Seok Kyung-deok: "'Shining Nikki' Northeast Project Controversy, Apologize"

"Cultural Northeast Project Intensifies Day by Day... Active Response Needed"

Hanbok-inspired costume item released in the Chinese mobile game 'Shining Nikki' / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Recently, the Chinese mobile game 'Shining Nikki' has sparked controversy over the Northeast Project related to Hanbok, and Professor Seo Kyung-deok of the Department of Liberal Arts at Sungshin Women's University sent a protest email to the game's developer, Paper Games, urging an apology to Korean netizens.

Professor Seo announced on the 26th that he sent a protest email to the Chinese game company Paper Games.

He stated, "I sent a protest email to the Chinese game company at the center of this controversy, attaching information in Chinese about the history of Hanbok and the living Hanbok culture in daily life," adding, "As a global company, they must have a proper understanding of the basic culture and history of other countries."

He criticized strongly, saying, "However, this action was inappropriate, and they must offer a sincere apology to Korean netizens. A few years ago, China registered Arirang as a national cultural heritage, and recently, the Korean original children's song 'Bandal' was introduced as a Joseonjok folk song of China on a TV program, showing that the 'cultural Northeast Project' is intensifying day by day."

He continued, "Instead of merely condemning China's distortion of our culture and history, we must accurately identify what is wrong and actively respond."

Shining Nikki was released domestically on the 29th of last month. Shining Nikki is a character styling game where users can directly choose hairstyles, clothing, makeup, and more.

To commemorate the domestic game release, Paper Games introduced costumes inspired by Hanbok. The item was released in China and Korea on the 2nd and 4th, respectively.

However, regarding the costume, Chinese netizens claimed that it was mistakenly labeled as Korean traditional clothing instead of Chinese clothing. Netizens raised their voices with comments such as "Hanbok is Chinese clothing," and "Hanbok is not Korean traditional clothing but the 'Hanfu' of the Chinese Ming Dynasty and the clothing of the Chinese ethnic minority Joseonjok."

As the controversy escalated, Paper Games deleted the costume and announced the termination of service for the Korean server.

On the 5th, Paper Games issued a notice stating, "As a Chinese company, we firmly reject such media and actions and uphold the dignity of the nation," adding, "From November 6th, game downloads and payments will be blocked, and service will end on December 9th."