South Korean YouTuber Got In Trouble For Waving KOR Flag & Singing His National Anthem On China Mountain

South Korean YouTuber Girit, who boasts over 470K subscribers, has found himself in hot soup while creating content in China.

Girit was live streaming while exploring Paektu Mountain, also known as Changbai Mountain, an active volcano located on the Chinese-North Korean border. The stream had gone on for four hours before everything went south.

While admiring a lake on the volcano, Girit took out the South Korea flag from his bag, and started singing the South Korean national anthem.

Almost immediately, a man in a red jumpsuit, presumably a staff of the location, interrupted Girit and snatched his flag away.

A Korean tourist could be heard in the background, saying: “This is China’s territory. You can’t do that. You're lucky you weren’t taken away."

It appeared the tourist had spoken too soon. Girit was later taken away by the staff, putting an immediate stop to his stream.

His next update came six hours later.

Resuming his live stream, Girit informed his viewers he was safe. He revealed he was taken to the police, and that all his belongings thoroughly checked. They also looked through every single photo in his phone. 

According to Girit, Mount Paektu is located on the Chinese and North Korean border, and China banned the waving of the South Korean flag there to avoid any conflict. 

Girit also said he was made to sign a declaration that he would not repeat the same behaviour.

A representative from Paektu Mountain’s conservation and development zone team also confirmed that Girit’s case was passed on to the Ministry of Public Security.

They added that similar incidents have happened in the past, and their staff have always been instructed to step in to handle the situation.

Chinese netizens have since expressed their unhappiness with Girit, with many calling him ignorant.

Korean netizens were kinder, and instead of chastising him, warned other netizens to follow the rules of the countries they are visiting. 

According to the National Flag Law of the People’s Republic of China, all individuals are prohibited from displaying any foreign national flags in public places without approval, especially in nationally symbolic locations. Should there be a situation where foreign flags need to be displayed, they must be put up alongside the Chinese national flag, ensuring that the Chinese national flag takes a dominant position.

Well, now we know.