When South Korean celebrity Kim So Hyun posted a picture of herself wearing a hanbok on the set of her new drama "River Where The Moon Rises", she probably did not expect to be swept up in an ongoing feud between Chinese and Korean internet users.
Chinese claimed hanbok is not Korean, but Chinese
In response to Kim's Instagram post, in which she wished her followers a "Happy Lunar New Year", Chinese users wished her a "Happy Chinese New Year" and claimed that the Korean traditional costume that she was wearing, called the hanbok (한복), was really a "Chinese" costume known as hanfu (汉服).
They also accused South Korea of being "thieves" for supposedly passing off the hanbok as Korean when it is "Chinese" in reality.
"Thanks for promoting Chinese culture."
"You can't even copy right. Miss, the right collar should be underneath the left, don't you know?
You wore the clothing like a barbarian. You wanna steal, but can't even steal right. You're admitting that since ancient times, Korea is a wasteland full of uncivilised savages hahaha!"
Another incident
Previously, back in 2018, Chinese netizens took offence when Chinese supermodel Liu Wen wished her Instagram followers "Happy Lunar New Year" instead of "Happy Chinese New Year".
She swiftly changed her caption to the latter.
Chinese Instagram users also took issue with an earlier picture that Kim posted of herself wearing a costume from the drama.
"Don't you feel embarrassed for wearing something with such a strong Chinese design."
"Why do these accessories feel so much like the Ming Dynasty's?"
"Unnie (older sister in Korean), this hanfu looks so nice, are you acting as a Chinese in your new drama?"
Chinese netizens call South Korea "thief country"
The incident is the latest in an ongoing cultural spat between Chinese and South Korean netizens, who also fought over whether kimchi is Chinese or Korean food.
Popular YouTuber and makeup artist, Park Hye Min, better known as Pony, came under fire from Chinese netizens as well when she posted a video of herself wearing a hanbok for a "Korean traditional wear makeup look".
Screenshot via PONY Syndrome/YouTube
Chinese Weibo users accused her of wearing a "Chinese" costume and a "Chinese" hairpin called "zan" -- bought from Chinese giant e-commerce platform Taobao -- to promote Korean culture.
"Typical of the Korean people. Everything must belong to them."
"Actually what she really wanted to say was that Korea belongs to China."
"Even ants on the roadside would be shocked at how shameless the Koreans are."
"A thieving culture."
Chinese internet users also demanded Pony to release a statement to explain her choice of accessory, but according to Global Times, the South Korean YouTuber had yet to respond to the issue, even disabling comments on her Weibo page.
As of 5pm on Feb. 16, the hashtag "thief country" has been viewed more than 805,000 times on Weibo.
Feud over traditional costumes
The online spat over hanbok first ignited when Chinese actor Xu Kai posted a picture of him dressed in a traditional outfit that he wore while filming the period drama "Royal Feast".
According to South China Morning Post, the outfit resembled a Korean hanbok, and drew criticisms from both South Korean and Chinese netizens, who said the design was stolen from Korean culture.
The show's producer, Yu Zheng, then hit back at critics by saying the costume Xu was wearing is "definitely hanfu from the Ming Dynasty".
He continued saying: "Just because it was adopted by 'Goryeo', a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, it cannot be described as a 'hanbok' by the uncultured!"
Goryeo was a Korean kingdom that lasted for several centuries before it was replaced by the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. It became a vassal state briefly under China for about 80 years when China was ruled by Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty.
South Koreans say Chinese are feeling "threatened"
In response to Yu's assertions, South Korean internet users stood their ground, and said the hanbok is Korean, not the Chinese hanfu.
Airing their views on Twitter using the hashtag #hanfu_isnot_hanbok, they pointed out the differences in design between the hanfu and hanbok, and directed insults at China.
South Korean TV broadcaster Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) jumped into the fray as well, addressing Chinese allegations that the country is stealing Chinese culture.
In a segment aired on SBS News, the broadcaster explained the reason why Chinese netizens are calling South Korea a "thief country".
In addition, they opined that the Chinese are targeting South Korea as China has been "feeling threatened" with the growing dominance of K-Pop, Korean dramas and movies, which is causing "Asian culture" to shift from China to Korea, according to a translation by Koreaboo.
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Top image adapted via Kim So Hyun's Instagram & PONY Syndrome/YouTube