South Korean politicians and activists criticized what they called China's "cultural appropriation" after a woman appearing to be wearing Korean traditional dress appeared among those representing China's different ethnic groups during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Games on Friday.
China is home to around 2 million ethnic Koreans, half of whom live on the Chinese side of the border with North Korea, and they are a recognized minority group whose language and culture are granted official protection.
South Koreans have expressed ire in the past over recent Chinese claims that some aspects of Korean culture such as kimchi, a Korean side dish typically made with fermented cabbage, or traditional Korean dress called hanbok, are of Chinese origin.