Former I.O.I member Chung Ha drew attention recently when she referred to the South Korean traditional clothing 'Hanbok.'

On February 9, Chung Ha logged on the V LIVE and had a live broadcast to celebrate with her fans. During this day, she held a Q&A session and took the time to talk with her fans.

She explained, "This time, I wore Hanbok in all of my Seasons Greetings pictorial." She continued to elaborate, "Everyone, it's Hanbok. Hanbok. Please keep that in mind well. It's is our traditional clothing, Hanbok," and stressed to her international fans that Hanbok is the South Korean traditional clothing.

It seemed that Chung Ha was aware of the recent Hanbok controversy during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.  Chung Ha repeated the word "Hanbok" several times and clearly stated that the Hanbok belongs to South Korea.

She continued to say, "I want to perform on stage with Hanbok as the concept so that I can share the beautiful culture of my country (South Korea). I think if I am lucky, I can do it in the next album."

Earlier, at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics held on the 4th, a representative of an ethnic minority of China appeared in hanbok, causing controversy. A woman with a white Jeogori with a pink dress and even a Daenggi hair (The traditional way to braid hair with traditional ornaments in Korea) was caught on camera and brought criticism to China for attempting to take ownership of the Korean culture.

Even in the past, absurd claims have been made in China that the origin of Hanbok is 'Hanfu' of the Han Chinese dress or that kimchi has its roots in 'Pao Chai.' Many Korean citizens have been baffled by the claims and criticized that China is attempting to claim the Korean culture as theirs after the boom in K-culture and K-content.