"Global Camping Company Using Rising Sun Flag?"... Netizens Rush to Protest

Use of Rising Sun Flag Pattern on Website
Received Apology Response and Confirmed Design Replacement
"Increasing Number of Netizens Directly Protesting"

Professor Seokyung Deok of Sungshin Women's University announced that a camping company changed its design after netizens protested the use of the Rising Sun Flag pattern.

On the 17th, Professor Seo wrote on his social media account, "The global camping gear company 'Polar Stuff' recently used the Rising Sun Flag pattern on its homepage, causing controversy among netizens." He added, "I learned about it through reports from netizens, and upon checking, they were showcasing a 'Japan Collection' using the Rising Sun Flag pattern. Many people protested online to the company about this." He continued, "The company responded with an apology and replaced the design with another that removed the Rising Sun Flag pattern. In the past, we mainly protested on behalf of those who reported such issues, but recently, more netizens have been directly protesting to companies, which has led to very good results," expressing satisfaction.

The Rising Sun flag pattern (left) and the redesigned pattern (right) featured on the website of camping goods company 'Polar Stuff'. Photo by Professor Seokyeongdeok on Facebook

He went on to say, "Last August, the world-famous British pop star Adele caused a major controversy by showing the Japanese 'Rising Sun Flag' in a video at her concert in Germany. Netizens and I immediately protested, and the flag was removed." Furthermore, he said, "This year, a Korean living in Canada noticed that a famous beer company in Vancouver used the Rising Sun Flag pattern on a newly released beer cover and protested to the company, which then changed the design." He also mentioned, "There was news online about a Korean man in his 50s who removed the Rising Sun Flag hanging in the world-famous tourist site, the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia, during his trip to South America." Finally, Professor Seo stated, "For the past 10 years, I have been steadily carrying out the 'Worldwide Rising Sun Flag Eradication Campaign' with netizens, achieving many results. Next year, I plan to produce a casebook of instances where the Rising Sun Flag has been removed to further eliminate the pattern from places around the world."

Meanwhile, Professor Seo, as a Korean public relations expert, continues active activities such as sending protest emails to related organizations regarding historical issues with Japan and China. On the 17th of last month, to mark the Day of the Patriotic Martyrs, he produced and released a multilingual video titled 'Kim Maria, the Revolutionary Heroine of Joseon' with actress Song Hye-kyo, both domestically and internationally. The video was planned by Professor Seo and sponsored by Song Hye-kyo, depicting how Kim Maria, instead of men who were heavily monitored by the Japanese, personally wore a kimono and smuggled the 'February 8th Declaration of Independence' to distribute it nationwide. At the time, Professor Seo stated, "This is the third video I have produced, following those about Jeong Jeong-hee and Yoon Hee-soon, to shed light on the lives of female independence activists who are not well known to the public and to widely introduce them both domestically and abroad."

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