Internet users came to ILLIT’s defense after harsh comments made to them by a Korean media outlet. The group ILLIT, which debuted impressively by setting a series of records, is still seen as an “unlucky” newcomer due to the conflict between them and HYBE and Min Hee-jin. Indeed, the girl group of BELIFT LAB has since its beginnings been the subject of numerous comparisons with NewJeans.
It is true that the group ILLIT, from its composition and its age to its concept and its music, always reminds us of its sister group under the same label HYBE. Things didn’t get better when Min Hee-jin publicly criticized HYBE and Bang Si-hyuk for “copying NewJeans by creating ILLIT.” This is how the ILLIT group was described as a “copycat”, which did not fail to provoke ridicule, although the decisions taken by senior officials had nothing to do with the members of the group.
The ILLIT group was recently the subject of mockery by a Korean media site. This site notably launched the title “ILLIT has no shame in being an ‘imitation of NewJeans'”, which sparked mixed reactions among Internet users. The aforementioned article notably cited the thanks of Yunah of ILLIT, who was recently accused of plagiarism by the “mother” of NewJeans, on April 24. Yunah indeed declared at the time:
“ I would like to thank all the staff of the company. I send my thanks to the entire Belift Lab team, everyone knows how hard we worked for our first album and I’m really proud of it. Although I can’t often express my gratitude, I think everyone understands our sincerity“.
Yunah’s comments sparked accusations that ILLIT was not innocent in the plagiarism allegations, as some netizens implied that members supported the company’s actions and supported creative director Serian Heu, who is responsible from the first image of the group.
Serian Heu is known for responding to Min Hee-jin’s accusations by posting a photo of a middle finger on her Instagram story, which gave rise to many other “conspiracy theories” linked to the relationship between ILLIT, NewJeans and high-ranking personnel directly associated with both groups.
The Korean public, however, opposed the aforementioned article, as the majority of netizens believe that the girl group ILLIT should be protected from unwarranted malice. They also emphasized that product and image management is the responsibility of the creative team and that artists are rarely allowed to interfere, especially as newcomers.
They believe that it is entirely logical that ILLIT expresses gratitude to the company that is behind their professional successes, but that does not mean that the group takes a stand in the accusation of plagiarism, and spreading baseless rumors and speculation only harms others.
Below are some comments from Korean netizens:
- These people only sympathize with HYBE’s men’s groups as hapless victims exploited by the company, whereas with ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM, they hold the members responsible for the company’s mistakes. Indeed, the enemies of women are women.
- It’s normal to say thank you when you receive an award. What do you want them to say? And yet they continue to speculate?
- There’s too much thinking in the final phase, huh? These young people won music awards and thanked the company, which is completely normal. Have we talked about NewJeans?
- Do they really think these inexperienced kids have the authority to decide to copy NewJeans? It is the company that is responsible.
- If the fault lies with the singers, then shouldn’t we boycott all HYBE idols? Why only talk about LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT and criticize them for that?
What do you think ?
