Old photo misrepresented as 'Chinese woman in Korean clothing' at Paris Olympics

"It's China acting like China again," read a Korean-language Facebook post that shared the photo on July 31.

The image shows a group of people holding the Chinese flag, with text that says: "The Chinese again insisting in France that hanbok is theirs."

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Screenshot of the misleading post shared on Facebook. Captured August 1

South Korea and China have often clashed, with unfavourable views of China among Koreans reportedly rising to a record high in 2022 (archived link). 

Among the sore points were accusations levelled by South Koreans that China was appropriating parts of its culture and history, including the origins of the traditional kimchi dish as well as hanbok (archived links here and here). 

The photo surfaced in similar posts on Facebook and South Korea's Naver Band online forum that falsely claimed it showed a Chinese woman wearing hanbok at the Paris Olympics.

Beijing Olympics

A reverse image search on Google found the photo published by South Korea's Yonhap news agency in an article about the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4 that year (archived link).

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Screenshot of Yonhap news report including the original photo. Captured August 2

The performer wearing hanbok can be seen in various photos from the event, including here and here (archived links here and here).

She is also seen in official footage of the opening ceremony published by the International Olympic Committee, at the video's 13:08 timestamp (archived link).

According to the Olympics' website, the flag was carried by "ordinary Chinese people" who included representatives from the country's 56 ethnic groups (archived link).

China is home to one of the world's largest populations of overseas Koreans, but the inclusion of the woman in hanbok sparked controversy in South Korea over allegations of cultural appropriation.

China's embassy in South Korea denied the accusations in a statement and said ethnic Koreans living in China shared the same cultural roots as those living in North and South Korea (archived link). 

AFP previously debunked similar false claims circulating in South Korea about Chinese people "claiming" parts of Korean culture, including here and here.