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| Suga of BTS wearing a "gonryongpo," a type of robe worn by royalty during the Joseon era (1392-1910) / Screenshot from Instagram |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Korean singers and actors have been creating a buzz online by sharing photos of themselves clad in hanbok and backing its origin as Korean.
Their moves come in response to the controversy sparked by China's alleged cultural appropriation of traditional Korean dress.
On Tuesday, Hyoyeon of Girls' Generation posted a photo of herself wearing hanbok and dancing with a fan on Instagram. She wrote, "Our (Korean) hanbok is beautiful."
The next day, Suga of BTS posted a picture of himself wearing a "gonryongpo" (a type of dragon-printed robe worn by the king or other members of the royal family during the 1392-1910 Joseon era) with the single letter, "D," on social media. The post appears to be a throwback to his solo album, "Agust D," as he wore the robe in his music video at the time, but many raised questions over the post's timing.
Although he didn't leave any specific comment surrounding the controversy, Chinese internet users responded with fury, with some attacking him personally. However, Korean fans have left comments like, "Hanbok belongs to Korea," and, "We are proud of you. Don't mind the malicious comments."
On Wednesday, soloist Chungha said she would feature Korean traditional clothing on her next album. "I wish I could share beautiful Korean culture by wearing an outfit inspired by hanbok. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to show off a hanbok dress in my next album," she said during a VLive chat with fans.
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| Hyoyeon of Girls' Generation wearing hanbok / Screenshot from Instagram |
Earlier this month, China was accused of cultural appropriation in Korea after a female performer appeared at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics wearing traditional Korean dress as a representative of one of the ethnic minority groups in the country.
Such scenes have sparked anger among many Koreans, who denounced it as another attempt by China to claim parts of Korean culture. Despite the rebuttal of the claim by the Chinese embassy in Seoul, questions have remained about the neighboring country's motives behind promoting hanbok on the international stage.
Several actors joined the movement by posting photos of themselves in hanbok.
Actor Lee Jong-hyuk shared a photo of himself donning gonryongpo with the caption, "Happy New Year. How do I look in hanbok? I was watching the Olympics … What is ours is just ours. Silence."
Actor Han Sang-jin also posted a picture of himself dressed in gonryongpo and wrote, "It's beautiful. It's ours," followed by the English words, "Korean traditional clothes."
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