Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

SEVENTEEN enjoyed great popularity with its new song "Don't Wanna Cry" in May. But, as you may know, there was a plagiarism controversy over the song. The song's chorus sounded like that of "Something just like this", a song released by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay last February, and it was suspected that SEVENTEEN copied the song. However, Pledis, home to the k-pop boy group denied plagiarism charges at that time. By the way, Sony ATV Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing, which are managing the copyright of "Something just like this" later made a claim, and Pledis agreed to share the copyright of "Don't Wanna Cry" with The Chainsmokers and Coldplay. It doesn't mean Pledis admitted that SEVENTEEN has copied The Chainsmokers & Coldplay's song, though. Pledis said "Even though we still believe that SEVENTEEN's song is an original creation, we decided to share the copyright of the song becau...

EXO made a successful comeback. The boy group released its new song "Ko Ko Bop" on July 21 and has been maintaining the top spot on a variety of music charts. By the way, you know, EXO recently became embroiled in unexpected plagiarism charges. Some of BTS fans are insisting that the music video of "Ko Ko Bop" is similar to BTS' music videos, claiming that EXO certainly copied BTS' music videos of "I Need U" and "Run". The pictures below show how EXO's music video is similar to BTS' music videos. Well, what do you think? It's true that the scenes look similar. Then, do you think EXO really copied BTS' music videos? No, never. A variety of different music videos include such scenes, while BTS is not the first idol group who filmed such scenes. In addition, "Ko Ko Bop" is a song which is totally different from "I Need U" and "Run". The songs are different genres of music and contai...

On June 30, a Korean media outlet reported that there is a plagiarism controversy over G-Dragon's song "Middle Fingers-Up" which is included in his recent album. According to the report, many netizens are doubting the originality of the song, while it seems like GD copied Kyle's "iSpy"(feat. Lil Yachty). The media outlet also insisted that the two songs have same codes and it seems to be a fact that GD and the other 2 co-composers copied the melody line of "iSpy". Well, listen to the songs first. Do you think the two songs are similar? No, not at all. I'm not a composer but I've been working as a k-pop journalist for years. No, the songs are not similar, and GD never copied the song. Actually, the Korean media outlet which reported about the plagiarism controversy for the first time is Sports World. Do you know Kim Yongho? He is a journalist who was accused by YG Entertainment of spreading false information. Not all the infor...

BTS revealed the poster on August 29, but some of their fans noticed that it is too similar to the red poster above and told BTS' agency something's wrong. The agency removed the poster 3 hours later. Well, the poster was produced by subcontracting, and it was the outsourcing partner of BTS' agency who took charge of the poster's design.

IU made a successful comeback by releasing her new album “CHAT-SHIRE” on October 23 2015, but the lyrics of her song “Zeze” has been embroiled in controversy. And her music video and teaser images were at the center of controversy too. Due to the controversy, the nation’s little sister, who has been gaining great popularity in the k-pop world became the focus of public censure for the first time since her debut in 2008, while some people even gathered signatures, insisting that IU’s album should be discarded. So, what do you think? You think IU deserved the criticism? Or was she a victim of a witch hunt? As you may know, Zeze is the main character of a famous novel “My Sweet Orange Tree” written by José Mauro de Vasconcelos. Here's a brief summary of the novel. Zeze, a boy of 5 years, lives in a very humble house with his family, and he is suffered by the aggression from his father. He lives with the lack of understanding and affection. Such a disturbed family backgroun...

Are you a fan of Kpop girl group APink? I like the group too. The 6 members are lovely, pretty, and attractive. But the group was recently embroiled in plagiarism controversy surrounding the concept image for its upcoming new album. As you can see above, the image looked really similar to a photograph taken by fashion photographer Michal Pudelka, while the group's agency explained, "We never knew such photos existed, and we never designed the concept based on the originals. It seems like something similar just happened as we were seeking out a desired concept for the girl group’s comeback." Well, what do you think? Do you think APink plagiarized the photograph?(Actually, that's the group's agency's problem, not APink's.) The problem is that it's not the first time that APink was embroiled in plagiarism controversy. Since its debut in 2011, APink has continuously been caught up in controversy. Check out the photos below and please compare the c...