Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Chinatown, Legoland projects draw backlash amid anti-Chinese sentiment
The construction site for Legoland, the world's largest LEGO-themed amusement park which will be built by 2022 in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, seen in Nov. 18, 2020. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
Chinese websites and influencers' claims over some Korean dishes and tradition as originating from China have caused backlash against a local government's development plans.
An online petition has been filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website recently, calling for an end to the ongoing construction of a Chinatown and Legoland in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.
Now under construction, the Korea-China Culture Town when completed will be 10 times larger than the Chinatown area of Incheon. The provincial government expects the town to provide a range of facilities and attractions ― including traditional Chinese gardens ― to revitalize tourism in the region, with the construction scheduled to end in 2022.
The petitioner wrote that Koreans do not understand why Korea should provide cultural experiences from China, or why there should be a “little China” in Korea. The petition garnered more than 202,000 signatures as of Wednesday.
“Recently I heard news that the construction of the new Chinatown will be accelerated. Even if exchanges and cooperation are important in Korea-China relations, it is incomprehensible amid recent cultural feuds,” the petitioner said.
The petitioner cited recent controversies caused by Chinese influencers and websites claiming kimchi, hanbok and other traditional Korean cultural items as their own, calling these an attempt to distort Korea's history and plunder Korean culture.
Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon / Korea Times file
The petition also points to Legoland ― a LEGO-themed amusement park that will include a hotel catering to Chinese tourists ― which is under construction on Hajung Island in Chuncheon and scheduled for completion in 2022. The petition states the site is the world's largest prehistoric archaeological site with a huge amount of relics already excavated, making it an incomprehensible decision to develop such a scientifically valuable place for the sake of business.
“Building such an amusement park on this historical site can result in our history being lost as well,” the petitioner wrote.
The writer also asked Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon why the construction has to be carried out despite strong opposition.
“Even if Chinese capital was provided, the construction should not be allowed to carry on.”
As the controversy intensified, the government of Gangwon Province said that the culture town is only a tourist attraction, not a facility for the collective residence of Chinese people.
The provincial office also emphasized that the park is a private project with no provincial government budget allocation, although it is providing administrative support.
“The project is slowing down due to the poor global economic conditions amid the COVID-19 outbreak, but we plan to support the project so that it can contribute to reviving the local economy,” said an official from the provincial office.
The friction over culture and food between Korea and China continues intensifying after some Chinese influencers claimed kimchi and samgyetang originated from China. The feud has even infiltrated the entertainment industry as Korean historical fantasy series “Joseon Exorcist” aired on SBS was canceled recently due to a controversy over distorting Korean history, as Chinese props and designs were used for a Korean period setting.