Prof. Seo Kyeong-duk: Superdry T-shirt Has Incorrect 'Geon-gon-gam-ri' Design... Thorough Inspection Needed

Controversy has arisen after it was revealed that global fashion brand Superdry incorrectly used the 'Geon-gon-gam-ri' (four trigrams of the South Korean flag) symbols on T-shirts currently on sale.

Professor Seo Kyeong-duk of Sungshin Women's University stated on social media today (July 28), "Upon verifying tips from netizens, we found that the 'Seoul Haechi Graphic T-shirt' sold at Superdry's official offline and online stores contains errors in the Geon-gon-gam-ri pattern."

The back of the T-shirt features the words 'Seoul' and 'KOREA', along with a drawing of Haechi and the Geon-gon-gam-ri symbols, which were found to be designed differently from the actual South Korean flag.

Professor Seo pointed out, "Recently, errors regarding the South Korean flag, the Taegeuk symbol, and the Geon-gon-gam-ri patterns have been continuously discovered in global brands such as Shake Shack in the United Arab Emirates, New Balance, and Superdry, which is concerning."

He added, "It is certainly not intentional and must be a mistake," while emphasizing, "However, when global companies utilize a country's national symbols in their designs, they must go through a thorough inspection process."

He further noted, "As the Korean Wave spreads widely around the globe, global companies are expected to utilize Korea-related designs even more," adding, "Consumers should use healthy criticism when they discover incorrect designs so that prompt corrective measures can be taken."

(Photo: Capture from Professor Seo Kyeong-duk's social media, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.