A famous influencer from China has sparked controversy by posting a video of themselves making kimchi while tagging it as "Chinese traditional cuisine."
According to a post by Seo Kyung-deok, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, the influencer in question operates an account called "Mr. Byao." He recently posted a three-part video of himself making kimchi on Instagram, tagging it with "Chinese culture" (Chineseculture) and "Chinese traditional cuisine" (Chinesecuisine). The views for these videos have exceeded 30 million.
Professor Seo noted, "The reason for promoting kimchi through rural life is to emphasize externally that it is 'a food that has been made and eaten in the countryside of China for a long time.' He questioned, 'Will the world be fooled by this? It's a foolish trick.'" He also referred to the famous Chinese YouTuber Li Ziqi (李子柒), who attracted controversy in 2021 by tagging a video of making kimchi with the hashtag "Chinese food" (ChineseFood).
Professor Seo argued, "As the world pays attention to and enjoys Korean culture, the sense of inferiority among Chinese people is growing day by day. We must use this to our advantage and spread our culture in a more sophisticated way."