THE BLACK LABEL Addresses Jeon Somi’s Alleged Plagiarism Controversy

K-Pop soloist Jeon Somi made her comeback with EP GAME PLAN and title track, certified club banger, “Fast Forward,” but it has been called out for alleged plagiarism.

Somi

A digital cover and scene from “Fast Forward” features a manga-style animated character meant to represent Somi. Yet, some have accused the design of ripping off a different character.

Artwork featured in music video concept short. | THE BLACK LABEL Digital album cover. | THE BLACK LABEL

Netizens noticed a similarity between Somi’s character and Lumi from the 1978 Japanese manga series Urusei Yatsura by Rumiko Takahashi.

Especially if you flip the cover of Urusei Yatsura while superimposing the shot from Somi’s MV, it looks very similar with slight differences. Their color scheme is even alike.

The character designs sparked an online debate. Netizens wondered if THE BLACK LABEL had the rights to use the original image because it appeared that Somi’s character might have been created through tracing. Tracing is a method of drawing that involves copying an existing artwork by drawing in a layer directly over the original. While it is a great tool for aspiring artists to learn with, it is considered plagiarism when used commercially without permission.

Netizen reactions. | theqoo

• Do you think they bought the rights…?
• It’s not just copying the style, but tracing… LOL.
• No, but Takahashi Rumiko (the original artist of the manga) is f*cking famous.
• Ugh, where’s their conscience.
• Do they think Rumiko and Adachi’s drawings are public resources or something… If people need something retro-styled, there are so f*cking many that copy these two artists’ works.
• Huh, I thought that they probably bought it or signed a contract because the artist is so famous LOL.
• Did they have to pick a really famous artist’s work if they had to copy…
• No, but their company isn’t a hole-in-the-wall, so why are they like that?
• Fans can probably tell at a glance.

Now, THE BLACK LABEL has addressed the controversy.

On August 9, Somi’s agency, THE BLACK LABEL, released a statement regarding the character design for “Fast Forward” and the plagiarism allegations. After internal discussions, THE BLACK LABEL issued an apology and decided to edit or delete the scene in question from the MV.

Hello.
This is THEBLACKLABEL.

After the release of the music video for ‘Fast Forward,’ the title track of Jeon Somi’s EP, we came across the news that the animated character that appears in the video resembles a character in another work. We immediately discussed the situation, and we have decided to delete or edit the scene in question.

We plan to quickly switch the scene in question and take all measures possible.

We sincerely apologize for the fact that our agency did not more carefully look over the [production] and therefore gave you cause for concern.

In the future, we will be more careful in order to prevent the kind of incident described above from happening again.

Thank you.

— THE BLACK LABEL

At the time of writing, the animated character is still briefly featured in Somi’s “Fast Forward” MV.