On the Chinese social media Weibo, the hashtag #Wang Yiren Chinese don't give a big bow # was uploaded.

As of 2pm on the 6th, the number of views has exceeded 120 million, and over 14,000 comments have been posted.

Here, ‘Wang Yi-ren’ is the Chinese name of ‘Lee-ren’, a Chinese member of the girl group Everglow.


"Good job" to a girl group member who didn't say much...

"Chinese people only kneel to heaven, earth and parents"


It started with Everglow's fan signing event in Korea on the 2nd.

Of the 6 members, 5 members of Korean nationality gave their fans a big bow to greet the new year.

However, this Chinese nationality stood up and greeted him in a Chinese style.

This is a common greeting in Chinese movies, where one hand wraps the fist of the other.

It is understandable that the culture and traditions of the motherland are different.


The reaction of Chinese netizens was unexpectedly hot.

On social media, praises were pouring in, saying "Well done".

There were not many comments in the comments saying, "Since ancient times, the Chinese have a tradition of kneeling only to heaven and earth, and to their parents."

The idea is to not kneel to other people.

There were also comments saying, “It has become a good example for Chinese stars to advance overseas” and “Wang Yi-ren is still observing Chinese etiquette and spreading Chinese culture abroad.”

Chinese netizens did not stop there.

We found photos of Chinese celebrities working in Korea and covered who kneeled and who didn't in the past.



Chinese media also stepped in.

Internet media outlet Wang Yimang praised "Wang Yiren's Chinese greeting, 'Kneeling only to heaven, earth and parents,' is amazing."

The state-run Global Times also reported in an article on the 4th that 'Chinese members of a K-pop group are being praised for their traditional Chinese greetings in Korea'.

He also said that 'Wang Yi-ren supported Xinjiang Uyghur cotton through SNS in the past'.

Xinjiang Uyghur is a place where controversy over forced labor and human rights violations is being raised, and Western countries such as the United States and some companies have declared a boycott of cotton produced in Xinjiang.


Speaking of cultural inclusion...

Chinese member punished for 'Korean military comfort performance'


Another article appeared next to this article in the Global Times on the 4th. It is an article that says, 'Chinese netizens do not take much of the overreaction of Korean viewers to the inclusion of Chinese elements in Korean dramas'. As an example, I heard a scene from the drama 'Seolganghwa'. It is said that 'Chinese controversy arose over the scene where the actors played mahjong, but Chinese netizens do not understand it'. He also introduced reactions such as "Chinese viewers don't care whether or not Chinese elements appear in Korean dramas" and "I'm tired of the cultural struggle between the two countries." The Global Times said, "Cultural products such as dramas should be inclusive because such criticism hinders the spread of culture in a country." This is a kind of advice not to insist on being too Korean.



Let's go back to the story of girl group Everglow member Lee Geun.

According to a Hong Kong South China Morning Post report in August 2020, Everglow's agency, China-based Yuehua Entertainment, has been punished by Chinese authorities.

This was because Everglow appeared on Korean defense TV 'Comfort Train' in 2019 and performed a consolation performance for Korean soldiers.

I took issue with the fact that the member Lee Geun is of Chinese nationality.

At that time, South Korea-China relations were more strained than they are now due to the THAAD (high-altitude missile defense system) incident.

Yuehua Entertainment apologized, saying, "We are on the side of the motherland and reject any action that harms the national interest," the South China Morning Post reported.



This reaction of Chinese media and netizens is different from the 'rejection of a big bow' introduced earlier.

On the one hand, they emphasize the inclusion of other cultures, and on the other hand, they show a strong adherence to their own traditional culture.

They say that the Chinese tradition of not kneeling should be maintained in Korea as well, but they do not want to understand Korea's special military consolation culture in a divided situation.

Speaking of borderless culture, China has not lifted the Korean-Korean rule (Korean Wave ban) since the THAAD incident.

It can be seen as an image of limitless generosity only to one's own culture and traditions.