NewJeans' Performance Directors Slam ILLIT For Copying Their Signature Dance Moves

The new Korean girl group, ILLIT, has been facing some or the other controversy ever since its debut. Recently, there have been accusations against ILLIT regarding the similarity of their choreography to that of NewJeans. The dispute arose when netizens pointed out similarities between ILLIT’s Lucky Girl Syndrome choreography and that of a McDonald’s CF choreography of NewJeans’ moves. According to Koreaboo, in the chorus of Lucky Girl Syndrome, ILLIT members can be seen rubbing their palms together, accompanied by some footwork. Interestingly, NewJeans also includes a similar move in their choreography while performing in the ad.

Kim Eun Ju, one of NewJeans’ performance directors, has decided to speak out about this issue. She expressed her frustration with ILLIT’s alleged plagiarism, mentioning that she had remained silent until now. However, she found it unacceptable that even a short dance created for a commercial was copied without any modifications.

Watch it here:

Taking to Instagram, Kim Eun Ju said, “Is this real? Even choreography for a commercial? I’ve been patient, but isn’t this too much to call ‘a coincidence’? While similarities can occur, usually when you ‘reference,’ you make some changes out of respect. This seems like a direct copy-and-paste."

Kim Eun Ju has been involved in choreographing many of NewJeans’ dances, including Cookie, Hype Boy, and Super Shy. She often shares her work and dance credits on social media.

Another performance director, BLACK.Q, who has also worked with NewJeans, expressed his disappointment with ILLIT’s Lucky Girl Syndrome. He too shared his thoughts on Instagram, stating, “I’ve been holding back, thinking ‘No way, no way,’ but copying choreography for ads… It’s just unbelievable. The process that led to someone’s hard work being so blatantly appropriated couldn’t have been easy at all."

The performance directors’ frustration reached its peak as ILLIT had previously faced accusations of copying the choreography for Cookie, Hype Boy, and Super Shy, reports Allkpop.

Additionally, a few weeks ago, after their performance on Inkigayo on April 21, ILLIT posted photos on the SNS platform X. One of the images showed them forming an ‘L’ hand sign, possibly as a reference to the double Ls in their group name.

However, this gesture has long been associated with EXO and their fandom, EXO-L.

As a result, EXO fans were upset by the image featuring all members of ILLIT making the hand sign, accusing them of copying the iconic symbol from EXO.