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The MBC rom-com The Story of Park's Marriage Contract has come under fire due to unauthorized usage of dress designs in the K-drama.
On December 11, Hwang Yi Seol, the CEO of the contemporary hanbok brand Leesle, posted a reel on Instagram titled "Why I was surprised to see the work of a genius designer in a drama," in which she compared various hanbok designs shown in the K-drama with her collection at Milan Fashion Week.
She said, "Even though the designs appeared in the background for just 1 or 2 seconds [in the drama], I recognized them clearly. It's because they are the lines and colors that I've drawn hundreds of times, erased, cut, and perfected," Hwang said, adding, "I don't know whether I should be happy that my designs are introduced as the work of a genius Hanbok designer in the drama, or sad because my designs were used without me knowing about it."
Continuing, the designer expressed, "If they had sent a DM or an email requesting to use the designs, I would have gladly agreed without any charge."
Accompanying the statements were comparisons between her collection outfits and the sketches in The Story of Park's Marriage Contract.
Regarding the allegation, a representative from the production team shared, "We are aware of the issue. The production team is currently verifying the details."
Afterwards, the designer said, "I received an apology from the drama's team, along with a promise to credit the source. It's been said that there was miscommunication during the outsourcing process and the designs delivered as a reference were used as they were. I hope this issue won't escalate any further."
A representative from the production team also released a statement stating that they immediately apologized to the designer and that the issue is now resolved.
