Plagiarism or not – Netizens divided over alleged similarities between HYBE's & TEAM and EXO

EXO is one of the most iconic groups in K-Pop. They popularized uniform concepts for boy bands and launched the iconic one-take music videos and music shows. It's no wonder that many juniors still admire them today.

Recently, with all the accusations of plagiarism surrounding HYBEa user mentioned the similarities between the group of HYBE recruits, &TEAM, and EXO. Although many recognize that he has not yet crossed the line into plagiarism, the same pattern is undeniable. Let's take a look at the alleged similarities.

1. Rugby uniforms

Rugby uniforms weren't seen in K-Pop until EXO. Indeed, the country does not generally practice this sport initially, but EXO opted for a Western concept for teenagers.

&TEAM recently used a similar concept. The main difference is that although EXO went with the rugby theme, &TEAM's unique story involves a new fictional sport called nightball. Although the sport is loosely based on rugby, they wear night ball uniforms instead.

2. Tree of life pose

EXO's Tree Of Life pose is just as iconic as the group itself. He made waves when he was first released to the public with “Wolf.”

&TEAM's “Road Not Taken” also features a similar pose. It was also used as a miniature, just like EXO's. The pose was also filmed as a silhouette.

3. Red sportswear

This claim from netizens may be considered a slight exaggeration, given that the two are quite different in style, aside from the color.

4. Striped T-shirts

Sporty striped tees and khaki shorts helped bring out EXO's youthful charm.

&TEAM was seen in the exact same outfits, even though their shirts were a different color.

5. A shot

The unique shot was debuted by EXO during “Growl.” &TEAM's MV for “Scent Of You” featured the same technique.

Although EXO pioneered it, many groups used it from time to time in the following years. &TEAM is not the only one.

Other netizens agreed that although there are some similarities in style, it cannot be called plagiarism.

• Wow, but for the one from “Growl”, it’s really super similar, but not to the point of plagiarism LOL.
• It's HYBE again.
• From a third party perspective, this scene from Tree Of Life is truly iconic, so other bands wouldn't even try to copy it, since people would instantly talk about it. I guess HYBE doesn't care.
• Seems like when HYBE starts a new band, they pick a famous band and try hard to copy it. They steal music from elsewhere, but reference a ton of concepts and vibes from local bands.
• At first I was like “well, that could happen”, but the more I scroll down, the more… LOL. Based on the few screenshots of the concepts shown here, there would definitely be people who would think they are similar.
• Okay, but if you look at &TEAM's songs and content, they really aren't reminiscent of EXO at all… Even that Tree Of Life thing is over the top. It's just because they're dancing against the light.

Other comments are completely against HYBE, accusing the company of being “the scourge of K-Pop.” Despite this, it seems many agree that this is a case of similar style, rather than outright plagiarism.