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| JTBC's Hyori's Homestay, left, and Hunan TV's Dear Inn. |
By Park Si-soo
"I don't care."
It seems to be the hidden motto of some Chinese broadcasters that brazenly copy and paste South Korea's hit entertainment programs.
From theme to general concept, to story structure, to flow and to the dynamics of the cast, similarities are over the top.
China's plagiarism of Korean shows is a longtime headache. It appeared relieved by crackdowns when the Seoul-Beijing relationship was good. But when it's on bad terms like now (because of the THAAD anti-missile battery dispute), the problem relapses and regulators become helpless.
This means that China's content plagiarism is not a sheer matter of business, but a byproduct of political dynamics between the two countries.
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| tvN's "Youn's Kitchen" and Hunan TV's "Chinese Restaurant." |
Too brazen
China has strongly opposed the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense (THAAD) system on Korean soil, often with crude and threatening words. The brazenness is also seen in the copying of Korean cable channel JTBC's mega-hit program "Hyori's Homestay."
"Hyori's Homestay" features K-pop diva Lee Hyori and her husband/musician Lee Sang-soon. The reality program became a big hit by showing, as the title suggests, unscripted tumultuous events the star couple faced while living with randomly selected guests at the couple's house on Jeju Island.
It was an unprecedented show. But recently, China's Hunan TV announced a new reality program, "Dear Inn," that is similar to "Hyori's Homestay" in many ways. "Dear Inn" is hosted by two celebrity couples and the format is very similar to "Hyori's Homestay." "Dear Inn's" first episode will be aired Saturday.
JTBC believes the Chinese broadcaster stole its intellectual property. The Seoul-based company said it will compare both programs and decide the "next step."
Earlier, Hunan TV was accused of plagiarizing Korean cable network tvN's "Youn's Kitchen."
On the announcement of "Dear Inn," Chinese netizens left frustrating comments on Weibo, saying: "These people will never stop (plagiarizing)," "Why are they doing this again?," "When you look at it (‘Dear Inn'), you think of ‘Hyori's Homestay' immediately."
Other victims of Chinese rip-offs include MBC TV's popular variety program "Infinite Challenge," tvN's "Sisters over Flowers" and KBS TV's "One Day Two Nights."
"Finding Genius," an SBS TV program that seeks to discover and nurture prodigies across the nation, served as the basis for a coming show on Hunan TV called "Curious Child," while "Three Meals a Day," a popular cooking-reality show on cable channel tvN, has been reproduced in China under the title "The Life We Long For."
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Rep. Kim Sung-soo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea disclosed 29 confirmed cases of plagiarism by Chinese broadcasters on Wednesday, citing data from the Korean Communications Commission.
He said Chinese regulators seem to ignore Korea's complaints of plagiarism amid the THAAD dispute, which has made intellectual theft easier.
In addition to the dispute, Kim said plagiarism cases have increased since China four years ago limited the program formats satellite broadcasters are allowed to import.
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