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Dami Im was born in South Korea. However, many of the elements in the song's music video are reminiscent of Japan:

  • 0:00: Chinese-style painting, plus faux Asian-style writing
  • 0:17: A kimono-style dress (possibly a hanbok?)
  • 0:23: Cherry blossoms, and shōji (the paper walls using paper and wood, plus the room divider behind Dami)
  • 1:26: round wooden swords (possibly kendo?)

Which country or countries' culture is represented in "Gladiator"? In particular, is there anything that's not Korean (or only became Korean during the Japanese occupation of Korea and isn't regarded as really Korean), or alternatively is there anything that points to it being Korea rather than another country (for example, the specific style of the kimono-like dress)?

The section on the music video on Wikipedia seems to quote non-experts, and Wikipedia lacks an article on it in other languages. Just to pre-empt some criticisms, I'm aware that not all Asian countries are identical, even though several countries have been influenced by Chinese culture, and that Japan used to occupy Korea.

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0:00: Chinese-style painting, plus faux Asian-style writing

The writing is Korean - '검투사', which means 'gladiator'.

0:17: A kimono-style dress (possibly a hanbok?)

It is, indeed, a Korean hanbok - specifically, a Chima jeogori.

0:23: Cherry blossoms, and shōji (the paper walls using paper and wood, plus the room divider behind Dami)

Cherry blossoms are important in Korean culture. The walls don't seem the to be one of the more typical traditional Korean designs I'm familiar with, but I'm not an expert there.

1:26: round wooden swords (possibly kendo?)

Possibly - or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumdo.

The video seems to be basically a depiction of Korea, though there are doubtless other influences.

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