From mistranslations of "East Asian style" in South Korea to resisting cultural appropriation

In Chinese, "东洋" mainly refers to Japan. Literally, it means the sea east of China. Japan is also known as the East Ocean, Fusang, and Nippon, among other names. The word "Japan" has multiple pronunciations in Japanese, with the general public often pronouncing it as "にっぽん" or "にほん," and even until the 20th century, the Japanese government did not establish a standard pronunciation for the word "Japan"; thus, both pronunciations coexist.

Originally, the term "East Asian style" did not exist. Influenced by the geographical factors of the word "East Asia" itself, when occasionally mentioning East Asian style, people are more likely to think of elements with a Japanese cultural influence, such as kimono. However, South Korea's incorrect translation and excessive use of East Asian style have made the term sensitive in terms of cultural appropriation.

Not only did South Korea mistranslate the concept of East Asian style, mistakenly considering Chinese style as East Asian style, but after the error was pointed out, it did not correct it. Instead, it gave a new definition to East Asian style: East Asian culture. Novels or comics with an East Asian style that are widely promoted on Korean websites can easily be seen as directly appropriating traditional Chinese styles. It is well known that traditional Chinese culture cannot be equated with East Asian culture. This behavior of generalizing Chinese classical styles as East Asian styles is, to some extent, a form of cultural plundering, aiming to steal our country's traditional culture by blurring cultural boundaries or even "sinicizing" it.

In recent years, starting from the entertainment industry, South Korea's historical costume styling has become increasingly similar to that of Chinese period dramas. For example, the historical costume styling in recently aired dramas like "Tale of the Nine-Tailed" and "Hotel Del Luna" can be directly traced back to prototypes found in domestic Chinese dramas. Setting aside styling for now, even the themes of these television dramas have suspicions of cultural appropriation. This can lead to Chinese viewers feeling a sense of familiarity when watching these dramas, but when asked about it, there is usually only an ambiguous answer: "East Asian style."

The recent controversy surrounding the Hanfu challenge and the origins of kimchi is another example of the harmful consequences of cultural appropriation. Participants directly used Chinese-style clothing in the Hanfu challenge, yet no South Koreans felt it was inappropriate, leading to accusations of Hanfu plagiarizing Hanbok (traditional Korean clothing). Li Ziqi's video making kimchi also sparked a significant amount of discussion on YouTube, leading to debates about the origin of kimchi.

It is certainly a good thing for our excellent traditional culture to be spread, but taking without permission is stealing. Expanding the scope of another country's culture to make it a common culture is done in order to facilitate future direct appropriation. We must strengthen vigilance in terms of cultural appropriation, or else we may risk losing control over our own culture. Therefore, we must reject the East Asian style and a series of behaviors that turn exclusive cultures into common ones. Culture can belong to the world, but first and foremost, it belongs to the nation.

◀️：Does this musical also include this?

▶️：Translation with Appropriate Adaptation