[Olympics] Minority Ethnic Groups in Hanbok Appear at Opening Ceremony... China’s ‘Cultural Engineering’ Sparks Outrage

Minority Representative in Hanbok Carries National Flag at Beijing Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
Professor Seo Kyung-deok: "We Should Not Only Be Angry but Also Spread Awareness Globally"

On February 4th, at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, a representative of an ethnic minority wearing a hanbok and sporting braided hair was seen handing over the Chinese national flag. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] A scene where a representative of China's ethnic minorities wore Hanbok and handed over the Chinese national flag at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has sparked controversy.

At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics held on the 4th, representatives of 56 ethnic groups within China participated in a performance called "Citizens handing over the national flag," where the Chinese national flag, the Five-star Red Flag, was passed along. A woman wearing Hanbok appeared during this performance.

The appearance of a female performer dressed in a white jeogori and pink chima with braided hair provoked anger among domestic netizens.

Earlier, China also caused public outrage by including Hanbok and Sangmo spinning in a promotional video for the Beijing Winter Olympics released last year. The video introduced ethnic Koreans in Jilin Province, China, playing the janggu drum and spinning the sangmo as a minority ethnic group.

Regarding this, Professor Seo Kyungdeok of Sungshin Women's University posted on his SNS on the 5th, saying, "The part we were worried about has happened again," referring to the Hanbok that appeared at the Olympic opening ceremony as "Hanbok Gongjeong" (Hanbok Project) in analogy to China's cultural Northeast Project.

Professor Seo said, "On Baidu Encyclopedia, China's largest portal site, the incorrect fact that 'Hanbok originated from Hanfu' is recorded, and many Chinese netizens absurdly distort the truth by claiming 'Korea stole Hanbok.' They are even making baseless claims that the 'gat' (traditional Korean hat) belongs to them."

He added, "We should not only be angry but also spread the truth that 'Hanbok is Korea's traditional clothing' more widely to the world," emphasizing, "We must boldly confront China's cultural Northeast Project, clearly point out what is wrong, and take this as a good opportunity to introduce our traditional culture more broadly to the world."

The political sphere also raised issues about China's Hanbok Project. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, posted on his Facebook on the night of the 4th regarding the controversy, stating, "Do not covet culture. Oppose cultural projects."

People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyunjin criticized National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee. On Facebook, he wrote, "At last year's National Assembly audit, I warned that our culture was stolen and introduced in the Beijing Olympics preparation video, and the minister clearly said he would be cautious," adding, "Did the Speaker and the Minister of Culture and Sports not attend the opening ceremony? Was it an opening ceremony where the minimum pride and dignity of the people were completely ignored?"

At the opening ceremony that day, the Korean delegation entered as the 73rd country, led by short track representatives Kwak Yoon-gi and Kim A-rang as flag bearers. Korea dispatched a total of 125 people to this Olympics, including 64 athletes, 56 officials, and 5 members of the COVID-19 response team.