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K-pop band BTS praised for cholinergic urticaria admission, under fire over Saudi Arabia show

  • The revelation band member V suffers from heat-related allergy has drawn praise and empathy from fans
  • But the decision to tour the conservative Gulf nation is seen as flying in the face of the band’s support of personal identity and LGBT rights

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K-pop superstars BTS are slated to perform in Seoul next month, and have announced an October performance in Saudi Arabia. Photo: Handout
Crystal Tai
As South Korea’s annual summer heatwave approaches, not even the coolest of the nation’s celebrated K-pop stars are immune to soaring temperatures.
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Kim Tae-hyung – better known as V, a member of popular South Korean boy band BTS – impressed fans with his honesty when he revealed he was experiencing cholinergic urticaria, a previously little-known medical term for heat rashes. The allergic reaction occurs when body heat and sweat form hives, which can last hours and in some cases even days.

Responding to a fan comment on BTS Weverse, the group’s official global fan platform, about why he had been seen “tickling” himself, the singer said: “I have a cholinergic allergy, [it’s so] itchy.”

Soon afterwards, “cholinergic urticaria” became a top-trending term on South Korean search engine Naver, as well as across Twitter and other social media in regions such as Malaysia and the Philippines. Filipino fans make up 21 per cent of the group’s official BTS Army fanbase, according to a 2018 fan report.

Despite the upcoming summer heat – which saw temperatures hit a record 41 degrees Celsius last August, the hottest the nation has been in the past 111 years – the bestselling K-pop group is slated to perform in Seoul next month.

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V’s admission drew a deluge of empathy from fans, with many commenting that they had experienced heat rashes themselves, if not other skin conditions – and that it must be difficult for an idol with such an active lifestyle.

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