Australian museum removes mislabeled Chinese clothing display

Professor Seo Kyung-duk at Sungshin Women’s University shared the news of the display’s removal on his Instagram on May 29.PHOTOS: SEOKYOUNGDUK/INSTAGRAM via The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

SEOUL – The Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia, has removed a display that mistakenly labelled Chinese-style clothing as “Korean traditional attire” following complaints from the Korean community in Australia.

Professor Seo Kyung-duk, who teaches liberal arts at Sungshin Women’s University and a prominent advocate for promoting Korean culture abroad, shared this news of the display’s removal on his Instagram on May 29.

“I heard about this from a lot of Koreans in Australia. It’s such a great outcome,” Prof Seo wrote.

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He explained that after concerns were raised, the museum acknowledged the mistake and corrected the label to indicate that the clothing was Chinese-style.

The final removal of the display, he said, was the result of collective action by the Korean community in Canberra.

Prof Seo also underscored the significance of the display’s removal.

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“Even if the label is corrected, placing Chinese-style clothing in front of the Korean flag is bound to cause misunderstandings among foreign visitors,” he said.

“Given that China has recently been making false claims that hanbok originated from its own culture, this decision was very much welcomed.” /dl