'No Matching Results → Korean Traditional Clothing'... 'Hanbok' Listed in Renowned UK Dictionary

Cyber Diplomacy Envoy VANK Requests Oxford Publishing
VANK: "Prevent China's Distortion and Actively Promote Our History and Culture"

On the 5th, the Hanbok Parade of the Asia Model Festival was held at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] The famous English dictionary in the UK has newly registered the word 'hanbok(한복)'. This was the result of a direct request by the cyber diplomatic mission VANK to counter China's distortion of hanbok as its own culture.

On the 22nd, VANK announced through its official blog that the word hanbok was newly registered in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD), published by the famous British publisher Oxford. This is the second time hanbok has been included in an overseas dictionary following the British Collins Dictionary in May last year, at VANK's request.

According to VANK, previously searching for 'hanbok' in OALD would result in 'no results matching hanbok found.' However, now the word is accompanied by the description: 'a traditional Korean costume consisting of a long-sleeved jacket (jeogori) and a long, wide skirt for women or loose pants for men.'

On the afternoon of February 4th, at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, a representative of a minority ethnic group dressed in Hanbok attire, including a chima jeogori and daenggi hairstyle, is carrying the Chinese national flag, the Five-star Red Flag. Photo by Yonhap News

This change is the result of VANK's efforts to prevent the ongoing spread of China's historical distortions worldwide. China has long made unfounded claims that the origins of Korean culture such as kimchi, Arirang, fan dance, and pansori lie within its own country. In particular, it has distorted the fact that Korea's hanbok originated from its traditional clothing hanfu. Controversy arose when a representative of a minority ethnic group appeared wearing hanbok at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics held in February.

In response, VANK is conducting a campaign to include hanbok as traditional Korean clothing in major overseas textbooks and dictionaries. VANK stated, "In a situation where China's groundless claims against Korean history and culture are spreading worldwide, it is necessary to actively include our history and cultural heritage in textbooks and dictionaries around the world."

They added, "Using the recent registration of the English word hanbok in a famous overseas dictionary as leverage, we hope that people worldwide and foreigners learning Korean will learn and take interest in Korean history and culture-related words listed in various dictionaries beyond just the Korean Wave."

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