K-Pop In Reverse

Following accusations by American-born rapper Yoon Mi-rae against Sony Pictures Entertainment for using her song, “Pay Day,” in the controversial film, “The Interview,” without her permission, another Korean artist, Taeyang of the boy band Big Bang, is saying that U.S. pop singer Derek Bullock has plagiarized the main track, “Eyes, Nose, Lips,” from his second solo album, which was released last year.

Bullock initially contended that the song in question, “Change Me,” was completely original. However, following a request from Taeyang’s management agency, YG Entertainment, the song has been removed from various video streaming sites, including YouTube. Bullock eventually admitted that he “copied Taeyang,” according to the Joongang Daily. YG admitted it has not closely monitored foreign sites for possible incidents of plagiarism but will do so from now on.

A representative of the company told the newspaper that they usually “monitor fans and also continuously check on iTunes charts,” but such actions only cover a small portion of the pop music scene. A music critic told the paper that he thinks the matter is not as serious as the media let on. “In the past, Korean musicians copied or followed music of other countries, so these are positive signs that K-pop has achieved a certain level of growth,” the critic said.