Popular K-Drama ‘Yong Pal’ Face Accusations Of Plagiarizing Comic ‘City Conquest’
Out of all the K-dramas airing in 2015, Yong Pal by the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) is the one true standout so far. Premiering on August 5, 2015, the K-drama was more than well-received, earning an average of 11 percent viewership for both Seoul and nationwide viewership. It is amazing any K-drama would earn double-digit ratings upon its premiere and by the eighth episode, Yong Pal‘s percentage viewership boomed up to 20 percent average. Yong Pal even beat this year’s “super K-drama,” Producer.
However, such fanfare and praise for any K-drama is surely to be met with some criticisms. In the case of Yong Pal, it is now being accused of plagiarizing a long-running comic titled City Conquest.
According to KdramaStars, the people behind the comic City Conquest accused Yong Pal of plagiarism. However, it should be noted that the accusers are attacking the K-drama as a whole and not specifically saying what is being plagiarized. Representatives at HB Entertainment, the production company for Yong Pal, is refuting the allegations.
“Claims that Yong Pal plagiarized the comic City Conquest ignore that the drama has just a small cross-section of the [subject].”
As mentioned earlier, Yong Pal is a very successful K-drama garnering a double-digit viewership percentage. Therefore, HB Entertainment believes the K-drama’s success may attribute to the plagiarism allegations as a means to ruin it.
“Suspicions of plagiarism are just attempts to ruin a drama that is doing well.”
In the defense of both HB Entertainment and SBS, Korean news site Daily Sports noted the differences between Yong Pal and City Conquest. First are the numerous plot devices present in City Conquest not present in Yong Pal including Japanese gangsters and an incident involving a 10-year-old child. Also, Yong Pal is the result of written works by Jang Hyeok Rin, the creative mind behind the OCN series, Reset.
Yong Pal airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays on SBS at 9:55 p.m. KST. For those who don’t have SBS as an option, Yong Pal can be viewed for free (with ads) on either DramaFever or Viki.
[Image via Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS)/Yong Pal Promotions]
