"Isn't it something a teacher should have warned against to parody a brand logo on a class T-shirt?"

A citizen who witnessed elementary school students wearing T-shirts parodying famous brands as they walked in line behind their teacher has shared their dilemma about whether to call the school and lodge a complaint, leading to an outpouring of reactions from netizens.

On the 17th, a post titled 'Elementary Class T-shirt Brand Rip-off;;' was uploaded to a Naver cafe.

The author, Mr. A, explained, "While walking in the neighborhood during the day, I saw elementary students wearing class T-shirts, following their teacher in a line," and noted that "one class had 'NICE' printed over the Nike logo, while another class had 'The 8BAN FACE' next to the North Face logo."

He continued, "I understand they wanted to have fun, but even if the students decided on such a theme for their T-shirts, shouldn’t the teacher teach them that unauthorized reproduction of brand designs is wrong and illegal?"

He added, "It's not just one class but 2-3 classes from the same school coordinating to wear this, which is shocking and frustrating. No matter how you look at it, even if it's not illegal, even if it is a parody, there is still a problem."

Lastly, he expressed concern, saying, "They are not middle or high school students but young elementary school kids. I feel like this blurs their awareness of copyright." He then asked the netizens, "Is it okay to call the school and suggest that starting next year, they should try not to use (brand) logos when designating class T-shirts?"

In response, some netizens remarked, "You can think that way, but I don't think it's necessary to go as far as making a call," "Everyone has those memories of wearing such class T-shirts at least once. It's unfair to be so critical," and "Are we going to coordinate and buy authentic brand T-shirts?"

On the other hand, some netizens who agreed with the author's opinion commented, "Since there's a lack of awareness about unauthorized reproduction, it seems good to raise this issue," "It could be something that someone needs to address," and "I haven’t lodged a complaint but have felt that there is a problem."

In response, the author wrote in a comment, "I posted this out of concern and confusion, but being attacked like this makes me think I shouldn’t make the call. You might feel that there are many kinds of people in the world after reading this, but I am one of them."

Image source: Reference photo for understanding the article / News1