K-pop supergroup BTS ‘devastated’ by US hate crimes

WASHINGTON

South Korean K-pop sensations BTS didn’t sing a word but in a White House visit on May 31 to meet President Joe Biden the supergroup’s message against anti-Asian racism came loud and clear.

The seven stars joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the briefing room podium, a tiny, but a powerful stage.

The singer Park Ji-min, better known as Jimin, said through a translator that the group is “devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes” in the United States.

Another member, Suga, appealed for tolerance, saying, “It’s not wrong to be different. I think equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.”

Outside the mansion’s grounds on the other side of a tall black fence, fans who dub themselves the “Army” gathered in hopes of a glimpse.

The brief appearance before journalists itself reportedly garnered more than 300,000 viewers on the White House’s YouTube channel, more than 10 times the traffic on a day when the only people watching events Biden issued the invitation to “discuss the need to come together in solidarity, Asian inclusion and representation, and addressing anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination, which have become more prominent issues in recent years,” the White House said.

Anti-Asian sentiment and violence in America have grown during the coronavirus pandemic, a phenomenon many blame on the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just in 2021, hate crimes against Asians shot up 339 percent, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.

The trend stands out within a general rise in violent crime, with the ugliest incident taking place in the Atlanta area, where a man shot dead eight people at massage spas, six of them Asian women.

The White House praised BTS’s floppy haired, stylish stars as “youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world.”

Band members, all in their 20s and who frequently appear wearing earrings and lipstick, have given a voice worldwide to a generation comfortable with gender fluidity.

They are credited with generating billions for the South Korean economy, and their label enjoyed a surge in profits despite holding fewer concerts during the pandemic.