The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    K-pop group Kingdom recalls album cover resembling Quran

  • 3

    BTS' Jungkook to drop 2nd solo single '3D'

  • 5

    4 in 10 Koreans experience overdue wages: survey

  • 7

    Korea has world's highest senior poverty rate: data

  • 9

    All BTS members renew contract with BigHit

  • 11

    K-pop fans rally in Seoul against luxury brands' failure on climate action

  • 13

    Deoksu Palace's reconstructed Dondeokjeon hall to open to public

  • 15

    Korean gov't faces international criticism for R&D budget cuts

  • 17

    Hyundai Steel decides to form steel pipe unit

  • 19

    SK earthon begins crude oil production in South China Sea

  • 2

    Actor Song Joong-ki still hungry for new movie roles

  • 4

    Tanghulu captures hearts of Korean millennials and Gen Z

  • 6

    S. Korea flexes military might in rare parade with US in central Seoul

  • 8

    PHOTOSHarvest season arrives

  • 10

    Korean tennis player Kwon Soon-woo eliminated in 2nd round at Hangzhou Asiad

  • 12

    Serial killer transferred to detention center in Seoul equipped with execution chamber

  • 14

    Over half of Koreans want continuous strengthening of alliance with US: poll

  • 16

    LG Uplus, Hanwha develop ceiling-mounted EV charging system

  • 18

    EXCLUSIVELawmakers to submit resolution urging China to free N. Korean escapees

  • 20

    Main opposition chief in showdown with prosecutors over arrest

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
Wed, September 27, 2023 | 05:09
Trends
Korean choreographer's work called 'Chinese dance' by Hong Kong troupe as 'kimchi wars' extend to the stage
Posted : 2022-09-21 08:21
Updated : 2022-09-23 15:04
Park Ji-won
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
A scene from 'Myth of the Dancing Durumi,' performed by Hong Kong Dance Company Courtesy of Hong Kong Dance Company
A scene from "Myth of the Dancing Durumi," performed by Hong Kong Dance Company Courtesy of Hong Kong Dance Company

By Park Ji-won

HONG KONG ― The Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) has discovered to its cost that the "kimchi wars" can extend to dance, as it defends its latest program against South Korean claims of Chinese cultural imperialism.

On Wednesday, one of the choreographers behind the company's "Myth of the Dancing Durumi" program, which runs until Sept. 18, demanded that the troupe remove the Chinese term "chaoxian" from the description of her work "The Moon," a new commission rooted in Korean traditional dance, Korean shamanism and folklore.

Korean choreographer Han Hyo-lim, based in Seoul, told the Post she was surprised that the program notes claimed her work embodies "Chaoxian sentiments," which to her is a specific reference to ethnic Korean culture in China and not a description that applies to her work.

Descriptions of the troupe's outreach programs also use chaoxian dance and #ChineseDance to introduce the performance, using the term to describe traditional cultures from Korea as well as the Korean diaspora in China and Russia.

"I didn't know they translated it that way. [The Moon] is a Korean dance. I will ask the company to eliminate the term chaoxian from the program," said Han.

A scene from 'Myth of the Dancing Durumi,' performed by Hong Kong Dance Company Courtesy of Hong Kong Dance Company
A screenshot of the outreach program for "Myth of the Dancing Durumi," performed by Hong Kong Dance Company / Courtesy of Hong Kong Dance Company

HKDC said on Friday that it had removed the term from the description of Han's work and replaced it with "Korean," blaming "a mistranslation from the original Korean text."

The show also includes a work called "Of Sun, Rain, and Our Land" by Jin Yinghua, deputy dean of the College of Arts at Yanbian University, which is in China's Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture on the border with North Korea. According to HKDC, Jin uses the term chaoxianju, which literally means chaoxian ethnicity, to describe the folk dance elements in her work.

The term "chaoxian" is understood differently in mainland China and Korea. In China, chaoxianju refers to the Korean ethnic minority in the country. In South Korea, chaoxian ― or rather, the hanja (Korean characters that are based on Chinese characters) that correspond to the term ― means the age of Joseon, a Korean kingdom from 1392-1910.

In Chinese,chaoxian is also the shorthand for North Korea, whose full name in Chinese is the "Chaoxian"
Democratic People's Republic.

HKDC was also taken to task by Korean internet users for using the term?chaoxian?and the hashtag #ChineseDance to promote the show.

In a widely circulated post in one of the largest online Korean communities in Hong Kong, a person who saw the advertisement for the performance wrote: "I cannot see any Chinese words in the promotional book that show the dance is actually Korean dance […] I am afraid that China insists that Kimchi, Hanbok, and the Korean language are theirs just because ethnic Koreans in China use them."



"#Chinesedance is a hashtag we always use in our social media content. This is because our company presents and promotes Chinese dance in general," the HKDC said.

There has been a growing backlash among South Koreans against what they perceive as Chinese cultural imperialism regarding kimchi ― traditional Korean pickled cabbage ― and hanbok, Korean traditional dress.

In 2020, China received certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for pao cai, a pickled vegetable dish from Sichuan province in southwest China, which prompted Chinese Communist Party-affiliated tabloid newspaper Global Times to claim that the recognition set "an international standard for the kimchi industry led by China."

Similarly, there have been Chinese claims that Korean traditional dress is derived from hanfu, traditional Chinese clothing, since it is a cultural symbol for ethnic Koreans in China.

A South Korean cultural expert working in Hong Kong said on condition of anonymity: "Korean people can get angry with the terminology and misunderstand the concept. I think the descriptions 'Chinese dance' and 'chaoxian [dance] language' should be changed to 'Korean traditional dance' and 'Korean [dance] language."


Emailjwpark@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
miguel
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1S. Korea flexes military might in rare parade with US in central Seoul S. Korea flexes military might in rare parade with US in central Seoul
2Korea has world's highest senior poverty rate: data Korea has world's highest senior poverty rate: data
3For closer business ties between Korea, Vietnam For closer business ties between Korea, Vietnam
4Seoul Welcome Week to return for first time since pandemicSeoul Welcome Week to return for first time since pandemic
5Gov't to boost Korean language education for multiethnic students Gov't to boost Korean language education for multiethnic students
6POSCO International to enter US grain market POSCO International to enter US grain market
7BOK warns of worsening household debt situation BOK warns of worsening household debt situation
8Late Samsung chairman's love of animals helps change Korea's pet culture Late Samsung chairman's love of animals helps change Korea's pet culture
9SK Telecom to triple AI investment over next 5 years SK Telecom to triple AI investment over next 5 years
10[INTERVIEW] Wellington mayor's love for Korean culture spurs collaboration INTERVIEWWellington mayor's love for Korean culture spurs collaboration
Top 5 Entertainment News
1[INTERVIEW] ONEUS returns as 'mermaid prince' INTERVIEWONEUS returns as 'mermaid prince'
2Kep1er unveils 'Magic Hour' with fresh perspective on love Kep1er unveils 'Magic Hour' with fresh perspective on love
3Rwandan artists bring diversity to Seoul's art scene Rwandan artists bring diversity to Seoul's art scene
4K-pop group Kingdom recalls album cover resembling Quran K-pop group Kingdom recalls album cover resembling Quran
5BTS' Jungkook to drop 2nd solo single '3D' BTS' Jungkook to drop 2nd solo single '3D'
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group