Fireworks in China are loud. During holidays and weddings, firecrackers are set off in a variety of ways, making a lot of noise and often causing fires.
In particular, the generation of fine dust caused by the use of firecrackers has been identified as one of the main causes of air pollution.
Accordingly, the Chinese government changed its direction to allow fireworks from the end of last year in response to a flood of complaints.
Meanwhile, Chinese netizens were found to have made the absurd claim that ‘Korea is trying to steal the cultural heritage of fireworks, so fireworks should be allowed to protect it.’
On the 14th, Seo Gyeong-deok, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University, said, “In celebration of the Lunar New Year, China’s largest holiday, several netizens reported the results of a survey on Chinese netizens’ perception of fireworks recently conducted by the local media ‘Gupa Newspaper’.”
According to this, “The majority (43%) said that fireworks should be allowed again to ‘preserve traditional culture,’ and cited Korea as one of the reasons.” “Of the netizens who answered that fireworks should be allowed, 27% said, ‘Korea should allow fireworks.’ He pointed out, “He made absurd statements like, ‘By applying for a game to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they are trying to take away Chinese culture.’”
Professor Seo then said, “Korea has never applied for fireworks as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,” and clicked his tongue, accusing Chinese netizens of making fun of something that did not happen.
Professor Seo said, “Last year, Koreans made a fuss saying that they stole their ‘Chinese New Year’ as ‘Lunar New Year’, but this year they are making unreasonable claims that they are stealing fireworks.” He added, “Korea’s kimchi, hanbok, fan dance, and even independence. “They are trying to steal the nationality and ethnicity of activists, but they are also trying to steal our culture from us,” he said indignantly.
Professor Seo, who judged this to be part of China’s cultural process, quipped, “Chinese people must first learn to respect other countries’ cultures before they can have their own culture respected as well.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.