Actor Park Bo-gum and IU’s portrait rights, who appeared in the Netflix series ‘Record of Youth’, were used without permission in China. Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women’s UnIVErsity revealed on social media on the 14th that “Photos of Yang Gwan-sik (played by Park Bo-gum) and Ae-soon (played by IU) from ‘Record of Youth’ were used without permission in product advertisements at a mart in Hebei Province, China.” He added, “In particular, they freely used their portrait rights by utilizing a scene from the drama where Gwan-sik sells cabbage instead of Ae-soon, with the description ‘Cabbage for sale – Yang Gwan-sik’. Furthermore, their portrait rights were also being used in various product corners with descriptions like ‘Try making Ae-soon’s bean rice’, ‘Is this the right fish?’.” Professor Seo pointed out, “This is a clear example of China illegally using actors’ portrait rights after watching content.” He criticized, “So far, China has been openly using the portrait rights of Hallyu stars who appeared in K-content such as ‘Squid Game’ and ‘The Glory’, and even making knockoff products to sell for their own profit.” He urged for a strong response from China, saying, “When the Chinese authorities need to step in, they should take measures to crack down on the illegal acts of their citizens to prevent such incidents from happening again.” Illegal viewing of Korean content in China has been an ongoing issue. Professor Seo mentioned that recently, the Chinese tourism industry quoted a line from ‘Record of Youth’, saying, “Thank you for mentioning the tourism industry in the drama. Start your journey now without waiting for autumn.” He also pointed out, “It’s like publicly admitting to secretly watching ‘Record of Youth’ in China.”