Sighting spreads on Threads
Online users criticize as 'disrespectful'
A man wearing what appears to be Chinese imperial attire was spotted walking around Gyeongbokgung in Seoul, stirring controversy online.
According to social media platform Threads on Tuesday, several photos posted under the title "A person I met at Gwanghwamun" began spreading Monday.
The photos show a young man believed to be a Chinese tourist walking across the Woldae plaza at Gwanghwamun Gate in an outfit resembling the robes worn by Chinese emperors.
The person who posted the photos criticized the man, writing, "Why would you wear something you wouldn't even dare wear openly at home, to another country's palace?"
As the photos spread, online users piled on with criticism. One comment read, "It's one thing to wear Chinese imperial robes freely, but why do it at Gyeongbokgung of all places? Is this the Forbidden City?" Another wrote, "Why is this so disrespectful?" Others said, "The real problem is that they do this and then claim hanbok is theirs," and "Why act like this in someone else's country?"
One online user shared the direct phone number for the civil complaint office at the Gyeongbokgung management center under the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center. The user said anyone who witnesses tourists causing a nuisance should call and describe their location and the situation. "Then civil servants will rush over quickly," the person wrote.
This is not an isolated case. Posts showing people wearing hanfu, traditional Chinese clothing, for photos and videos at Gyeongbokgung have reportedly been appearing frequently on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Xiaohongshu.
Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, said Aug. 20 that he had received multiple reports about the issue. "They can travel around South Korea wearing their own traditional clothing, but foreign tourists may misunderstand," he said.
The concern is that since hanbok and hanfu are different types of clothing, photos and videos of people wearing hanfu at Gyeongbokgung could spread and lead foreigners to mistake hanfu for Korean traditional dress.
"This is not the first or second time something like this has happened at Gyeongbokgung," Seo said. "Chinese influencers need to develop the kind of 'global manners' that come from respecting the history and culture of other countries first."
jshan@heraldcorp.com
