The 'Kimchi Controversy' Was Intense... Chinese Netizens Now Say, "Seollal Originally Chinese Spring Festival"

Controversy Over Blizzard's Lunar New Year Event in the US
Previously Sparked Debate Claiming 'Kimchi Manipulation'

The American game company Blizzard Entertainment's first-person shooter game Overwatch has revealed an event related to the Korean Lunar New Year, but some Chinese netizens have claimed that "Lunar New Year is copied from the Chinese Spring Festival," sparking controversy. / Photo by Twitter Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Recently, amid controversy sparked by some Chinese netizens claiming that the Korean food kimchi originated in China, another claim has emerged asserting that the Korean Lunar New Year (Seollal) originated from the Chinese festival 'Chunjeol' (Spring Festival).

The controversy arose on the 4th during the Lunar New Year event of the American gaming company Blizzard Entertainment's game 'Overwatch.' The Overwatch development team announced through their official Twitter account, "Korean developers talk about this Lunar New Year event and new Korean skins."

According to the materials released by the developers, Overwatch launched character skins inspired by the tiger and magpie starting from the 5th. These are two symbolic animals of the Korean holiday Seollal.

However, some Chinese netizens stirred up a storm by claiming that "Seollal is a copy of Chinese culture." One netizen argued that Seollal is "not the lunar new year but the Chinese New Year (Chunjeol)," and criticized, "Recently, Koreans have been claiming all Chinese culture as their own, so I am very disappointed that Overwatch released Korean skins."

Another Chinese netizen harshly criticized, saying, "It is a direct copy of Chinese culture," and added, "Countries without sovereignty and culture can only rely on plagiarism."

In response to these claims by some Chinese netizens, backlash also erupted domestically. One netizen criticized, "The New Year holiday is not a unique culture exclusive to China, so what is this nonsense?" Another netizen sarcastically remarked, "Seeing Chinese people insist that Korean culture belongs to them shows that Korea has become famous."

A famous Chinese YouTuber recently uploaded a video of making kimchi and introduced it as "Chinese food," sparking controversy. / Photo by YouTube Capture

Meanwhile, this 'Chinese origin theory' is not the first time. Recently, Chinese media netizens have also claimed the so-called 'kimchi project,' asserting that kimchi originated from Chinese food.

Earlier, Chinese local media such as 'Global Times' reported on November 24 last year (local time) that 'Paochai,' a pickled vegetable dish from Sichuan Province, China, received certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and claimed that "the internationally standardized kimchi led by China has been officially established."

They also argued that "Korea, the home country of kimchi, has been humiliated."

On the 9th of last month, a Chinese YouTuber named 'Lizqi,' who has 14 million subscribers, posted a video of making kimchi, which some Chinese media introduced as "Chinese food."

Lizqi also used hashtags such as #TraditionalChineseCuisine (#ChineseCuisine) and #ChineseFood (#ChineseFood) on her kimchi-making video.

Recently, Korean mukbang YouTuber 'Hamzy' said, "I naturally think kimchi and ssam (wraps) are Korean foods," and added, "It makes no sense that this is even a subject of debate," but she faced fierce criticism from some Chinese netizens.

In this regard, Hamzy's Chinese agency issued an official statement on the 17th of last month, stating, "The recent insults toward China by Hamzy are very serious," and announced, "We have decided to officially terminate all cooperation."