Entertainment

BTS Reveals Their Own Experiences of Anti-Asian Racism

“We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we looked. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English,” the band said. 
Koh Ewe
SG
K-pop group BTS speaks out about anti-Asian racism hate crimes on Twitter
Photo: Courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment

In a somber tweet this morning, the world-renowned K-pop boy band BTS addressed the recent wave of anti-Asian attacks by sharing their own experiences of discrimination. 

The group’s statement, written in both Korean and English, expressed “grief and anger” at the fatal anti-Asian hate crimes that have erupted around the world. 

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BTS is known for smashing the K-pop ceiling on the international stage. In 2018, they became the first K-pop artists to speak at the United Nations. They have also held the Guinness World Record for the most-viewed YouTube video in 24 hours since 2019, first with the song “Boy with Luv” and later with the 2020 earworm “Dynamite” (the first K-pop single to snag the no. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100). Later that year, their single “Life Goes On” also made history by becoming the first non-English song to top the charts.

Despite their status as global pop sensations, however, the group’s latest tweet reveals that they too have faced discrimination because of their ethnicity. 

“We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we looked. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English,” BTS said in the tweet. “These experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem.”

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The statement came after BTS was snubbed at the Grammys, then ridiculed as bruised and battered caricatures in a trading card collection.

Chasing Fame the K-Pop Way

“What is happening right now cannot be dissociated from our identity as Asians … But what our voice must convey is clear. We stand against racial discrimination,” the band said.

The message resonated strongly with their fans, garnering over 400,000 retweets and 740,000 likes just an hour after it was posted. As of writing, it has over 600,000 retweets and over a million likes — and counting.

Fans reacted with overwhelming praise and words of appreciation.

BTS fans, also known as ARMY, have long been active in various social causes, including matching BTS’ $1 million donation for the Black Lives Matter movement and raising money for COVID-19 relief efforts. They have also been vocal about fighting racism amid the escalating anti-Asian violence.

On March 16, a shooting across several massage parlors in the Atlanta area killed eight people, six of whom were of Asian descent. The incident sparked a global conversation about anti-Asian racism and received extensive media coverage in South Korea, as four of the victims were ethnic Koreans. The disturbing spate of racially-motivated violence against Asian communities has prompted celebrities to speak out, including well-known actors like Sandra Oh, Daniel Dae Kim, and Daniel Wu

Meanwhile, K-pop stars such as Jay Park, 2NE1’s CL, Tablo of Epik High, and Eric Nam have taken to their massive social media platforms to raise awareness about anti-Asian racism. Nam, who was born and raised in Atlanta, also penned an opinion piece in Time magazine about the “anxiety, trauma and identity crises” of the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience.