China Met With South Korea’s Wrath As They Use Hanbok And Other Korean Traditions During Their Beijing Olympics Opening

The 2022 Beijing Olympics is officially underway, as the international competition began on February 4, 2022 with its grand opening and introduction of all the participating countries. As viewers all over the world prepare to watch the sports festival, however, there were a few particular moments that have started to take over headlines in South Korea.

“2022 Beijing Olympics” | CNN

During the opening ceremony, there were numerous eye-catching moments, such as the iconic Olympic rings fireworks…

| CNN

…an amazing performance using massive LED light sticks…

| CNN

…and this stunning performance by Chinese dancers wearing beautiful ensembles.

Chinese dancers | NPR

However, there were a few parts of the opening ceremony that caught the eyes of Korean viewers, and they are spreading like wildfire within the nation. On an online community, a frustrated Korean netizen shared photos from the 2022 Beijing Olympics that featured some familiar Korean traditions—during China’s opening introduction.

During the flag bearing opener, China presented their flag with dozens of citizens and military officials wearing different Chinese traditional clothing. However, there were a few women wearing garments that looked very similar to the Korean hanbok, which gained immediate attention.

Chinese citizens wearing hanboks (circled in yellow by Koreaboo) during the Chinese flag reveal | theqoo

In addition to that, there was a portion of the opening ceremony performance that featured Chinese dancers performing their rendition of the traditional Korean folk dance, known as pungmul. While this is a huge part of the Korean history and tradition, the 2022 Beijing Olympics captioned this segment “From Baishan Jilin (province in China)” on the screen, as if the dance originated from China.

Chinese dancer performing pungmul (a traditional Korean folk dance) during China’s opening | theqoo

Korean dancer performing pungmul | Korean Tourism Organization

During the same opening from Baishan Jilin, there was a gorgeous performance featuring dozens of women dressed in traditional garments and playing traditional drums. However, it took only one glance for Korean viewers to recognize the clothing and instruments as hanboks and janggus—which are traditional Korean drums known for their hourglass-shaped bodies.

Chinese performers wearing hanboks and playing janggus (a traditional Korean drum) during China’s opening | theqoo

Korean dancers wearing hanboks and playing janggus | Korea Tourism Organization

Upon seeing China’s attempts to claim Korean traditions as their own during the 2022 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, Korean netizens responded with outrage. Thousands of netizens began to express their ongoing frustrations and harsh criticisms for China and the Olympics.

| theqoo

• “I’m getting really angry,,do the fireworks and dance in the air while wearing your qipaos and your queue hairstyles you f*cking idiots.”
• “F*cking bastards they always claim everything as their culture…look at them using Choseon traditions.”
• “The Choseon era. F*cking assholes. I hate how they show off their patriotism.”
• “Wow they’re just openly doing it now..why is no one saying anything??”
• “Let’s not just get pissed off at these f*cking bastards for doing this openly. Let’s protest please.”
• “F*cking assholes.”

Chinese dancer performing pungmul (left) versus Korean dancer (right).

The Korean netizens’ magnified outrage comes from China’s previous numerous attempts to claim various Korean cultures and traditions as their own. Kimchi, hanbok, “Arirang”, the Korean flag, and even taekwondo have formerly been declared as Chinese cultures—despite their origins in South Korean history.

You can read more about the ongoing cultural tensions between China and South Korea here:

China Refers To South Korea As “Thief Country” After Claiming That Kimchi And Hanbok Were Stolen From Them