A Chinese influencer poses for photos with foreign tourists at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. [Provided by Professor Seo Gyeong-deok's team]
A Chinese influencer poses for photos with foreign tourists at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. [Provided by Professor Seo Gyeong-deok's team]

Photos and videos of Chinese influencers strolling through Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace in hanfu, China's traditional dress, are stirring controversy on social media.

Seo Gyeong-deok, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, said Thursday on his social media that he had received numerous tips from users over time. While visitors are free to wear their own traditional clothing while traveling across South Korea, he said, "foreign tourists may mistake hanfu for Korea's traditional dress."

He added that "our hanbok and China's hanfu are clearly different garments," and said a bigger concern was Chinese influencers filming themselves in hanfu at Gyeongbokgung and posting the footage on their own social media accounts.

Some Chinese internet users have consistently waged an online campaign calling South Korea a "cultural thief nation," claiming that hanbok originated from hanfu. In addition, a major Chinese online shopping platform drew controversy after listing hanbok and hanfu under the same category.

"This is not the first or second time something like this has happened at Gyeongbokgung," Seo said, stressing that Chinese influencers "must develop the 'global manners' to first respect the history and culture of other countries."


choigo@heraldcorp.com