C-netizens and K-netizens Get into War of Words Over Actress Zhang Jia Ning Wearing a Hanbok to Film a Tourism Video for Her Hometown in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
So this is a big much do about nothing but does showcase how cultural tensions forever permeate the relationship between Chinese and Koreans. It’s almost lunar new year and stars along with ordinary folks are gearing up to or have already returned to their hometowns. C-actress Zhang Jia Ning was seen filming a tourism video this weekend that has K-netizens goats up. She is wearing what is clearly a Korean hanbok Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China. The area borders North Korea and has a huge popular of Chaoxianzu of ethnic Koreans living in China with Chinese nationality. The same brouhaha came during the Beijing Olympics when Chaoxianzu wearing hankoks was seen in the Opening Ceremony representing 1 of the 56 ethnicities in China. K-netizens are telling Zhang Jia Ning to take off the hankok and also mocking her for the culturally inaccurate much too large headpiece that looks like a pincushion on her head. Haha, ok now I can’t unsee it. Anyhoo, I’m just glad this isn’t another flap as big as the paocai/kimchee online brawl a few years ago.
She looks nice. If ethnically Koreans live there, I don’t see a problem.
uhm…but what if that’s just the cultural outfit for that region? I think she looks nice.
Another case of crazy korea nationalism. SK always think someone is going to take away their culture. Come on, just admit that even your culture were not free from chinese influences.
From what I see, their main argument is they don’t consider chaoxian to be koreans. The chaoxian is not living there for one day or two, but hundred of years. SK doesn’t have the right to say they aren’t koreans
What exactly is the problem? Since this is the cultural dress of the region, it has nothing to do with South Korea. People always trying to find reasons to be mad about nothing.
As a Hmong person, it always fascinates me to see lifestyles of the Miao tribes in China. It’s interesting to see how differently we live and how different yet similar our clothing styles are.
There’s too much hate in the world to be fighting over clothes.
Lmao so by Koreans’ standards, Korean Americans also cannot wear hanboks despite being ethnically Korean? Denying people of their ethnic heritage just because they grew up as a citizen of another country is ridiculous.
it’s different compared to Korean Americans. the prickly issue is that Koreans are worried that China (i.e. the State) will claim that Korean culture is just a offshoot of Chinese culture, and thus Korea is “a part” of China. Are Chaoxianzu people Koreans living in China, or are they used by the Chinese PRC government to consider Koreans as overseas Chaoxianz (and thus claiming Korean culture heritage as Chinese heritage)
If you ask me, I seriously wonder why South Korea is so lacking in confidence compared to Japan. Japan openly admits that they were historically influenced by Chinese culture but have adapted it into their own culture over the years, and you don’t see China claiming that Japan is a part of China. So China won’t claim Korea as a part of China too, and there’s still North Korea who is their ally. The fact that these ethnic Koreans in China are called Chaoxianzu (literal translation is Joseon ethnicity) means that they acknowledge them as descendants of historical Korea, Joseon, a separate country from historical China.
Or maybe Mongolia and Inner Mongolia will be a better example. Inner Mongolia is part of China and the ethnic Mongols living in Inner Mongolia are Chinese citizens. Mongolia, on the other hand, is an independent country and UN member state, you don’t see China claiming Mongolia as part of China, yeah?
I think it’s because in the case of Korea, in the past Joseon has been under the “protection” of China (Ming and Qing empires) as a client state, a rather humiliating period though not as much as when Japan colonized them, as such they are sensitive when China “encroaches” on their “sovereignty”. Japan and Mongolia, on the other hand, ruled China for periods of times – thus it’s more likely for them to be accused of stealing Chinese culture rather than stemming from Chinese culture. As you said, Japan in particular have no qualms in acknowledging that they share (or take?) parts of Chinese (and Korean) culture as the Big Brother of East Asia in the past. At least that’s my take.
I personally know many Koreans who was born and grew up in China. They follow Korean culture, speak Korean amongst each other and eat Korean food. Of course hey too adapt many Chinese culture too. But their soul are Korean.
There are many KOreans who migrated, It is them to help spread Korean culture. I think that is amazing.
I have to say that South Korean is one of the most insecure nation. Msia Spore and Indo have what we called Peranakan. It’s a mixed of Chinese and Malay/Nusantara heritage that covered from fashion to foods. We celebrated all fusion of heritage and of course the original heritage as well. Of course there is some squabbles from time to time but it had never to the extend of claiming China going to annexes certain country just because of a piece of clothing or a plate of food. It’s 2024 now for God’s sake! These people are living under the rocks.
Btw forgot to say that there is Peranakan Chinese, Peranakan Indian, Peranakan Arab etc.
I never knew it went into Arab too… Wow. I love Peranakan culture, food and attires…
These South Koreans are scared of China.
I hear that South Korea is a good place to visit but not to live in because of racism. I’m pretty sure everywhere else has this problem too, but it doesn’t mean that Korea doesn’t have it. They even go after their own race that are mixed blood or underlying make fun of those that grew up overseas who kind of LOSS the Korean language but WERE willing to learn the language, now reverse that can they speak English?…If they even look down on their own race what about others? All those K-bullying real life or drama stories did not just pop out of nowhere.
Yanbian has a huge ethnic Korean population that is indigenous to that area. It’s a tourism video so obviously the rare instance of multiculturalism is a selling point. It’s unbelievably rude for South Koreans to be mocking other types of Korean culture that exists outside of their frontiers.