Chinese Broadcasting Station Under Fire For Allegedly Plagiarizing "Hyori's Homestay"

Chinese broadcasting station Hunan TV was recently accused of plagiarizing JTBC’s “Hyori’s Homestay,” following their previous plagiarism controversy regarding tvN’s “Youn’s Kitchen.”

The station recently posted on their official Weibo account, “Hunan TV’s new variety program ‘Dear Visitor’ (literal translation) will be scheduled to air after ‘Chinese Restaurant’ (literal translation) this October. It will air every Saturday at 10 p.m.”

“Dear Visitor” is described to be an observational reality program about two famous celebrity couples running a homestay, and viewers will be able to observe their lifestyles. Not only will other celebrities appear on the show, but the two couples will also interact with the guests through cooking and more, which is highly similar to the format of “Hyori’s Homestay.”

Chinese netizens and media criticized the broadcasting station for creating a program that plagiarized yet again another Korean variety show. Previously, tvN’s “Three Meals A Day” was reportedly plagiarized by “Life Yearned For” (literal translation) and “Youn’s Kitchen” was allegedly plagiarized by “Chinese Restaurant” (literal translation).

Some criticisms from Chinese netizens stated, “When you look at it, you think of ‘Hyori’s Homestay’ immediately” and “Was the Chinese ban on Korean culture so that Hunan TV could plagiarize [Korean shows] more easily?”

One Chinese media outlet stated, “This isn’t Hunan TV’s first plagiarism, and it won’t be their last plagiarism.” Mentioning how another station had legally purchased the rights for the Chinese version of “Running Man” and therefore was able to cast top Korean actors such as Song Joong Ki, the media outlet also pointed out, “Isn’t it better to kill two birds with one stone by showcasing a program’s influence in a fair manner [like this]?”

What are your thoughts on this controversy?

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