Bag featuring ex-President Chun Doo-hwan pulled from AliExpress after backlash

A bag featuring former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan sparks outcry after appearing on AliExpress Korea. Courtesy of May 18 Memorial Foundation

A bag printed with the face of former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan sparked public outcry after it was listed for sale on online marketplace AliExpress Korea, prompting the May 18 Memorial Foundation to demand its removal.

The foundation said Monday that it had sent an official letter to the platform requesting the suspension of sales for the item, which featured the former president's image along with the phrase “THE SOUTH FACE.”

The listing was posted on Thursday by a seller based in Singapore, who described the product as a “creative canvas bag” and priced it at about 15,000 won ($11).

The foundation condemned the item, saying that the use of Chun’s image distorts the history of democracy in Korea. Chun, who seized power through a military coup and ordered the violent suppression of the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement, is widely regarded as a symbol of authoritarianism and oppression.

“Just as products bearing Japan’s Rising Sun flag or Germany’s swastika are banned, items featuring Chun Doo-hwan, who brutally crushed the May 18 democratic movement, should not be distributed," the foundation wrote in its letter. "Sales of such goods must be prohibited, and related regulations reviewed.”

Following the complaint, AliExpress removed the product listing. As of now, the item is no longer available for sale or searchable on the platform.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.