Fans of K-pop and particularly super boy band Bangtan Boys, also known as BTS, worldwide have grown increasingly vocal about social issues. Legions of fans are joining hands to promote the fashionable issues of today, from racism and "Me Too" movement to climate change and coronavirus victims.
Fans of Red Velvet, TWICE, Super Junior and Stray Kids mobilized to support some 9,000 tuk-tuk drivers in Thailand, whose earnings were hit hard by the pandemic. Red Velvet fans advertised their beloved girl group on tuk-tuks, and TWICE fans offered money to support around 300 drivers, while Super Junior fans helped feed 13 auto rickshaw drivers a month on average.
The drivers have suffered heavily due to a more than 85-percent decline in the number of tourists since the pandemic started. The fan groups called for support for the grassroots economy.
In Peru, K-pop fans have donated oxygen tanks for critically ill coronavirus patients. BTS fans last year started the "Oxygen of Hope Campaign" to celebrate member J-hope's birthday on Feb. 18. The fans took action when oxygen tank prices surged almost 10-fold as the Latin American country's medical system faced collapse.
Peru had some of the highest coronavirus fatality rate in the world last June with 500 deaths per 100,000 people. Peruvian fans of Enhyphen also did volunteer work and made donations to mark the boy band’s debut in late 2020.
The fans are also reaching out to help victims of racism, human rights abuses, gender bias and child abuse as well as promoting environmental awareness. In Ecuador, K-pop fans have been planting trees and in Nicaragua they have been aiding hurricane victims.
"If you thought K-pop was all hair gel and dance moves, you've got another thing coming. K-pop fans are not to be underestimated, and they are inventing community everywhere they go," wrote a guest commentator in the Guardian's online edition. "At the very least, the K-pop activists seek to embrace the world rather than to dominate it."
K-pop fans have also been supporting the Black Lives Matter movement since 2020. BTS publicly expressed their solidarity with the movement against racial discrimination and donated US$1 million for the cause along with their management agency Hybe. That motivated BTS fans to raise another million-plus dollars 27 hours later.
