Will Lawsuits Mar The Success Of "You Who Came From The Stars?"
The producers of "You Who Came From The Stars" are planning to file a lawsuit against the manga writer who accused them of plagiarism.
The producers plan to sue comic book writer Kang Kyung Ok who previously claimed that the drama stole its idea from her 2007 comic book "Sul Hee." The comic book author claims that there are too many similarities between her original story and the hit drama for it to be a coincidence. But HB Entertainment, which produces the SBS drama, says they never heard of the comic before the author made her claim.
The entertainment company recently sent evidence to the law firm handling the case. They say their evidence disproves the author's claim of plagiarism and shows malicious intent on her part.
"You Who Came From The Stars" is definitely not the first story to focus on an alien landing on earth and falling in love with a human. The subject of intergalactic love was covered in the 1984 film "Starman," which starred Jeff Bridges, the 1987 film "The Man Who Fell To Earth," starring David Bowie, and the 1978 television comedy series "Mork and Mindy," starring Robin Williams.
As part of her case, author Kang Kyung Ok points out two similarities between the plot of her comic and the storyline of the drama. The first is the idea of reincarnating a love from a past life and the second is the idea that the aliens visited Korea 400 years ago.
However, it's also not the first time that a drama has used the concept of a saucer landing in Korea 400 years ago. Such a UFO sighting was recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and inspired the 2010 science fiction mystery series "The Joseon X Files."
HB Entertainment says that the author may have made the claim to cash in on the drama's current popularity. They claim that "Sul Hee" has become a very profitable comic since Kang Kyung Ok made the plagiarism claim. HB Entertainment supplied the law firm with documents showing that the manga author has been using the drama's publicity, including the names of its stars, to make money.
Kang Kyung-ok's comic "It's Two People" was adopted into the 2007 psychological horror film "Someone Behind You," which starred Park Ki Woong, Lee Ki Woo and Yoon Jin Seo. Her work is published by Netcomics.
