As Netflix’s "KPop Demon Hunters" draws global buzz, major Chinese e-commerce platforms are teeming with unauthorized merch, stirring fresh controversy.
AliExpress and Temu, which sell to customers worldwide, are listing a wave of unlicensed "KPop Demon Hunters" goods―T-shirts, bags, plushies, blankets and more.
China has seen similar flare-ups before. When "Squid Game" swept the world, the country faced widespread piracy and illegal streaming, which quickly grew into a major issue.
After "Squid Game"s first season dropped, sellers peddling fake merch on China’s biggest marketplaces made a killing, cashing in on the global craze.
On the latest surge, Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University blasted the practice as “truly pathetic,” adding, “It’s not enough that they watch illegally―now they’re churning out bootleg merch to profit off someone else’s work. That’s unacceptable.”
He continued, “This needs to stop. The habit of ‘stealing’ other countries’ content has to end―period.”
Meanwhile, Chinese users who watched the movie via illegal streams have posted roughly 7,000 reviews on Douban, the country’s largest review site. Among them are claims that the film plagiarizes Chinese culture―accusations flipping the script to suggest, ironically, that Korea is the one doing the stealing.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)