Seoul's recent premiere event for the upcoming film 'Barbie' has caused many Korean netizens to voice some negative opinions.

As previously reported, a promotional event for 'Barbie' was held at the Atrium in Seoul's Times Square on July 2 KST, with director Greta Gerwig, producer Tom Ackerley, and film stars Margot Robbie and America Ferrera in attendance. During the event, the 'Barbie' cast and crew posed for photos for fans and local press, greeted fans by thanking them in Korean, and answered movie-related questions asked by the event's MC Park Kyung Lim.

However, netizens' complaints mostly relate to what followed. The entire event was 18 minutes long, yet only three of the minutes were reserved for actually discussing the film, five minutes were dedicated to photo time and surprising Margot Robbie with a birthday cake, and 10 minutes of the event was reserved for Korean cultural heritage promotion.

After the four guests answered questions about the film, the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation Art Troupe arrived wearing hanbok and performing dances while playing Korean traditional musical instruments.

Following the performance, Park Kyung Lim announced that there would be a special guest and invited hanbok tailor Park Sul Nyeo on stage. "I want to let you know just how beautiful our country's silk is," the tailor told Margot Robbie. "To be honest, I wanted to have you wear a full hanbok, but they said there wasn't time for that."

She then gifted hanbok-style pieces for the cast and crew to wear, then asked if she could pose for a picture with them before standing center for the shot. This particular moment grabbed netizen attention as it seemed largely promotive, with the tailor even slipping her business card into Margot Robbie's hanbok vest pocket. When Margot Robbie put the vest on, Park Sul Nyeo also reached out to restyle the actress's hair to better match the hanbok style.

Netizens on Korean online communities like Instiz and theqoo complained about how strangely the event was handled, leaving comments like, "If it wasn't for Margot Robbie's face, [the hanbok piece would] not even pretty... Why do you have to touch someone else's hair to make your hanbok look good, and seeing something like this at a Barbie event...? It would have been much more meaningful if a Barbie doll dressed in a hanbok was the gift," "Huh... why are you touching her hair? If you want someone to wear a hanbok, you have to have them wear it properly. That's a hanbok...? A real Barbie doll in a hanbok would have been better," "I can't believe there's a business card...," and "No... In front of actors who came to Korea to promote movies... What are you doing? Are you advertising a hanbok show? I'm so embarrassed."

The focus on promoting Korean culture at a Hollywood film event also caused them to recall when Amanda Seyfried visited Korea in 2013 to promote the cosmetics brand Clé de Peau Beauté. However, the point of the event was overshadowed by having the actress model hanbok there as well. "Today when I saw the 'Barbie' event, I got deva ju from something that happened 10 years ago I'd forgotten about," one netizen wrote, sharing photos from the Amanda Seyfried event.

Meanwhile, 'Barbie' is set for release in South Korea on July 19.