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Associated Press

As US protesters took to the streets to mourn the death of George Floyd and march against police brutality, they found an unexpected ally: K-pop fans.
Floyd, a Black American, died on May 25 after a policeman pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after he pleaded for his life.
Stars around the world, including K-pop celebrities, have moved to support the Black Lives Matter Movement, and in so doing, triggered a wave of support from the massive international K-pop fandom.

To support their favourite stars, K-pop fans swiftly repurposed their usual platforms and hashtags from promoting the bands and singers, to backing the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.
They flooded right-wing hashtags and police apps with short video clips and memes of their K-pop stars.
On Thursday, K-pop sensation BTS said in a tweet to its 26 million fans that it opposed racial discrimination and violence, and announced a US$1 million donation to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Fans quickly followed suit with the hashtag #MatchAMillion on Twitter, matching the donation after 24 hours according to One In An ARMY, a global fundraising team made up of BTS fans.

Even so, political activism is not exactly associated with K-pop fans.
Over the years, K-pop fans have gained notoriety for overtaking Twitter trends and Instagram feeds. The loose network of fans mobilises in a heartbeat – usually to promote new songs from their favourite K-pop artists or to put down their critics.
That same social media energy is being repurposed to support the Black Lives Matter movement, and BTS fans, known as BTS ARMY, are at the forefront.
K-pop fans are known for being politically aware and helping raise money for charitable causes online, especially on Twitter
Hyun-su Yim
Chloë Gallot, a French university student, said she joined ARMY – Adorable Representative MC for Youth – earlier this year when she “fell into the rabbit hole” while searching for a distraction from the coronavirus outbreak and personal troubles.
A few days ago, Gallot became one of the ARMY members to respond to the #MatchAMillion hashtag, donating around US$90 to Black Lives Matter.
“They (BTS) are pushing us to use our platforms even more,” said Gallot, adding that BTS fans, including herself, had already started fundraising before BTS’ donation was made public.
For some K-pop stars, finding love is a career-ending move
K-pop experts say zealous activism is nothing new for the fans.
“Despite the stereotypes about boy band fans, they are known for being politically aware and helping raise money for charitable causes online, especially on Twitter,” said Hyun-su Yim, K-pop reporter at the Korea Herald.
“Which is why it took many people by surprise when the fandom spearheaded efforts to drown out racist hashtags,” Yim said, referring to K-pop fandoms clogging up US police apps and flooding racist hashtags like “WhiteLivesMatter” and “WhiteOutWednednesday” with their favourite K-pop memes and fancies, rendering them useless.

Although K-pop has been popular in Asia for decades, the rise of BTS around the mid-2010s has grown fans in all corners of the world.
However, that global expansion has sometimes created tension within the industry, spurred by multiple factors including language and cultural differences.
Korean artists and labels have been thrust into uncharted territories where they are forced to take a stance on social issues, drawing criticism from fans who say some issues are too far-removed from their own backyards.
K-pop fans attack Singapore newspaper over Jaehyun story
Danny Kim, who runs DKDKT, a popular YouTube channel on all things K-pop, points out that Korean celebrities are not known to be vocal about social issues.
“The general perception of a celebrity is ‘he’s not there to voice his opinion – he’s there to for the enjoyment of the people’,” Kim said.

He also said K-pop stars are often bound by legal contracts, keeping them from making remarks that could come cause friction.
Joseph Dorsey, a black fan from Chicago, said he wants K-pop artists to support the Black Lives Matter movement because the music industry has long benefited from adopting “black American music and black American culture.”
Kim thinks it’s time for K-pop stars to speak themselves.
“K-pop has become not strictly a Korean thing any more.”


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(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 6, 2019, South Korean boy band BTS performs onstage during the KIIS FM's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball at the Forum Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. - K-pop megastars BTS on February 28, 2020 cancelled four Seoul concerts due in April as the number of novel coronavirus cases in South Korea passed 2,000. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

Fans of K-pop idol boy band BTS enjoy at a pop-up store selling BTS goods in Seoul, South Korea, December 24, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Fans cheer as K-Pop group BTS performs in Central Park, May 15, 2019 in New York City. Fans waited in line for days to see the group perform as part of ABC's 'Good Morning America' summer concert series. Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Fans react as they arrive for a concert of the South Korean K-pop boy band BTS at the Stade-de-France stadium in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, on June 7, 2019. (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)

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When K-pop sensation BTS expressed its support for the Black Lives Matter movement, they triggered a wave of support from their international fans
K-pop experts say zealous activism by fans is nothing new, with die-hard fans often doing whatever it takes to support their favourite stars



K-pop experts say zealous activism by fans is nothing new, with die-hard fans often doing whatever it takes to support their favourite stars.
