Standing up for what’s right: how the South Korean boy-band BTS impacted the world
By Naomi Wong
South Korean boy band BTS have been incredibly famous in the past few years. They are also known as the Bangtan Boys, as well as being called “South Korea’s Pride” or a part of the “South Korea Elite 4” – the other elites being Faker, Bong Joon-ho, and Son Heung-min – by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The members of BTS are Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Debuting in 2013 with their first album 2 Cool 4 Skool, they immediately caught attention from their dancing as well as their music concept, gradually becoming one of the most popular names in K-pop, breaking records in South Korea and abroad, becoming a well-known name in the music industry. BTS are now known for spreading K-pop to the western industry as well as the global music industry, topping Billboard charts, Youtube viewing records and many others.
Despite their huge success, BTS never let the fame go to their heads. Despite having caught a lot of attention from news outlets and television shows, it wasn’t easy for them to reach the fame they have today. Back in 2013, BTS’ entertainment company HYBE – then known as BigHit Entertainment – was close to bankruptcy after the controversies in their former girl group, GLAM; debuting the group BTS was their last hope. BTS members had to give out free concert tickets to pedestrians walking on the streets, begging them to come watch. With only around 400 fans that time as well, they also had to deal with being accused of plagiarism by the public.
In addition, there were moments the members thought of giving up or even disbanding due to individual insecurities.
Suga, a rapper of BTS, suffered from depression and anxiety as well as his parents looking down upon him for him trying to pursue a music career as a rapper and producer. J-Hope, a rapper and the main dancer, was harshly targeted by people due to his appearance and a hashtag to kick him out of the group, as well as ignore him, trended for years. RM, also a main rapper, was criticised for his appearance and for leaving an underground rapping club for a nearly bankrupt company. Jimin, a vocalist, had trouble with his body image, starving himself to lose weight. V or Taehyung, also a vocalist, was kept hidden before debut, making him afraid that he would not meet people’s expectations, especially with a history of being bullied in school. Jungkook, the youngest member, was stressed about seeing the other members worried which caused him to strain himself to work harder. Jin, the eldest member, would hear his mother brag about his brother to her friends, but wouldn’t brag about him because she didn’t think he was a part of anything special, making him feel insecure of his worth.
However, the members of BTS ultimately chose to trust themselves as well as their entertainment company. From a nearly bankrupt group they have become one of the biggest bands in the world with a large impact.
Needless to say, they have had an immense impact in the industry.
In November 2017, BTS partnered with the Korean & Japanese Committees for UNICEF to launch a campaign called ‘Love Myself,’ an effort to combine the group’s promotion of self-love and mental health with UNICEF’s ‘#ENDViolence’ campaign about protecting children and teens from violence. ‘Love Myself’ is a signature message found in many of BTS’ songs and albums. The boy group encouraged their millions of fans to post images of themselves promoting self-love on social media with the hashtag “#BTSLoveMyself”, as well as donating proceeds from the campaign to UNICEF to support victims of school violence, domestic violence, and sexual assault, which raised about 3.6 million USD (28 million HKD). In 2021, BTS renewed the Love Myself campaign to continue supporting violence prevention programs and help children and teenagers affected by violence around the world.
On September 24, 2018 in New York - BTS also joined the United Nations at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly among presidents and other global, business, education, and youth leaders. The goal was to launch a new partnership to get every young person into quality education, training, or employment by 2030.
Since 2016, Jimin has made several donations to support education in his home community, donating money and resources to help students in need of financial assistance.
In 2019, J-Hope donated almost 100 million won ($650,000 HKD) to provide scholarships for low-income students at Jeonnam Girls’ Commercial High School in South Korea.
Racism has always been a huge problem that needs to be addressed in the world. Notably, the recent Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate protests attempted to take action for racial justice. In 2020, BTS took action as well.
The group made a donation of one million USD (around 7.9 million HKD) to the Black Lives Matter campaign and spoke up to support racial justice initiatives. They also made a public statement on Twitter regarding anti-Asian sentiments – xenophobia – arising from the COVID-19 pandemic targeting all Asian communities. The group shared how racism has personally affected their lives and called for an end to ignorance and hate against people everywhere as they have experienced racism while visiting western countries or going to awards.
"When we're abroad or in other situations, we've also been subjected to prejudice. We feel that prejudice should not be tolerated; it really has no place," BTS Jin said.
Within 25 hours of BTS’ donation to the Black Lives Matter campaign, BTS fans collectively donated another million USD.
BTS have often made efforts to help people gain access to healthcare as well, especially those who struggle to afford the treatments they need. In honour of his 28th birthday in 2021, Suga donated 100 million won (around 650 thousand HKD) to Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Centre going towards paying the hospital bills of children in need of financial assistance last year.
"I wanted to help the children, who cannot receive proper treatment because of financial hardship, and see them become healthy and bright," Suga said in a statement.
Last year, J-Hope also donated 100 million won to help children from families facing financial hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because of BTS members’ actions, their fans are also inspired to take part in spreading kindness. Since 2013, supporters of BTS have worked together to donate money and resources to support accessible healthcare initiatives, including donating funds to help children in Peru and Canada receive costly surgeries and comprehensive care, as well as organisations that assist children with disabilities in Busan, Korea.
With a huge fan base and successful marketing campaigns, BTS have been able to donate money to causes that are in desperate need of resources to save people’s lives. To this end, the group have taken it upon themselves to support several initiatives that help prevent children from starving.
In 2014, BTS teamed up with Love Food Bank to deliver food to children experiencing food insecurity in Korea. That act of love sent ripple effects through the world, inspiring their fans to create lasting change and ease hunger for people everywhere. The fans of BTS (also known as ARMY) made a project in 2020 during the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic called the “ShareTheMeal” to fundraise for global charities to feed families; also “Match A Meal” for Palestine to feed families in need across the state.
BTS has done many things for the world, not all of them have been listed here, however their kindness and the dedication of their fans has been part of inspiring global movements and individuals taking action on today’s most pressing issues. It all goes to show the change that can come about when a few decide to stand up for what’s right.