also provoked public outrage by listing the nationality of historical figures like Yun Dongju as "Chinese."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.