K-Drama ‘The Time I Loved You, 7,000 Days’ In Hot Water! – Accused Of Plagiarism

Usually around this time, many South Korean networks release their lineup of summertime K-dramas, much to the delight of fans. As of now, those that have recently aired, such as Mask and Producer, have garnered favorable ratings for their respective networks – especially the former, which continues to rake in high ratings just after six episodes. Of course, when the two aforementioned shows end later this month, other K-dramas will take their place, such as the highly-anticipated Shall We Have Dinner, which stars Park Shin Hye.

Now to be fair, K-dramas – like any television media anywhere – need to be hyped for anticipation, given the fact that not all of them star a super-popular actor actor or actress. Ergo, broadcasting systems (such as KBS and SBS) release trailers for their upcoming K-dramas. Unfortunately, not all of them are met with positive response which is the case for The Time I Loved You, 7,000 Days. Right now, the K-drama is in hot water because it has been accused of plagiarism.

From what was reported by KDrama Stars, the first trailer of The Time I Loved You, 7,000 Days features the K-drama’s two main stars, Lee Jin Wook (Nine: Nine Time Travels) and Ha Ji Won (Secret Garden) in a side-by-side, split screen, comic teaser. On Lee’s side, the weather seems to work against him whenever he steps out of the house while on Ha’s side, she just goes with the flow which in turn the weather agrees with her. Simply put, it seems as if Lee Jin Wook is a pessimist while Ha Ji Won is a optimist, as shown in the trailer below

The problem with said trailer is the fact it seems to have a heavy similarity to the beginning of the animated short Jinxy Jenkins, Lucky Lou. It was created by Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon at the Ringling College of Art and Design and was uploaded on the official YouTube channel for Mirball School. The video is attached below to compare to the The Time I Loved You, 7,000 Days above.

Apparently, the production company behind The Time I Loved You, 7,000 Days thought any plagiarism issues were resolved with the animators (possibly thought they had permission to use the sequence for their trailer). However, that is not the case and the trailer was removed from televised circulation. It should however be noted that the plagiarism charges only applies to the trailer, not the drama story. Ergo, the K-drama will still air as scheduled.

The Time I Loved You, 7,000 Days will release on Saturday, June 27, 2015 by the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) and is expected to end on Sunday, August 16, 2015. Air time will be on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 p.m. KST. For those who don’t have access to SBS, it will air for free (with ads) on DramaFever.

[Image via Seoul Broadcasting System Promotions for The Time I Loved You, 7,000 Days]