Winter Olympics: fans of K-pop group BTS battle Chinese netizens over controversial short-track speedskating disqualification for South Korea
- ‘BTS ARMY’ jump to defence of group’s leader RM as Instagram post supporting South Korean skater sparks anger online in China
- Hwang Dae-heon was disqualified in Beijing 1,000 metres semi-final after penalty for making contact with China’s Li Wenlong
BTS, the world’s most popular K-pop boy group, found themselves embroiled in a Winter Olympics social media storm on Tuesday, after leader RM waded into the debate surrounding South Korean short-track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon.
The 27-year-old artist – real name Kim Nam-joon – posted a clip on his Instagram story from Monday’s men’s short-track 1,000 metres semi-final race, where Hwang had initially finished first.
But after receiving a controversial penalty for making contact with Chinese athlete Li Wenlong, Hwang was disqualified and failed to advance to the finals.
Li went on to win the silver medal, with compatriot Ren Ziwei taking gold after another disqualification, with Hungary’s Liu Shaolin penalised.
RM, who has 28.1 million followers on Instagram, did not leave any written caption on the post, except for three emojis: two clapping hands and a thumbs-up, which users took to believe as the idol showing his support for Hwang.