This article is part of our coverage of HYBE vs. ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.
In some of the latest allegations of the feud between HYBE Labels and ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, Bang Si Hyuk (founder and chairman of HYBE) came under scrutiny for allegedly ignoring the members of NewJeans on multiple instances. While Korean netizens seemed to overall criticize Bang, however, a lot of international fans actually came to his defense, showing an interesting divide in how different demographics are reacting to and siding with the players in this scandal.
It follows a trend that has been seen before in the feud, with Korean netizens tending to side with Hee Jin and international fans tending to side with HYBE/Bang Si Hyuk. Of course, this is a broad generalization and there are plenty of exceptions, but there does seem to be cultural differences between the two groups that have affected how they view the controversy.
Min Hee Jin’s infamous press conference also drew mixed reactions. Non-Korean-speaking fans had to rely on unofficial and potentially biased translations of the conference in order to try to form their opinion on the matter, and some of the intricacies and details of Hee Jin’s accusations against HYBE and company may have been lost in said translations. However, this past weekend, the full press conference was translated and uploaded online for fans to watch, and it seems to already be changing some people’s minds.
In particular, the below clip of Hee Jin discussing the accusations of ILLIT‘s team plagiarizing NewJeans has been drawing a lot of attention. In it, she blames the “adults” in the situation rather than the members themselves, and claims that the entire “production formula” of NewJeans being copied is why she’s so upset about the situation. The video then gives many examples of said copying, as well as netizens sharing their belief that ILLIT has been plagiarizing NewJeans.
? pic.twitter.com/sAiwmvX2v0
— ᴀɴɴᴀ ? (@forkimminji) May 13, 2024
Already in the comments and quote retweets on the clip, there is overwhelming support and agreement with Hee Jin’s side of the story.
This is the first time I’ve seen a company debut a group to stamp on and eliminate another group. NewJeans hasn’t even been active for 2 years gosh but they’ve worked like a dog just to erase NJ from the HYBE map, They treat NJ as if NJ is not their group. https://t.co/6xDtC8mfhJ
— Chericheri／(≧ x ≦)＼?? Positive Tokkis no worries (@Phamkuromi) May 14, 2024
the fact that some sunbaenims in k-industry are also aware about this case and giving NJ support, but the fans of the copycat group are so TONE DEAF af got me creeps https://t.co/G5UvwjOrjl
— nami (@mseillesoo) May 13, 2024
Illit fans can’t even deny it anymore. The similarity is too uncanny and it is quite clear Hybe wants to replace NewJeans. https://t.co/UXfCDOMIRH
— ? Pink ? Pepper ? (@0pink0pepper0) May 14, 2024
as someone who takes mma degree, kpop stans wont understand the frustration of seeing your works blatantly being copied and stolen left and right without any proper credit. mhj is an art freak who devoted her life to making art and i totally get her frustration on this https://t.co/yQgVLhSjmA
— ethan (@ethanlhxs) May 14, 2024
Plagiarism to next level.
How can you have two groups under you with same concept, everything same??Hybe is hell bent on ruining NJ.
No wonder Crew of NJ is so mad and Knetz are calling this out and bashing BangPD and hybe. https://t.co/sOZGmlDwDt— Tomjerry95 (@Sush9573) May 14, 2024
The clip also made its way onto Korean forum Instiz, where Korean netizens shared their relief that “accurate” translations were making the rounds rather than “inaccurate” ones that were allegedly going around before.
- “Finally the correct translation…”
- “That video was well made, they pointed out at the beginning that it wasn’t just the kids’ fault, and they did a good job of sorting out the plagiarism controversy.”
- “I’m glad it’s been made properly known now.”
- “Oh, glad you made a good video.”
- “Until about 2~3 days ago, all overseas fans on reels were only cursing, but I hope
it will change.” - “Wow, but the choreography was copied a lot.”
- “If only everyone knew about it properly.”
And in response to that, more international fans shared their opinions (some quite brash) on another online forum.
Has your opinion on the HYBE vs. Hee Jin situation changed? Here’s the whole 2+ hour-long press conference with English translations.
Source: Instiz and Pann Choa
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