Japan’s Super Climbing Club pulls “Sanpo” over plagiarism row

Oct 02, 2025, 09:24 am

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A still from Super Climbing Club’s “Sanpo” video posted on YouTube on October 1. / Source: Super Climbing Club (YouTube)

A plagiarism controversy has pushed Japanese indie band Super Climbing Club to withdraw its new track “Sanpo,” after critics claimed it copied the late Kim Kwang-seok’s Where the Wind Blows.

On October 1, the band said via its official YouTube account that it would “sequentially withdraw the ‘Sanpo’ audio” in response to public feedback, adding that the music video release would be suspended on October 2.

The group also said it would halt production of a collaborative music video being made with the hiking app Yamap.

“We sincerely apologize to all stakeholders inconvenienced and to the fans we have worried,” the band said.

Super Climbing Club released “Sanpo” on September 10, but listeners quickly pointed to chord progressions and melodies they said were strikingly similar to Kim Kwang-seok’s Where the Wind Blows.

On September 18, the band acknowledged that “some parts of the melody feel similar” while saying it had “not been aware” of Kim’s song. As the backlash persisted, the band ultimately decided to pull the track.

#Super Climbing Club #Sanpo #plagiarism #Kim Kwang-seok #Where the Wind Blows