Photo of Fan Dance in Hanbok Mistaken as Chinese Culture? Getty Images in the US Distributes Mislabelled Photo

VANK Sends Protest Letter to Getty Images and Requests Correction
Campaign to Register Photos of Korean Traditional Culture Underway ... "Prevent China's Distortion and Promote Our History and Culture"

It has been revealed that Getty Images, the world's largest image and video platform based in the United States, is distributing photos that label Korea's traditional hanbok and Buchaechum (fan dance) as Chinese culture. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] It has been revealed that Getty Images, the world's largest image and video platform based in the United States, is distributing photos that label Korea's traditional hanbok and fan dance as Chinese culture.

On the 24th, the cyber diplomatic mission VANK announced that Getty Images distributed photos showing people wearing hanbok and performing the fan dance with the description, "Chinese dancers wear traditional costumes to celebrate the Spring Festival (Chunje, Lunar January 1st)." VANK added, "The photo description can mislead anyone worldwide into believing that hanbok and the fan dance are traditional Chinese clothing and culture."

The photo was taken at the Spring Festival celebration performance held at the Temple Fair in Beijing, China, on February 21, 2015. This photo is currently sold on Getty Images for $175 (about 250,000 KRW), $375 (about 530,000 KRW), and $499 (about 710,000 KRW), depending on the size. The same description was also included in National Geographic English textbooks. VANK believes there is a possibility that people worldwide learning English through these textbooks at universities in the US, Europe, and Asia may mistakenly associate hanbok and the fan dance with Chinese culture.

In response, VANK sent a protest letter to Getty Images requesting correction. VANK explained that if left unaddressed, the misinformation could spread to famous overseas textbooks, tourism publications, broadcasts, and media. VANK also plans to conduct a campaign to prevent incorrect content from being reflected on other major international photo-sharing sites and to actively register photos that properly introduce Korea's traditional culture.

Getty Images, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, has branches in more than 20 countries. It sells and distributes 80 million images, 50,000 hours of videos, and over 100,000 music tracks via the internet.

Meanwhile, the British publisher Oxford has newly registered 'hanbok' in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD). Currently, searching for 'hanbok' in the Oxford learner's dictionary yields the result: "a traditional Korean costume consisting of a long-sleeved jacket (jeogori) and a long, wide skirt for women or loose pants for men." Previously, searching for 'hanbok' returned "no results matching hanbok."

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