On the 2nd, the MBC drama ‘Lovers’ concluded Part 1. On this day, the drama recorded its highest viewership rating of 12.2% (Nielsen Korea nationwide standard). With viewership ratings of 5.4% for the first episode and 4.3% for the second, it initially lagged behind competitors, but soon showed an upward trend through word of mouth. Nam Goong Min’s outstanding insight and solid acting, which have been box office successes in each of her appearances, were also proven once again.
‘Lovers’, which is divided into two parts with a total of 20 episodes, will take a short hiatus and return with part 2 in mid-October. As Part 1 ended with an unexpected ending, expectations for the drama rose. In addition, the controversy surrounding ‘Lovers’ is also heating up. This is the controversy over its similarity to Margaret Mitchell’s 『Gone with the Wind』, published in 1936. The novel was made into a movie of the same name in Hollywood in 1939, and won 10 awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the 1940 Academy Awards.
‘Lovers’ depicts the story of a lover thrown into the middle of a war called the Manchu War and the story of a people who built hope through hardships. Originally, writer Hwang Jin-young said, “I wanted to write a story about ordinary people who were thrown into a tragic situation,” and added, “In the case of the Manchu War, it was not easy to touch on it because it was a history of severe defeat. “I was able to start,” he said. It was announced that it was the Joseon version of 『Gone with the Wind』. However, the ‘plagiarism theory’ is being raised, saying that there are too many similarities to just be inspired. In online communities, posts comparing scenes between ‘Lovers’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’ are being posted.
Yoo Gil-chae and Lee Jang-hyeon… Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler
The drama ‘Lovers’ contains passages that are very similar to those of ‘Gone with the Wind’ in character settings, story development, and even dialogue.
Above all, Yoo Gil-chae (Ahn Eun-jin), the daughter of a farm owner who is ‘pushed’ to capture the youth of the village, resembles Scarlett O’Hara, the main character of ‘Gone with the Wind’, who grabs hold of the men in her neighborhood and sways them with one hand.
The male protagonist, Lee Jang-hyun (Namgoong Min), who opposes an unwinnable war, lives as a non-married person and is far from marriage, falls for Yu Gil-chae but quickly leaves her, and is reminiscent of Rhett Butler.
In addition, the upright Nam Yeon-jun (Lee Hak-jun), Gil-chae’s first love and the husband of Gil-chae’s best friend Gyeong Eun-ae (Lee Da-in), resembles Ashley Wilkes, and the gentle and wise woman Gyeong Eun-ae also resembles Melanie Wilkes (née Hamilton).
Gu Won-moo (Ji Seung-hyeon), who has a crush on Yoo Gil-chae and wants to marry her, resembles Scarlett’s second husband, Frank Kennedy, and Gong Sun-yak (Park Jong-wook), who proposed to Gil-chae after the Manchu War broke out out of a feeling that he had to get his money’s worth, is Scarlett’s first husband. The character setting is similar to Charles Hamilton.The characters, setting, and story are similar… motive? Homage? remake
It’s not just the characters. Although the spatial and temporal backgrounds of the two works are different, the overall flow as well as detailed scenes and dialogue are similar.
She confesses her love to Yeonjun, whom Gilchae had a crush on, but is rejected, and Janghyeon secretly watches her and makes fun of her. Scarlett O’Hara also confesses her love to Ashley Wilkes, but she is rejected, and this is accidentally seen by Rhett Butler.
The news of the outbreak of war during a feast gathered by all the villagers, the scene where a child is given after giving birth during an evacuation, the father who goes crazy due to the shock of war, and the recurring dream are also reminiscent of 『Gone with the Wind』. .
The part where Gilchae kills a Qing barbarian who tries to rape Eun-ae with a dagger is similar to the part in the novel where a northern soldier kills Scarlett with his gun when he tries to rape her and disposes of her body with Melanie. The same goes for the two women who share a secret and feel friendship for the first time.
After the war, Scarlett meets Frank, a lumber mill owner, and uses her business skills to grow the lumber mill and make money. Likewise, Gilchae uses Guwonmu’s먹튀검증 blacksmith shop to collect coins whose currency value has plummeted due to war and makes and sells ceramic vessels. The growth of Scarlett and Gil-chae into independent women is also similar.
Copyright expires… “See it through Korean interpretation”There is no possibility of a legal dispute just because the two works are similar. In Korea, copyright protection is possible up to 70 years after the death of the original author or copyright holder. The novel “Gone with the Wind” was published in 1936, and the original author, Margaret Mitchell, died in 1949, so the copyright has now expired.
However, even if there is no copyright issue, it is argued that it is more reasonable to view it as a remake that moved the original to the Joseon Dynasty rather than a creation, rather than explaining that it was “inspired” in a situation where the dialogue and detailed episodes are too similar beyond the classic reinterpretation.
On the other hand, some responded that there was no major problem because the writer already mentioned that he was “inspired” and because it showed enough new parts as a Korean historical drama using the original work as a motif.
Pop culture critic Jeong Deok-hyeon said, “The two works have similar structures in their settings, and viewers may say that they are too similar. However, since the author of ‘Lovers’ stated before starting the work that he was inspired by ‘Gone with the Wind,’ it should be seen as a Korean interpretation using it as a motif rather than plagiarism.”
‘Lovers’ is scheduled to release the other half in Part 2 in October. Attention is being paid to how this controversy will be dealt with before a new story is revealed in a month, or whether the plagiarism controversy will be put to rest with a new and fresh story in Part 2.
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