"Squid Game Tracksuits? Original Controversy Arises in China Claiming Our Movie Was Copied"

Conflict Ignites Over 'Green Tracksuit' in Drama

An image of a Chinese shopping mall app posted by Professor Seokyeongdeok from Sungshin Women's University on his Facebook. / Photo by Facebook capture

Actors wearing green tracksuits in images from the Netflix drama 'Squid Game' / Photo by Netflix

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] A conflict between South Korean and Chinese netizens has ignited over the outfits featured in the Netflix drama "Squid Game," produced by a domestic studio. The controversy centers on the green tracksuits worn by the main characters in the drama, sparking a debate over the "original" source.

On the 6th (local time), a hashtag stating "A Korean professor claimed that Wu Jing's jumper copied Korean clothing" was shared by more than 230,000 netizens on the Chinese social networking service (SNS) 'Weibo.' Wu Jing is a famous actor known as a "national star" in China.

This claim by Chinese netizens began with remarks made the previous day (the 5th) by Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University. On that day, Professor Seo described "Squid Game" reaching number one in 83 countries worldwide as "encouraging," while criticizing Chinese netizens for illegal downloading practices.

Professor Seo pointed out, "One major problem is that illegal downloading is rampant again in China, and there are even shopping apps selling the green tracksuits from the drama with the Chinese character for 'China' inserted."

He further explained, "The issue of illegal downloading and distribution by Chinese netizens has been repeated for a long time, and there are many cases of copying Korean content."

Professor Seo added, "This is an expression of a strong fear that Korea is taking over the cultural center of Asia," and criticized, "Chinese netizens need to learn 'respect' for other countries' cultures first."

The problem lies in the fact that the shopping app photo mentioned by Professor Seo was actually an image from a Chinese movie. The photo is from the 2019 Chinese film "Youth Song," featuring actor Wu Jing as the model.

When Professor Seo's claim became known locally, Chinese netizens strongly reacted.

One Chinese netizen said, "It's ridiculous," and claimed, "Rather, Squid Game copied Chinese tracksuits from two years ago."

Another Chinese netizen pointed out, "If you look for the history and roots of Korean culture, China is at the center," and questioned, "Then isn't Korea the country imitating China?"

Meanwhile, according to the South Korean Embassy in China on the 6th, "Squid Game" is widely distributed illegally in China. Ambassador Jang Ha-sung to China stated at a parliamentary audit held via video conference that "Squid Game is being illegally distributed on 60 Chinese websites."

Currently, China is one of the countries where Netflix is not available due to government internet policies. Therefore, Chinese citizens cannot watch Squid Game through Netflix.

Especially since the "Hanhanryeong" (Korean Wave Restriction Order) was issued in 2016, the distribution of new Korean movies and dramas has been strictly blocked. Nevertheless, the "Squid Game" hashtag on Weibo has surpassed 1.7 billion cumulative views, showing great popularity, and related products such as dalgona candy, masks, and clothing are being sold on local internet shopping malls like Taobao.

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