The Land of Knockoffs

The other week, when South Korea made the news in a way that didn't involve hostilities with North Korea or with another K-pop band, I read the story and shrugged my shoulders, and thought, yup, that's South Korea for you.

The land where copyright infringement is par for the course.

The latest infraction of trademark had a Canadian connection. A Korean coffee company introduced a Tim Horton's knock off, called Tim Morton's.

Not so subtle.

When I lived in Korea, in the late 1990s, I saw backpacks with a label that read Jonsport, similar to the famous California backpack company, Jansport.

In the Seoul district of Itaewan, encountered the following sign for a nightclub.

Club Viagra was on a bit of a hill, and a long flight of concrete steps lead up to the entrance.

You have to get up to get in. 

In my city, Chônju, a gift shop stole its name from a popular search engine. 

So, no, the Tim Morton's coffee doesn't surprise me. What does surprise me is that they haven't opened a Tim Morton's coffee shop in Korea.

Or maybe, they have?