NewJeans’ Ditto MV director addresses the Infinite Challenge plagiarism comments, leaves fans confused

Shin Woo-suk, the director of NewJeans' comeback pre-release single Ditto, has denied the plagiarizing comments the song has received.

ADOR’s rookie girl group made a thrilling comeback with Ditto a few days ago on December 19. It is a pre-release single of their upcoming album, OMG, scheduled for release in January 2023.

Since the Ditto group’s concept has been Y2K from the beginning, the recent music video also falls into the same aesthetic. However, some netizens claimed that it was plagiarized from Infinite Challenge, a classic South Korean variety show that ran from 2005 to 2018.

Ditto director Shin Woo-suk addressed the issue on his Instagram story. He said:

NewJeans’ Ditto music video director posts an Instagram story about plagiarism, says it was just a joke

On December 19, NewJeans made their much-anticipated comeback with Ditto. The pre-release single gave fans two music videos, featuring young actors Park Ji-hu and Choi Hyun-wook playing a key role in the storyline.

The music videos received ample attention, but they also got tangled in a plagiarism controversy. On South Korean site theqoo, netizens jokingly called out the similarities between the music video’s direction and Infinite Challenge.

In Shin Woo-suk's second story, he added that he had received many supportive messages but he was only joking. He wrote:

In the third story, he posted a screenshot of a local South Korean outlet’s news on the same, and reiterated that his statement was just a joke.

However, the series of Instagram stories left fans bewildered as they were unsure if the director was actually joking or serious.

Some fans believed that the plagiarism issues probably went too far, while others mentioned that it was all in jest. Take a look at some of the fans’ comments below:

Meanwhile, NewJeans' Ditto climbed to the No. 1 spot in just six hours of its release on major South Korean music charts such as MelOn, Bugs, and Genie.

About the author

Afreen has been a K-Pop Content Specialist at Sportskeeda since 2021. She holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, along with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. Afreen has over 4+ years of working in various positions including being an entertainment content writer with Pinkvilla’s K-pop division Hallyutalk and CineDope, and as a copywriter at Flying Cursor.

As per Afreen, she loves her work because she gets to write about the things she is obsessed with. Her thorough research and following the two-genuine-source rule of journalism helps her produce the most accurate content, along with helping her be up-to-date with the industry.

Afreen has had the privilege to interview The Rose's frontrunner, WOOSUNG, and LIONESSES, K-pop's first openly LGBTQ+ group. She is a big fan of SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, BTS, and The Rose for their hard work, sincerity, and the comic relief their shows provide.

When she is off her shift, Afreen explores the streets of Nottingham in the UK, cooks, and listens to new music.

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NewJeans’ Ditto MV director addresses the Infinite Challenge plagiarism comments, leaves fans confused

NewJeans’ Ditto music video director posts an Instagram story about plagiarism, says it was just a joke