Superdry Follows New Balance in Taegeukgi Symbol Error... "Rigorous Inspection Processes Needed"

"Korean Designs Will Be Used More as Korean Wave Spreads"
"Incorrect Designs Must Be Swiftly Corrected"

There has been growing concern as global brands have repeatedly misused the Taegeuk symbol and the four trigrams (Geon, Gon, Gam, Ri) from the Taegeukgi, South Korea’s national flag, in product designs.

Professor Seo Kyung-duk: "Errors in the Taegeukgi continue to be found, raising concerns"

Seong-duk Seo, Professor at Sungshin Women's University, Facebook

On July 28, Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University pointed out via his Facebook page, “An error has been discovered in the arrangement of the four trigrams on a 'Superdry' T-shirt, a global brand.”

The product in question is the “Seoul Haetae Graphic T-shirt,” currently being sold at official Superdry stores and online. The back of the T-shirt features the English words “Seoul” and “KOREA,” an image of Haetae, and the four trigrams motif. However, it was confirmed that the arrangement and form of the four trigrams were expressed differently from their proper configuration on the actual Taegeukgi.

Professor Seo commented, “Lately, errors regarding the Taegeukgi and its Taegeuk and four trigrams motifs have been continuously found in products by global brands such as Shake Shack UAE, New Balance, and Superdry, which is concerning.” He added, “I'm sure these were unintentional mistakes rather than deliberate, yet global companies must go through thorough inspection processes when incorporating national symbols into their product designs.”

He continued, “As the Korean Wave spreads throughout the world, global companies are expected to utilize Korean-themed designs even more in the future. All the more reason why Korean consumers should respond with constructive criticism when they spot incorrect designs, so that swift corrective action can be taken.”

New Balance suspends sales following controversy over 'Taegeuk Error' T-shirt

Photo of the problematic New Balance product. Professor Seokyungduk Facebook

This is not the first time a global brand has misused the Taegeukgi symbol. Recently, New Balance also faced controversy after it sold a T-shirt featuring an incorrect Taegeuk motif. As public criticism intensified, New Balance released an official statement on its website, saying, “We sincerely apologize for causing concern to many people due to the T-shirt design with the Taegeuk motif.” The company announced it would suspend all sales of the product and offer refunds.

New Balance further stated, “In the future, when incorporating national symbols or elements with historical and cultural significance into our product designs, we will implement even stricter review and verification procedures during all planning and production stages.” The company also pledged to conduct a comprehensive review of its internal design verification framework to prevent any recurrence of these issues.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.