Korean Netizens Claim That NewJeans’ “ETA” Choreography Copied Another Famous Dance

NewJeans announced they will release their new album, Get Up, on July 21. Get Up has three title tracks, one being “ETA.”

Members of NewJeans | ADOR

Fans were excited when the music video teaser for “ETA” was released, but some netizens couldn’t help but think that the song was linked to a Spanish terrorist group called ETA. The teaser showed a car and three names—both of which are related to the terrorist group—and there were mixed reviews about whether this was simply a coincidence or not. NewJeans eventually clarified on social media that “ETA” stands for “estimated time of arrival.”

| @newjeans_official/Instagram

On July 1, NewJeans had their first fan meeting called Bunnies Camp. At the fan meeting, the girl group gave a surprise preview performance of “ETA.” It was the first time audiences heard the full song and saw the choreography for the first time. The five members danced powerfully and in sync as they did for their previous performances.

Your browser does not support video.NewJeans performing “ETA” at their first fan meeting | Mcfly/YouTube

When a clip of the “ETA” choreography circulated online, Korean netizens noticed a part of the dance looked familiar. During the chorus, the NewJeans members do a move where they hold one arm out while the other arm swings above their heads.

Your browser does not support video.NewJeans performing “ETA” at their first fan meeting | Mcfly/YouTube

Korean netizens recalled a viral moment from 2011 when comedian Jeong Jun Ha did a short dance on Infinite Challenge‘s SAT special. The dance mirrored NewJeans’ ETA choreography.

Your browser does not support video.Jeong Jun Ha dancing on “Infinite Challenge” | MBC

Netizens expressed how similar the two dances are and joked about how NewJeans got the dance from Infinite Challenge.

| theqoo

• “At this point, did they make NewJeans after watching ‘Infinite Challenge’?”
• “Is ‘Infinite Challenge’ NewJeans’ muse or something lol”
• “InfiniteJeans!”
• “This is really suspicious hahaha”
• “This is for real LOL”
• “As soon as I see the dance, I do think of Jeong Jun Ha, hahahaha”
• “At this point, are they making the choreography from watching ‘Infinite Challenge’? LOL (joke)”
• “I knew it. Last time it was slightly in “Hype Boy,” and now it’s totally in ETA… They’re determined to succeed”
• “The ‘Infinite Challenge’ universe is amazing hahaha”
• “Before I even saw the ‘Infinite Challenge’ meme, I thought of Jeong Jun Ha’s meme hahahahaha”
• “They’re identical LOL is there an ‘Infinite Challenge’ fan among the choreographers? lol”
• “Explain yourselves”
• “NewJeans wouldn’t exist without ‘Infinite Challenge’…. Ha”
• “Wow, it’s identical hahahahahaha!”
• “Wait, at this point, are they intentionally copying it lol”
• “They did it on purpose hahahahahahaha”

This wasn’t the first time NewJeans and Infinite Challenge were connected. When “Hype Boy” came out, netizens thought the dance looked like this Infinite Challenge meme, too—although it was more subtle. Also, the music video for “Ditto” eerily resembled an episode of Infinite Challenge where the comedians filmed nostalgic moments with a camcorder.

NewJeans “Ditto” music video (top) and a scene from “Infinite Challenge” (bottom) | Wikitree  NewJeans “Ditto” music video (top) and a scene from “Infinite Challenge” (bottom) | Wikitree

Because this became such a trending topic, the director of NewJeans’ “Ditto” music video posted on his story that he did not mean to copy Infinite Challenge.

I heard that the NewJeans “Ditto” music video we worked on is being accused of copying Infinite Challenge. I’ll use my platform to make it perfectly clear that I did not copy them. If there are scenes that you find similar, please understand that it’s most likely just the similarities of the genre.

— Shin Woo Sik of Dolphiners

Netizens are mostly joking around and having fun with the parallels between NewJeans and Infinite Challenge. What Infinite Challenge moment will NewJeans show netizens next?