Controversy broke out even before MBC’s survival variety show ‘Blood Game’ is broadcasted.
In August 7, Bae Jin Soo, the author of the webtoon ‘Money Game’, told to Yonhap News “I’m so upset. The webtoon I spent so much time on researching and creating unique stories that no one could imagine is used in a famous variety show without my permission”
‘Blood Game’ is a survival variety show in which the participants are locked in a space that is cut off from the outside and they have to compete for the money. The show is going to be broadcasted in the second half of this year.
Before airing the show, Jin Yong Jin, the planner of the show who is also a Youtuber with 2.2 million subscribers, posted a copy of the promotional poster written “Only the last person to survive wins the money”
This is similar to the basic format of the webtoon ‘Money Game’ in which the last survivor is the only person to receive the money. ‘Money Game’ was very popular with the series released in 2018. In 2021, it was made into a program which was aired on Youtube, raising controversy and becoming a hot topic.
Answering about the plagiarism accusation, MBC said to the Yonhap News “It is hard to claim anything as the show has not been broadcasted yet. However, it is also hard to say that this is a plagiarism because the show is completely different from the original webtoon or the web program.” They also said “The planner of the web program also participated in the production of the show. He did posted the contents in the press reports. However, ‘Blood Game’ has no relation to ‘Money Game’.
