Popular idol group BTS kicked off full-group activities with a comeback show in Gwanghwamun, but illegal merchandise is rampant in China, drawing frowns.
On the 24th, Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, said that illegal BTS merchandise has recently been sold on large Chinese online shopping malls.
Seo, who said he confirmed this through tips from internet users, said "upon checking, on Taobao, AliExpress, etc., T-shirts and various accessories brazenly using the Arirang logo are being sold".
In particular, Seo said "the biggest problem is selling illegal merchandise that uses BTS's portrait rights without permission," and emphasized, "even if the platform did not directly produce the illegal merchandise, exposing such 'knockoff' products by merely providing the platform is clearly wrong."
BTS's full-group comeback drew even greater attention when the comeback show 'BTS comeback live: ARIRANG' held on the 21st at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul was exclusively broadcast live on Netflix. According to OTT ranking site FlixPatrol, the live broadcast ranked number one in 77 countries where Netflix is officially available, making it the overall number one among Netflix releases during the same period.
However, China is a country where Netflix is not officially available. The exclusive broadcast rights fee for 'BTS comeback live: ARIRANG' is known to be in the 10 billion won range. Nevertheless, BTS full-group comeback related goods are being illegally copied and distributed.
This is not the first time that illegal copying and distribution of Korean content goods in China has caused controversy. When the Korean drama "Squid Game," produced as a Netflix original series, gained great popularity, related products were illegally copied and distributed in China, causing controversy.
At the time, foreign media such as the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong even reported that "some of the most popular 'Squid Game' related items on Korean online shopping sites were being sold by companies in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, and Anhui Province."
Seo said, "This is truly a pathetic act. Not only illegal viewing but also making illegal merchandise to turn it into their revenue structure is unacceptable," and pointed out, "They must stop now. The act of stealing other countries' content must stop."
[Photo] OSEN DB, Netflix and provided by Seo Kyoung-duk.
[OSEN]