Facebook capture of Professor Seo Gyeong-deok of Sungshin Women’s University
‘Quick!’
There is controversy after Korean graffiti was discovered at the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain’s representative tourist attraction and known as architect Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece.
Recently, a photo of graffiti with the Korean word ‘Jjong’ written on a pillar inside the cathedral was shared on online communities and social media, sparking criticism.
Seo Gyeong-deok, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University, said on social media, “According to a netizen’s report, the graffiti was written in a easily visible location in the cathedral viewing area, and was larger than other foreign language graffiti, so it caught the attention of visitors.”
‘Jjung’ is known as a slang term used online to express displeasure or irritation.
You can also see the word ‘KIN’ right next to it, and it is used online to mean ‘joy’.
Professor Seo said, “Leaving graffiti on world historical sites is an absolutely unacceptable act of damaging cultural assets,” and pointed out, “Now that Korea’s national image has improved due to the spread of K-content, such behavior is a shameful act that lowers Korea’s brand value, so global etiquette must be observed.”
Controversy has arisen after Korean graffiti was discovered on the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain’s representative tourist attraction and designed by Gaudi.
Several netizens took pictures and sent them to us, showing ‘Jjeng’ written in large letters in Korean on the pillars of the cathedral.
‘Jjong’ is a sound you make when you are in a bad mood, and is widely used as an internet term.
Anyway, there are graffiti in letters from other countries, but the graffiti is the largest and can be recognized at a glance, which is problematic.
Recently, a number of Korean graffiti were found in the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest Path, a famous attraction in Kyoto, Japan, causing controversy.
Additionally, large Korean graffiti was left on the rock surface of the Grand Canyon, a tourist attraction in Arizona, USA, raising eyebrows.
I don’t know why Koreans are like this these days. Korean graffiti should never be written on world-class tourist attractions.
Recently, Korea’s brand has improved greatly thanks to K-content, and such actions will only tarnish the country’s image.
In the future, Korean tourists will have to adhere to basic ‘global etiquette’ while abroad based on a more mature civic consciousness.
#Korean graffiti
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Seo Hyung-seok (codealpha@yna.co.kr)
