Service Ended After One Week 4 Years Ago Amid Poor Management
Recent Pre-Registration for Sequel Begins
A Chinese game company that had suspended its service in South Korea four years ago, aligning with domestic public opinion claiming that 'Hanbok is a traditional Chinese costume,' has reappeared by launching a sequel in the domestic market.
Hanbok-inspired costume item released in the Chinese mobile game 'Shining Nikki' [Photo by Yonhap News]
Infold Games recently started pre-registration for 'Infinity Nikki' on app markets. Infinity Nikki is the sequel to the dress-up game 'Shining Nikki,' which was released in South Korea in 2020 by Paper Games, the parent company of Infold Games. Shining Nikki previously sparked gamers' anger in South Korea due to the controversy over the 'Hanbok Procession' issue.
In October 2020, Paper Games introduced Hanbok costumes as part of the Shining Nikki Korean server opening event and also released them in China. Chinese users claimed, "Hanbok is a costume of the Joseonjok ethnic group, so it belongs to China," which ignited disputes between users from both countries. In response to the controversy, the company announced, "As a Chinese company, the stance of Paper Games and our motherland is always aligned. We oppose all actions that harm national interests and will actively fulfill the responsibilities and missions of a Chinese company."
After strong backlash from domestic users, Paper Games declared the termination of its Korean service altogether. The company explained the reason for ending the service, stating, "Radical public opinion insulting China was repeatedly expressed, crossing our final limit," and "As a Chinese company, we firmly reject such media and actions and protect the dignity of the nation." The Korean service was unilaterally terminated just one week after launch.
Paper Games, which had blocked downloads and only announced the game service termination date without any refund or compensation procedures, quietly entered the domestic market last year by establishing a Korean corporation, 'Infold Korea Co., Ltd.'
"Hanok and Lunar New Year are all Chinese"
There are other cases where Chinese companies or netizens have claimed Korean traditional culture in games and videos as their own. Last year, the government opened 3D data of cultural heritage for free to support game and metaverse creations using our cultural assets, but Chinese netizens flooded in, leaving comments such as "Korean culture is part of Chinese culture" and "Since the signboards and patterns have Chinese characters, it is not Korean culture but Chinese culture," along with harsh insults.
Earlier last year, Walt Disney's theme park Disneyland used the term 'Lunar New Year' on its official Twitter, only to face malicious comments from Chinese netizens demanding it be changed to 'Chinese New Year.'
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