ILLIT Feels No Shame as “NewJeans Copycat”? Netizens Defend the Girl Group
After ILLIT received scathing comments from a Korean media site, netizens have come to the girl group’s defense.
Despite an impressive debut with a series of record-setting achievements, ILLIT is still perceived as an “unlucky” newcomer due to being embroiled in the conflict between HYBE and Min Hee-jin. Since their debut, the girl group from BELIFT LAB has faced numerous comparisons to NewJeans.
Indeed, from lineup, age, to concept and music, ILLIT always brings to mind their sister group under the same HYBE Labels.
The controversy escalated when Min Hee-jin publicly criticized HYBE and Bang Si-hyuk for “copying NewJeans to create ILLIT.” From then on, ILLIT has been labeled as a “copycat,” receiving no shortage of ridicule – despite playing no hand in the higher-ups’ decisions
Recently, ILLIT has become the target of ridicule by a Korean media site. Specifically, one news outlet titled “ILLIT Feels No Shame as ‘NewJeans Copycat,'” sparking mixed reactions among netizens.
Particularly, the aforementioned article quoted the words of thanks from ILLIT’s Yunah – shortly after being accused of plagiarism by the “mother” of NewJeans on April 24.
“I want to thank everyone at the company. Sending my thanks to all the Belift Lab staff, everyone knows how hard we’ve worked for our debut album. I’m truly proud. Although I can’t express my gratitude often, I think everyone understands our sincerity,” Yunah said at the time.
Yunah’s words sparked accusations that ILLIT was not innocent in the plagiarism allegations, as some netizens inferred that the members support the company’s actions and stand behind creative director Serian Heu – who is responsible for the group’s debut image.
On the other hand, Serian Heu is known to have responded to Min Hee-jin’s accusations by posting a photo of a middle finger on their Instagram story. This led to many more “conspiracy theories” related to the relationship between ILLIT – NewJeans and high-ranking personnel directly associated with both groups.
However, the aforementioned article faced significant opposition from the Korean public as well. To specify, the majority of netizens believe that ILLIT – a music group consisting of young girls – should be protected from unwarranted malice.
They also emphasized that the products and image directions are determined by the creative team, and artists rarely have the right to interfere, especially as newcomers.
According to these people, it’s natural for ILLIT to express gratitude to the managing company behind their career achievements. This doesn’t mean the group is taking a stance in the plagiarism accusation, and fabricating baseless rumors and speculation only harms others.
Below are some comments from Korean netizens:
- These people only sympathize with HYBE’s male groups as unfortunate victims exploited by the company, but with ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM, they hold the members responsible for the company’s mistakes. Indeed, women’s enemies are women.
- Of course they have to say thank you when receiving an award. What do you expect them to say? Yet, they still speculate?
- Overthinking in the final stage, huh? These kids won music awards and thanked the company, that’s just the right thing to do. Was there any mention of NewJeans?
- Do these people really think these wet-behind-the-ears kids have the authority to decide on copying NewJeans? The company is the one responsible.
- If this is the singer’s fault, then shouldn’t all HYBE idols be boycotted? Why only drag LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT into it and criticize them for this?
Source: K14, Pann Nate
