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Korea Herald
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Chinese name for ancient Korean kingdom at Japanese museum draws backlash
Ancient kingdom Balhae's capital Sanggyeong labeled as 'Bohai Shangjing' at Japan's Osaka Museum of History Japan's Osaka Museum of History has come under fire for using a Chinese-style term for the ancient Korean kingdom of Balhae. According to civic activist Seo Kyoung-duk on Friday, the Japanese museum labeled Balhae and its capital, Sanggyeong, as 'Bohai' and 'Shangjing,' respectively, in its exhibits featuring photographs of historical sites in key neighboring regions around ancient Osaka. These English terms are often used by China to argue that Balhae was a regional regime founded by the Mohe people, an ethnic group that lived in the northern Korean Penninsula and northeastern Manchuria around the sixth century and which is claimed by China as one of its many ethnic groups. In Korean history, Balhae was the successor state to the ancient Goguryeo Kingdom (37 BC–668 AD). Founded in 698 by Dae Jo-yeong, a former Goguryeo general, the ancient kingdom was known for its active maritime trade with neighboring states, including China's Tang Dynasty, Japan and the Silla Kingdom. In an email to the museum, Seo urged officials to revise the terminology, stating, 'A history museum has a duty to present accurate history to visitors from around the world.' 'China's historical distortion is getting worse. Its artificial intelligence model DeepSeek has even claimed that Goguryeo and Balhae are part of Chinese history,' he added. "Inaccurate portrayals of history overseas could be used to legitimize these false claims and must be corrected." Under the 'Northeast Project,' the Chinese government has advanced initiatives to reframe the historical and cultural heritage of neighboring areas -- historically associated with China -- as part of its own history. Earlier in February, DeepSeek, a generative AI model developed in China, sparked controversy after responding to a question from Korea's National Intelligence Service -- 'To which country do Goguryeo and Balhae belong?' -- by claiming that both were key parts of China's ancient history. When asked where kimchi originates, DeepSeek responded, "It is a signature Korean food imbued with its culture and history," according to the spy agency. But when asked the same question in Chinese, it said, "The origin is not Korea, but China," and "It is related to Korea," when asked in English, the NIS said. Meanwhile, Chinese e-commerce platforms operating in Korea have also faced criticism for appearing to support the Northeast Project. When users search for kimchi on Temu, for example, the results include images of jars labeled with the Chinese term 'pao cai,' referring to Chinese-style pickled vegetables. 'The Northeast Project began when China saw Korean culture getting big worldwide after the 2000s and felt nervous that Korea might replace it as East Asia's cultural leader," said Seo, who is also a liberal arts professor at Sungshin Women's University.
Korea Herald
25-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Watch out for fake K-food products
Copycats of iconic Korean food products are being sold in China and elsewhere, with deceiving packaging Can you tell if this is real Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen or a knockoff? It is a fake -- not genuine -- Samyang Foods product. The real one bears the Samyang Foods logo, while this one has a "Bingoone" logo instead. According to Seo Kyoung-duk, a liberal arts professor at Sungshin Women's University who is most known for campaigning to promote Korean culture overseas on Tuesday, this is just one of many knockoffs of Buldak instant noodles currently being sold in China. He pointed out that the characters and fonts on the counterfeit products are almost identical to the originals, making them highly deceptive. 'The Chinese sellers even duplicated the 'KOREA' and 'Halal' logos, making it hard for overseas consumers to tell apart a genuine product from a fake one," Seo wrote on his Facebook account. According to him, some of the fake products he found feature the wrong company name. Other packages bear a "Made in P.R.C." mark on the back, referring to the People's Republic of China. Samyang's Buldak is just one of many iconic processed Korean food products being forged across the globe. As Korean food brands expand their presence overseas, the rise of counterfeit goods is growing as a concern. In Vietnam and Thailand, imitations of well-known Korean soju brand Cham Isul have been sold at prices 30 percent lower than the original products. Some replicas, packaged in green bottles with Korean-language labels and official website addresses in the Korean format, are almost identical to the real items. Last year, the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency blocked a total of 191,971 copycat items from being sold online overseas, a 19 percent increase from the previous year, according to data from the Korea Intellectual Property Office released on March 21. As part of efforts to tackle counterfeit K-food products, major food companies, including Samyang Foods, CJ CheilJedang and Ottogi, launched a joint task force with the Korea Food Industry Association and the Korea Intellectual Property Office in 2021. The group is committed to investigating both online and offline distribution channels of counterfeit Korean food products and issuing warnings to overseas sellers of fake goods. "While the US and the EU have strong national measures and international cooperation to tackle counterfeits, South Korea still lacks a comprehensive system to protect intellectual property. The damage to a brand's image caused by fake product goes beyond just financial losses. It could create negative perceptions about the entire K-Food sector," said Sohyung Kim, a consultant at Davis & Company.
