A newly released Chinese variety show has come under fire for allegedly plagiarizing the format of Netflix’s popular competition show, ‘The Devil’s Plan’, and for misrepresenting Korean kimchi as ‘paocai’. Tencent Video, the OTT platform operated by Chinese IT giant Tencent, unveiled its new competition program ‘Yifan Fengshen’ on the 17th, quickly sparking controversy in both China and abroad.

‘Yifan Fengshen’ divides chefs into "black" and "white" hierarchy teams and has contestants compete in a format strikingly similar to that of ‘The Devil’s Plan’. Online communities in China have been abuzz with accusations of plagiarism, citing the obvious likeness in the competitive structure and concept.

A spokesperson from Netflix clarified that the platform had never sold the licensing rights of ‘The Devil’s Plan’ to China, reigniting debates over repeated instances of alleged content copying in China’s entertainment industry.

Seo Kyung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University, pointed out the issue after receiving reports from viewers, emphasizing, “The more serious problem is that the show introduced kimchi as ‘paocai’ during a broadcast segment featuring kimchi.” Professor Seo stressed that paocai is a renowned pickled vegetable dish from China’s Sichuan Province and is completely different from Korean kimchi in the international culinary lexicon.

He further criticized China’s recent efforts, dubbed “the Kimchi Project,” to distort the origin of kimchi and claim it as their own. Seo warned that the tactics have expanded beyond mainstream media and social networks, now appearing on global OTT platforms, which only broadens the scope of such historical and cultural distortion.

Seo concluded, “This controversy provides an opportunity to raise global awareness of China’s counterfeit culture and to further promote authentic Korean kimchi on the world stage.”

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=‘Kimchi’ scene in ‘Yifan Fengshen’, MHN DB