Chinese Clothing and Rising Sun Flag Resembling National Flag on Overseas Diplomatic Missions' Social Media... "Unnecessary Misunderstandings Arise"

"Must Play a Role in Spreading Korean Culture and History"

Recently, photos that could cause misunderstandings were posted on the social media (SNS) accounts of South Korean diplomatic missions abroad, which was pointed out by Professor Seokyung Deok of Sungshin Women's University.

Recent photos posted by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Korea (left) and the Consulate General in Milan (right). The woman on the left is wearing clothing commonly used in traditional Chinese dress, and on the right, the Taegeukgi's Taegeuk part lacks color distinction, which could cause confusion with the Japanese flag. [Image source=Captured from Professor Seokyung Deok's SNS at Sungshin Women's University]

On the 23rd, Professor Seokyung Deok noted on SNS that the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Czech Republic and the Consulate General in Milan posted content introducing Korean culture. He criticized, "These overseas missions, which represent Korea, often post feeds introducing Korean culture but attach design files that can cause misunderstandings, which sometimes makes people frown."

The revealed image shows a woman smiling while holding a bowl of rice and wooden chopsticks in front of a table lavishly set with Korean dishes such as bibimbap, jajangmyeon, gejang, and naengmyeon. However, the issue was with the woman's attire. The clothing she was wearing was an illustration commonly used for traditional Chinese dress.

He said, "The Embassy in the Czech Republic introduced Korean dining etiquette but used an illustration that is widely used for Chinese traditional clothing (fushi)." He pointed out, "In a situation where China is making unfounded claims that the origin of hanbok (Korean traditional clothing) is hanfu (Chinese traditional clothing), they should have been more cautious." He also added, "A few months ago, the Consulate General in Milan posted a photo introducing a Korean language teacher training course that used an image where it was unclear whether the flag was the Taegeukgi or the Rising Sun Flag, and the garment's goreum (coat strings) was styled as a butterfly ribbon, which caused controversy."

Professor Seokyung Deok said, "I hope overseas missions play a greater role in informing local foreigners about Korean culture and history," and urged, "As the Korean Wave spreads worldwide, the SNS accounts of overseas missions are now followed not only by Koreans but also by many foreigners, so they must pay more attention to design."