My Dearest Writer Breaks Silence On Plagiarism Accusations – News18

South Korean period drama My Dearest, written by popular writer Hwang Jin-young, has been the subject of many plagiarism accusations ever since the two-part show was released in September. Now about a month after the show’s conclusion, its scriptwriter Hwang Jin-young has opened up about the plagiarism accusations in an interview with Sports Chosun. Many viewers argued that My Dearest, which won five Grimae Awards, was copied from Western classics like Gone with the Wind and Tess of the d’Urbervilles. However, the writer insisted that these works only served as inspiration.

In the latest interview, Hwang admitted that the show makers lifted scenes from Gone with the Wind, such as the first encounter of the lead characters. Explaining this, she said, “It was intended for some of the scenes in the earlier episodes of the show to be similar to the signature scenes from Gone With The Wind (like Rhett meeting Ashley for the first time or Rhett watching Scarlett pursue Ashley). I purposely had them clustered in the beginning of the show so that even the viewers who weren’t aware of the inspiration would notice, ‘Hey, this show reminds me of Gone With The Wind.’ I hoped that the similarities would make the viewers curious as to keep watching and seeing how My Dearest ends up being different from Gone With The Wind.”

She added, “To be honest, I thought it was clever and I almost wanted recognition for how well that was done. But some viewers believed that to be plagiarism. It’s constructive criticism that I wholeheartedly accept.”

Hwang apologized for the plagiarism controversies surrounding the show and admitted that in retrospect it would have been better to be open about mentioning the similarities between Gone With The Wind and My Dearest. However, she insisted that the show’s plot is different from its inspirations.

Hwang asserted, “I would like to clarify once again that My Dearest is indeed inspired by the great Gone with the Wind. To the viewers who might have felt offended by the similarities caused by my insufficient ability to storytell, I extend my deepest apologies as the scriptwriter spearheading the content. That being said, I hope more viewers can watch My Dearest and see how the plot deviates from its inspiration, focusing on My Dearest‘s unique setting, characters, and episodes.”

Koreaboo reported that many critics of the show were not impressed with Hwang’s clarification. They argued that lifting scenes from older works still constitutes plagiarism and not just inspiration. Some added that the show should have been marketed as a Korean remake of Gone with the Wind because of its similarities.