January 24, 2025
SEOUL – Videos of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, iconic Disney characters, dressed in hanbok and delivering New Year’s greetings, have sparked fierce debate online.
Filmed at Disneyland in California, the videos show Mickey and Minnie Mouse dressed in hanbok, traditional Korean attire, and the two characters greeting visitors in front of New Year’s greetings written in Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese.
It marked the first time Mickey and Minnie Mouse wore hanbok, and Disneyland has typically showcased characters highlighting traditional Chinese New Year elements, such as red lanterns and dragon dances.
Although Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian countries, including Korea, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, the holiday has widely been referred to as “Chinese New Year” in the West. The term, not used in Asian countries, stems from Lunar New Year celebrations held in many Chinatowns across the world.
When the video was posted on the amusement park’s official Instagram account last week, many Koreans were thrilled to see the characters dressed in hanbok.
But by Thursday afternoon, the post had received 951 comments, some of which criticized Disneyland for “cultural appropriation,” and others claiming that hanbok is of Chinese origin, and that Lunar New Year is a Chinese event.
“Placing Korean and Vietnamese cultures ahead of Chinese culture, having Mickey and Minnie dressed in hanbok, and similar actions that seem to downplay China’s foundational role and profound influence on this holiday are deeply disappointing and regrettable,” one user who used a Chinese flag emoticon remarked.
Similiar comments were also met by users refuting the claims, as well as those expressing dismay at the use of Chinese music while showing Korean hanbok.
Some local experts say this backlash from Chinese users can be attributed to the influence of the Chinese government’s “Northeast Project,” an initiative aimed at integrating historical events and cultural elements from regions historically associated with China into Chinese history.
It includes efforts to claim aspects of Korean culture, such as kimchi and hanbok, as part of China’s heritage.
“The Northeast Project began as a response to the growing global interest in Korean culture after the 2000s, driven by the anxiety in China over the shifting cultural center of East Asia from China to Korea,” said Seo Kyung-duk, a liberal arts professor at Sungshin Women’s University.
One representative example is when, two years ago at the Beijing Winter Olympics, members of China’s ethnic minorities were seen wearing hanbok, he explained.
Also, in 2021, the government of Jilin province, located in the northeastern part of China, designated the methods of making dolsot bibimbap as well as Korean rice cakes as “intangible cultural heritage.”