"Hanbok = Korea, Post Photos Wearing Hanbok"... 'Hanbok Challenge' Timed with China's Closing Ceremony

Professor Seokyung Deok of Sungshin Women's University announced that he will conduct the 'Hanbok Challenge' in line with the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
[Photo by Professor Seokyung Deok of Sungshin Women's University Facebook capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University is conducting a 'Hanbok Challenge' in line with the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

On the 20th, Professor Seo stated on his social media service (SNS), "Hanbok appeared at the opening ceremony of this Olympics, causing a big controversy," and added, "To mark today's closing ceremony, I want to carry out a Hanbok Challenge with everyone on SNS."

This Hanbok Challenge involves selecting and posting various photos of Hanbok worn during childhood, weddings, or holidays on one's SNS account. Along with the photo, participants must include the essential hashtags '#Hanbok' '#Korea' '#HanbokFromKorea' '#Hanbok_of_Korea'.

The purpose is to widely promote to the world that Hanbok is Korean culture.

Professor Seo emphasized, "Instead of only being angry about China's 'Hanbok Gongjeong' (Hanbok Project), it is more important than anything to widely promote that Hanbok is Korea's traditional clothing to the world."

He added, "Especially, active participation from overseas Koreans such as expatriates and international students will be a great force in promoting Hanbok worldwide," and "I also hope celebrities from various fields will join."

Earlier, at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics held on the 4th, a woman wearing Hanbok appeared as one of the representatives of ethnic minorities in China, sparking controversy.

On the afternoon of the 4th, at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, a performer wearing hanbok waved their hand during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Domestically, criticism arose, saying, "Isn't there an ulterior motive behind China featuring a Joseonjok (ethnic Korean Chinese) wearing Hanbok, which is Korea's unique culture, at the Olympics watched by people worldwide?" Some voices compared it to the 'Northeast Project' aimed at incorporating Korean history into China, calling it the 'Hanbok Gongjeong' (Hanbok Project).

As the controversy intensified, domestic celebrities also raised their voices. Hallyu stars such as BTS's Suga, Girls' Generation's Hyoyeon, and actress Park Shin-hye posted photos of themselves wearing Hanbok on SNS one after another, asserting that Hanbok is Korean culture.

However, Chinese netizens flooded these posts with critical comments. They wrote comments such as "Hanbok is a garment developed by modifying traditional Chinese clothing," "Hanbok is Chinese, so why claim it as Korean?" Some even used vomiting face emojis and excrement emojis. Some covered the comment sections with Chinese flag emojis.

Meanwhile, the closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be held tonight at 9 PM at the Beijing National Stadium in China.

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