While the hairpin that IVE's Jang Won Young recently showed in Paris garnered much attention, the Chinese media is attacking the idol claiming that she has "stole from their culture."
On October 17, China's NetEase talked about the Phoenix-shaped hairpin the idol wore and showed off through a Vlog released by Vogue Korea when she visited Paris. In the video, Jang Won Young explains her outfit and shares, "I also put on this hairpin to show the look of Korea in Paris."
The Chinese media claimed that the phoenix and dragon are traditional and symbolic patterns of China. The media outlet explained, "There are hairpins in Korea, but the hairpins with the phoenix pattern are unique to China."
At the same time, Chinese netizens also criticized, "Isn't that stealing from our traditional culture?" "This is an intolerable problem," and "She should correct herself and apologize, saying she didn't know that the phoenix belonged to China."
The media outlet also claimed that Jang Won Young is a Chinese immigrant, stating the rumors that she is of Chinese descent as if they were true. NetEase stated, "If Jang Won Young's origin is Chinese, there is no way that she would not know that the Phoenix hairpin is Chinese. Her saying that the Phoenix hairpin is Korean shows she has gotten her origin and she does not know her own culture."
Additionally, the media outlet also stated, "Our history and traditional customs/culture are very old, and we welcome people to learn, but we absolutely do not tolerate theft," claiming that the idol was stealing Chinese culture.
Recently, Jang Won Young suffered from rumors that the idol was of Chinese descent. This led to fans posting proof and debating whether Jang Won Young is an "authentic Korean" or not.
If we start spinning fine, the phoenix is spoken of as such in Greek mythology, which in turn is an element taken from Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia where it had the name of Bennu. It is neither Chinese nor Korean and this discussion is stupid.
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