K-pop band BTS
Kpop fans are angry with a Korean writer after an article about BTS from The New Yorker went viral on the internet. Titled 'Joining the BTS Army', the write-up talked about the journey of superband BTS but did not give due credit to K-pop groups SHINee and BIGBANG which irked the netizens. The journalist Tammy Kim mentioned the unfortunate suicide of Kim Jonghyun, a member of SHINee, and that BTS participated in a UNICEF campaign to combat violence against children and teens. The article talked about many other K-pop idols but not in a good way.
Angry fans called out the journalist and claimed that Jonghyun was a much higher artist and deserved to be respected in the write-up. Soon after, 'Tammy Kim Apologise' started trending on social media. Fans pointed out that in an attempt to praise BTS, the writer belittled other K-pop idols and overlooked the growth of the K-pop industry even before BTS.
One Twitter user said, "First of all, Kim Jonghyun is much more than a suicide case. If you are going to write about him, then let it be about his legacy as an artist. It’s unnecessary to specifically correlate BTS’s UNICEF campaign to his passing." Another tweeted, "while jonghyun was using his platform to get korean laws changed, bring attention to israeli occupation, call out discrimination towards transgender people, you’re out here disrespecting him to get a few clicks."
"If you want to talk about paving the way then lets talk about jonghyun being one of the very first people in kpop to openly advocate for mental health, support a trans student, talk about women's rights and overall use his platform as a voice for those who need it," said another
Check out the reactions:
On the other hand, BTS has been making waves in the K-pop industry with back-to-back hits and top position on the Billboard playlist. Just recently, the band announced that the members are moving on to focus on their solo careers, however, they are not disbanding.
On Friday, the youngest member of BTS, Jungkook released his first song in collaboration with Charlie Puth. The video of the song featured the playful duo who can be seen having fun dressed in pink and white attire. The duo has been melting the hearts of the fans.
