5 Times K-Pop Agencies Were Accused Of Plagiarizing Other Groups
K-Pop artists are often praised for their originality and creativity, but sometimes their agencies miss the mark…by a long shot. Here are 5 times K-Pop agencies faced plagiarism allegations from fans for copying other groups.
1. JYP Entertainment – NMIXX’s music video
JYP Entertainment recently came under fire for alleged plagiarism in NMIXX’s debut music video for “O.O”
Netizens pointed out similarities to ATEEZ‘s music videos, including “Illusion” MV. Both ATEEZ and NMIXX’s videos feature a flying pirate ship.
After finding a number of similarities that seemed too uncanny to be coincidence, fans began trending hashtags to call out JYP Entertainment, hoping for an explanation.
2. KQ Entertainment – My Teenage Girl
In the finale of My Teenage Girl, contestants competed in a final mission to determine who would debut in the show’s girl group, CLASSy.
Team “Challenger” performed “Sun,” an original song produced and written by (G)I-DLE member and My Teenage Girl mentor Soyeon. ATEEZ fans, however, immediately noticed how similar the chorus of “Sun” was to ATEEZ’s “Wave.”
I love Soyeon and the girls (my teenage girls) , they are soo talented which I cannot disagree that but…. this sounds sooo same.. mybe intentionally or unintentionally. I need some explanation plis. SUN x WAVE #ATEEZDESERVESBETTER #ATEEZ #MyTeenageGirl #SUN #WAVE pic.twitter.com/HRu9fXrttk
— New World (신 세계) (@Atinyyyy5) February 28, 2022
KQ Entertainment responded with a statement that clarified what was happening behind the scenes.
On the 27th, the Challenge Team(?)’s stage, called ‘SUN’, was broadcast for the first round of the FINALs on My Teen Girl. Afterward, we received multiple reports through the company’s official channel and mails from webmasters that the song’s chorus melody was similar to ATEEZ’s ‘WAVE’, which was released in 2019.
As the company was monitoring the related issue, they discovered that the company’s producing team, Eden-ary, was listed in the credits for ‘SUN.’
We want to clarify that we did not have any discussions before with the company or Eden-ary. In hopes of respecting creators and their unique works and in hopes that any misinformation can be corrected, we ask everyone to refrain from making unreasonable assumptions regarding the issue.
Thank you.
— KQ Entertainment
3. Starship Entertainment – WJSN’s Photobook
In 2020, Starship Entertainment was accused of copying BTS‘s art for a WJSN (Cosmic Girls) photobook, 1st Photo Book [ON&OFF]. According to fans, the book’s cover art and concept were too similar to be ignored.
BTS’s photobook had two versions: PERSONA: ON and EGO: OFF and used ideas from Jungian psychology as its theme.
ARMYs pointed out that in addition to the concept and design, the color palette for EGO: OFF was nearly identical to that of BTS’s cover art for their Japanese single album Lights.
4. Woollim Entertainment – Golden Child’s album
In 2018, Woollim Entertainment was accused by Ahgases of stealing the idea for GOT7‘s album packaging. GOT7’s Flight Log: Turbulence and Golden Child’s Goldenness shared a number of similarities, including a luggage-inspired case, travel stickers, and even the CD itself.
5. ASTORY Entertainment – FAVORITE’s choreography
In 2019, fans of Oh My Girl pointed out similarities between Oh My Girl’s “Secret Garden” choreography…
…and FAVORITE’s “Loca.”
Since “Secret Garden” was Oh My Girl’s first music show win, the song and its dance were especially meaningful to fans. As such, some did not take kindly to the alleged plagiarism. They launched a hashtag project to bring more awareness to the situation.
