The Taegeuk Pattern Is Reversed and Geon-Gon-Gam-Ri Is Mixed Up... Fake Taegeukgi Sold in Temu, China

"Neglecting Shoddy Design? Consumer Deception"
"Hallyu Fans May End Up Buying Fake Taegukgi"

It has been revealed that numerous 'faulty Taegukgi' with incorrectly engraved Taeguk patterns are being sold on a famous Chinese shopping mall.

On the 4th, Professor Seokyung Deok from Sungshin Women's University stated, "Throughout the Samiljeol holiday, I received reports of errors related to the Taegukgi. The biggest issue among them is that the popular Chinese shopping mall 'Temu,' which is also hot in Korea these days, is selling many faulty Taegukgi." According to the photos released by Professor Seokyung, the Taegukgi sold on Temu had the Taeguk pattern reversed, and the positions of the four trigrams of Geon, Gon, Gam, and Ri were also swapped.

[Image source=Seokyungdeok, Professor at Sungshin Women's University]

Professor Seokyung said, "Temu operates mainly targeting overseas customers, and the number of monthly Korean users reportedly exceeds about 4 million," adding, "Allowing 'faulty designs' in the sale of a country's national flag on a shopping platform visited by people worldwide without any sanctions is an act of deceiving consumers."

He continued, "If it is a global company doing business targeting consumers from other countries, it should at least observe the minimum business etiquette of respecting the culture and history of other countries first, which is simply regrettable." He also added, "With the tremendous increase in Hallyu fans, the fact that they can purchase 'faulty Taegukgi' is the biggest problem."

Finally, Professor Seokyung emphasized, "Above all, the role of Korean consumers is very important. When encountering such 'faulty Taegukgi,' wise consumption is needed, such as sending protest emails to the shopping mall," adding, "Because the Taegukgi is the face of the Republic of Korea."

Meanwhile, Temu is gaining great popularity in Korea due to its low prices and free shipping support. Although the number of new installations of Temu was only 420,000 in August last year, it continued to grow with ▲1.29 million in September ▲1.4 million in October ▲1.56 million in November ▲2.08 million in December ▲2.22 million in January this year. In particular, as of January, Temu's monthly active users (MAU) were estimated to be about 4.6 million.