New Jeans was slapped in the face by a 'copycat' group, fans continuously posted 'teasing' tweets, Kpop was in an uproar

Recently, the rookie group ODD YOUTH has received the attention of the Kpop fan community. However, what has caused the most stir among the audience is the fact that this group is accused of intentionally copying the style of NewJeans.

The first images of the members of TOP Media's new girl group ODD YOUTH were released on September 18, 2024. The group immediately attracted attention due to the presence of popular Girls Planet 999 contestant Guinn Myah.

Based on the group's name and logo, it's easy to see that the group will be pursuing youthful concepts, which was seen in the first teaser for the song "Best Friendz".

In the days leading up to the release of Best Friendz, ODD YOUTH shared teaser images featuring the group. The first image shows the five members as the only ones colored in a photo, while the other image is a lower-angle shot of the group.

Many have claimed that ODD YOUTH is almost copying Newjeans' style, accusing the group's company of "stealing" previous concepts from HYBE's home group.

Currently, the NewJeans fan community has been continuously tweeting posts to protest and condemn ODD YOUTH. The posts have received great attention on social networks, causing the name ODD YOUTH to gain more attention thanks to the controversy.

NewJeans’ success is undeniable. With their youthful, catchy music style, dynamic image and smart marketing campaigns, the group quickly became one of K-pop’s most successful rookies. This has led many entertainment companies to create groups with a similar style, in order to capitalize on the market trend.

However, on the other hand, New Jeans has also been criticized for plagiarism. Recently, the Korean entertainment industry has been struggling with the rise of plagiarism. Melodies, ideas, choreography, and even publications cannot avoid the fate of being blatantly 'copied'.

In a recent audit of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, Representative Shin Dong Wook argued that plagiarism is becoming a problem that is hindering the growth of K-pop. Mr. Shin Dong Wook proved his argument by comparing the somewhat similar choreography of two popular groups, ILLIT and NewJeans.

In reality, the development of K-pop music in 2024 is slowing down due to the lack of its own color, from "little sister" BlackPink to the copy of virtual idol Plave. Both Lisa (BlackPink) and NewJeans are also caught up in the noise of "borrowing" ideas from lyrics to scenes in MVs.

Congressman Shin Dong Wook is not the first person to point out the similarities between the two girl groups ILLIT and NewJeans. On April 3, 2024, an internal battle broke out between HYBE Group and former CEO Min Hee Jin when she released evidence showing that HYBE had consulted New Jeans' plans to create the 5th generation girl group ILLIT.

At the trial held on October 11, the female CEO continued to affirm: "ILLIT's creative director requested NewJeans' plan right from the planning stage of creating ILLIT". Despite the many evidences presented, Belif Lab (ILLIT's management company) continued to deny the suspicion of plagiarism, while the "big guy" HYBE ignored the matter.

In July 2024, British band Shakatak sent a complaint letter to HYBE and record label ADOR accusing girl group NewJeans of illegally using compositions and musical elements from Shakatak's song Easier said than done in the song Bubble gum.

At the same time, Lisa (BlackPink) was also caught up in a similar scandal. Specifically, Gabriel Moses - the director of Travis Scott's MV FE!N accused Lisa's MV Rockstar of plagiarizing a scene from FE!N. The director of the MV FE!N was outraged and strongly condemned on social media: "They contacted my editor to ask for permission to use FE!N as a reference. Even though they refused, Lisa still did it."

Even the virtual music group Plave has become the target of plagiarism. The virtual idol rookie group AFOTS had to apologize and cancel their schedules because of the plagiarism scandal involving Plave's MV The 6th Summer.

The issue of plagiarism is not new in the leading industry of the land of kimchi, but it has only recently been brought up for serious scrutiny. Plagiarism in K-pop openly exists because there are no clear regulations, because of concerns about affecting the creativity of artists. "It would be great if there were clear standards and quantitative measures, but they are very difficult to find in music.

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