Incorrectly rendered Taegukgi designs have been found not only on products by global brands but also at well-known traditional markets in South Korea, where items bearing the wrong colors in the taegeuk symbol are being sold openly.
Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, said Thursday that online users had tipped him off to slipper accessories featuring a flawed Taegukgi design being sold at a traditional market.
Seo also pointed to social media event posters circulating ahead of Liberation Day, saying numerous flawed Taegukgi designs had been spotted in them. "Manufacturing and selling products related to the Taegukgi — the symbol of South Korea — with errors, here at home rather than abroad, is simply unacceptable," he said.
Seo said merchants selling imported products had an obligation to verify their accuracy before putting them on sale. "Rather than simply criticizing well-known foreign brands for using incorrect Taegukgi designs, we need to look at ourselves first," he said.
He added that as hallyu continues to spread worldwide and the number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea grows, greater care must be taken when producing and selling products that feature national symbols.
jshan@heraldcorp.com
