AliExpress, Temu cause stir for selling 'hanfu' to Koreans

Hanfu is highlighted in a red box in the "Chinese Hanbok" category on the website of AliExpress. Screenshot from AliExpress

Chinese e-commerce platforms AliExpress and Temu are causing a controversy for selling to Korean consumers "hanfu," a Chinese traditional outfit that some Chinese people claimed was the origin of Korean traditional attire "hanbok," according to industry watchers, Tuesday.

Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor from Sungshin Women's University in Seoul who is well-known for his efforts to promote Korean interests abroad, said on social media on the same day that the Chinese platforms are "siding with the Chinese claim and undermining Korean consumers."

The professor was concerned that the platforms, popular among local Korean consumers with AliExpress having 6 million subscribers and Temu 4 million subscribers, are selling the controversial items to their massive pool of customers.

"Chinese people, for the past few years, have been making an absurd claim that hanbok originated from hanfu," Seo said. "AliExpress and Temu, by selling hanfu, have proven they are on the same page with those Chinese campaigners."

Search results for "hanbok" on Temu's website show images with descriptions reading "hanfu" underlined in red. Screenshot from Temu

When visitors search "hanbok" on the platforms, they receive images of hanfu outfits among the search results. AliExpress even featured a category for "Chinese hanbok" in Korean to show hanfu items. The professor said it could induce Korean users and foreigners to have the wrong impression about hanbok.

"When Chinese firms are doing business with Korean consumers, the least manner they should keep is respecting the history and culture of Koreans," Seo said. "Selling hanfu on AliExpress and Temu is completely void of such manner. They should take down hanfu immediately."

A professor from Ewha Womans University raised the importance of the public's recognition of hanfu separately from hanbok so that people would not mistake one for another.

"Those Chinese online platforms can sell hanfu or anything they want," the professor said on condition of anonymity. "But because they are two different types of attire, those platforms should carefully use terms to describe each of them."