The first teaser of Mnet and HYBE’s ‘I-LAND’ season 2 was accused of plagiarising a YG’s group
‘I-LAND’ has teased its comeback for another season to find the new girl group to debut in HYBE (Belift Lab), but has immediately faced criticism from YG fans.
‘I-LAND’ is a survival show where trainees compete to form a new K-pop group. The show is produced by Belift Lab (a joint venture between Big Hit and CJ ENM) and Mnet. Season 1 of ‘I-LAND’ was broadcast on Mnet from June to September 2020 and the 7-member boy group ENHYPEN was chosen to make their debut.
Although there are mixed reviews, considering that ‘I-LAND’ is not very successful, it is still a survival show that attracts great attention. Besides, ENHYPEN is also currently a rookie group with a large international fan base as well as high album sales. This makes many people look forward to the next season of ‘I-LAND’ with a female version.
On September 27, Mnet and HYBE confirmed that ‘I-LAND’ will return for season 2 and begin an audition for female trainees. The new girl group formed in ‘I-LAND 2‘ will debut under BELIFT LAB and become ENHYPEN’s juniors. The audition will start in October and will be held in seven locations including Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, Thailand and the US. The show is scheduled to air in the first half of 2022.
Moreover, Mnet and HYBE also posted a teaser video of ‘I-LAND’ season 2 to announce the audition for female trainees. However, after the teaser was uploaded, controversy has sparked over a detail that is said to ‘plagiarize’ an idea of TREASURE – YG’s boy group.
Accordingly, what caught the attention of netizens was the title and also the slogan of the video: ‘FIND YOUR I’. This line was also chosen as the thumbnail image, proving that this is really the theme phrase of the upcoming female version of ‘I-LAND’.
Originally, there’s nothing unconventional about this phrase, but then the teaser video has quickly been flooded with comments from TREASURE fans. Accordingly, they claim that HYBE and Mnet have “plagiarized” the YG group’s concept and slogan. Since their debut, TREASURE has always had the group greeting which is ‘Find Your TREASURE’. Therefore, fans accused ‘I-LAND’ season 2 of intentionally copying this greeting and changing it to ‘FIND YOUR I’.
TREASURE fans said that other fandoms might not find this a big deal, but for TREASURE MAKERs, this is a very meaningful slogan and is associated with the group’s career. YG also trademarked the phrase ‘Find Your TREASURE’, so even if it’s just a word difference, the survival show of HYBE and Mnet are still under fire for allegedly ‘stealing’ the idea.
In addition, the phrase ‘Find Your…’ is associated with many shows or items of TREASURE, such as the show ‘Find Your Korea’, the ‘Find Your Skin’ commercial, or the series ‘Find Your TRUZ’, and more.
This incident has once again caused YG fans to hold a grudge against Mnet because they think that this is not the first time this broadcasting channel has “plagiarized” YG’s ideas. Previously, the trophy on ‘Street Woman Fighter‘ was claimed to look like WINNER’s lightstick, while the trophy on ‘Kingdom’ looks like BIGBANG’s lightstick. And now ‘I-LAND’ season 2 is using the slogan similar to TREASURE’s brand.
On Twitter and in the comment section under the teaser video of ‘I-LAND’ season 2, TREASURE fans are leaving many comments to protest against HYBE x Mnet’s use of the phrase ‘FIND YOUR I’.
What are your thoughts on the controversy of the show ‘I-LAND’ season 2 using a slogan that sounds almost identical to TREASURE’s greeting?
