A hanbok designer accuses “The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract” of using her designs without authorization
The MBC Friday-Saturday drama “The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract” has unexpectedly become embroiled in controversy, despite its rising popularity and positive word-of-mouth. The serious allegation at hand involves the “unauthorized use of Hanbok designs”.
In particular, on December 11th, Hwang Yi-seol, the CEO of Hanbok Leesle, posted a video titled “Why I was amazed by the genius designer’s work in a drama” on her Instagram. In this video, Hwang Yi-seol includes various footage of Hanbok designs in “The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract”, at the same time comparing them to her collection at Milan Fashion Week and raising suspicions of unauthorized imitation.
“Even though the designs appeared in the background for just 1 or 2 seconds in the drama, I recognized them clearly. It’s because of the lines and colors I meticulously drew, deleted, cut, and completed myself”, Hwang said, adding, “I should be happy that my design is introduced as the work of a genius Hanbok designer in the drama, but I don’t know whether to be happy about the unauthorized use of my designs.”
Continuing, the designer expressed, “If they send a direct message or an email requesting to use the designs, I would have gladly agreed without any charge”, showing bitterness and emphasizing that proper communication could have avoided the situation.
As of now, neither the broadcasting company nor the production company involved in “The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract” has released an official statement regarding this allegation.
The controversy has been spreading through various online platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, and online communities, escalating the debate.
Later on December 12th, the official Twitter account of Hanbok Leesle stated, “Received a response from the drama officials with a polite apology and a commitment to credit the source. Thanks to all the followers.”
The statement also mentioned a communication error during the outsourcing process, clarifying that the reference design was unintentionally used. They appealed for understanding and requested to refrain from further criticism.
Source: Wikitree
