Falsely-shared Korean TV ad fuels criticism of Chinese pensions

"The Korean host burst out laughing when she said the monthly pension for farmers in the world's second-largest economy was only 100 yuan," read an X post that shared the video on October 12. 

"Meanwhile, the leaders and people of this country will not be ashamed of it at all."

The post, written in simplified Chinese, was shared by an X account with more than 160,000 followers.

It shows a video of a woman presenting a news bulletin in Korean. According to Chinese subtitles on-screen, she says: "The monthly pension for Chinese farmers is only just over 100 yuan".

She then bursts out laughing, and her male colleague makes a remark translated into Chinese as: "Which isn't enough to eat steamed buns every day." 

China raised the minimum pension for rural and urban residents in March by 20 yuan to 123 yuan per month, the Communist Party-run People's Daily said (archived link).

The announcement was ridiculed on Chinese social media.

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Screenshot of the false X post, captured on October 24, 2024

Later in September, China said it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an ageing population (archived link).

State news agency Xinhua said the retirement age would be gradually raised over 15 years from 2025, adding that from 2030, workers would need to make a minimum of 20 years of basic pension contributions instead of the current 15.

The video gained traction online following that announcement, including in an X post that racked up more than 420,000 views, and on Instagram, YouTube and the Chinese version of TikTok Douyin.

While some social media users pointed out the video was not related to Chinese pensions, others appeared to believe it showed a genuine news report.

"This time South Korea is telling the truth," one commented.

"When they can't afford kimchi, they still ask China for support and Chinese cabbage," another said.

Tea commercial

A keyword search found a longer version of the video posted on Facebook on September 24, 2014 -- a decade before China announced its pension increase in March 2024 

The video was posted by South Korean food and beverage company Binggrae (archived link).

According to the Facebook post, the clip is a commercial for Clear Sky Bellflower Tea.

"Clear Sky Bellflower Tea, Video Sharing Event Opens," it says in Korean. "Legend News Broadcasting Accident”.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and Binggrae's Facebook video (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and Binggrae's Facebook video (right)

The full commercial humorously depicts a weather presenter forecasting a dust storm. Her voice cracks several times, apparently due to the dust, prompting the female news presenter to burst into laughter.

"For fine dust like this, bronchial tube," she giggles in Korean. "A convenient tea drink has been launched. It is expected to greatly benefit citizens."

Her male colleague then says: "Let's move on to the next news item."

"I apologise for the interruption caused by Jeong Mi-yeon, who has a bad throat today," he adds. "Why don't you drink Clear Sky Balloon Flower Tea? It’s good for relieving thirst when your throat hurts from fine dust."

Binggrae's website also features a description of the advert (archived link).

Footage from the same commercial previously made the rounds in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed the news presenter laughing at a motorcycle ban in China.