Some Chinese netizens have been persisting that Korean food culture are from China, and are insulting and condemning those who are enjoying Korean food.
For example, regarding a YouTube video of a Korean YouTuber eating kimchi and ssam, Chinese netizens claimed that the YouTuber stole Chinese culture, and they committed cyber terrorism, leaving malicious comments such as ‘Piss off, you YouTubers who claim that ssam and kimchi are from Korea.’
Even more embarrassing, a Chinese media company(上海素贤广告传媒有限公司) that was working with the YouTuber suddenly unilaterally terminated the contract with the YouTuber. The notice of termination is also ridiculous. The company stated that ‘the YouTuber caused bad influence on the Chinese public, so the company has decided to terminate all cooperation with the YouTuber. Our company is firmly opposed to any acts of insulting China, and it also resolutely safeguards the dignity of our country and the people from the ones insulting China’s attitudes and remarks.’
We cannot really understand what content in the video of a Korean YouTuber eating Korean food has seriously given adverse affects to China, insulted China, or harmed the dignity of the Chinese people.
But what is obvious is that Chinese netizens and the company are trying to steal Korea’s native food culture and claiming that kimchi and ssam are native food cultures of China.
This is not the first time in China’s acts of stealing Korean culture and claiming that Korean culture belongs to Chinese.
China has already distorted the history of Goguryeo and Balhae as the history of China for decades and has been promoting these to the world as their own history. China has been insisting various historical and cultural distortions as the following: Hanbok is a Chinese traditional attire, Taegeukgi (national flag of Korea) was invented by a Chinese, Korean children’s song and folk song are Chinese songs, and world-class football player Son Heung-min’s ancestors are Chinese.
This is a form of chauvinism and Zhounghua(Chinese) nationalism merged together, and in reality beyond cyberspace, these actions and claims are being blatantly conducted by China.
Accordingly, VANK has created and distributed digital poster to the world, telling the world about Chinese netizens’, Chinese companies’, and the Chinese government’s wrongfulness of blatant acts to steal Korean culture.
This digital poster by VANK is to stop China from threatening peace in Asia by telling world citizens about China’s cultural and history hegemony.
The poster displays a dining table drawn of a Chinese national flag, saying “Did pizza, hamburger, kimchi and ssam all come from China?” with the petition link on the bottom.
With this poster, VANK warns worldwide citizens that Chinese government is insisting Korea’s kimchi and ssam are Chinese dishes for now, but someday that China will claim that all the foods from around the world come from China. We ask the global village to jointly respond to China’s cultural hegemony.
China’s cultural hegemony should be stopped!
The Chinese government formulated a policy for the implementation of Northeast Project from 2002 to 2007, and since then, the history of Goguryeo and Balhae are being known to the world as Chinese history.
If Korea does not respond properly this time, it will pose a great threat to peace in Asia.