Controversy Over Sales of "K-Pop Demon Hunters" Character Costumes in China,
Where Netflix Is Not Officially Available
It has been found that cosplay costumes from the Netflix animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters" are being openly sold through Chinese e-commerce platforms. Since Netflix is not officially available in China, concerns have been raised about illegal viewing and potential intellectual property infringement.
As of June 27, character costumes from "K-Pop Demon Hunters" are being sold on the Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress for 63,300 won. This product is designed to closely resemble the costume worn by Joy, one of the main characters in "K-Pop Demon Hunters." The product name also includes the phrase "K-Pop Demon Hunters style." The sales page features images of the character as well.
The issue is that China is not an official service country for Netflix. Currently, the Chinese government completely blocks access to Netflix within its borders. However, Netflix content is being consumed in China through illegal channels, which is believed to be the reason why related costumes are being sold on major e-commerce platforms.
Cosplay costumes of characters from the Netflix series K-Pop Demon Hunters are being sold on the Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress. AliExpress
Cosplay costumes also pose a risk of intellectual property infringement. In 2021, the Netflix drama "Squid Game" quickly gained popularity in China through illegal channels, and related merchandise began to flood local online malls. According to Chinese media, at that time Netflix sent protest emails to numerous online shopping malls regarding potential copyright infringement and warned that it would hold companies distributing infringing products accountable.
As a result, the Chinese government began cracking down on companies selling Squid Game merchandise, and related vendors quickly disappeared from many platforms, including Taobao and Tmall.
However, after the release of "Squid Game 2" in December last year, renewed popularity led to further issues with illegal viewing and merchandise sales. On platforms such as AliExpress and Temu, there were cases where the likenesses of actors from "Squid Game" were used without permission to sell merchandise.
A scene from the Netflix drama "Poksak Soksassuda" where the protagonist Aesoon (Moon Soori) promises her husband Gwansik (Park Haejun), "Let's go to Zhangjiajie next fall to see the autumn leaves." Netflix
One Chinese local government even sent invitations to the production team and cast of the Netflix series "Poksak Soksassuda," only to face criticism for using content viewed through illegal channels for city promotion. In a scene from "Poksak Soksassuda," the protagonist Aesoon (Moon Soori) promises her husband Gwansik (Park Haejun), "Let's go to Zhangjiajie next fall to see the autumn leaves." In response, the Zhangjiajie Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Broadcasting and Sports suggested a trip by posting on its official Weibo account, "We invite you to Zhangjiajie."
Regarding this, Professor Seo Kyungduk of Sungshin Women's University stated on Facebook in April, "They have publicly admitted to secretly pirating the drama," and added, "Above all, it is a serious problem that even Chinese local governments are openly using pirated video content for external promotion. What is even more astonishing is that they do not seem to feel any shame about it."
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