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BTS Makes Award Speech in Remembrance of Shared History in Korean War. Mainland Netizens Say Award Commemorates US Army in the War, Decry Speech as Insulting and Ask BTS to Leave China

Bangtan Boys (BTS), a world-famous K-pop boy band with a huge following, received the James A. Van Fleet Award last Wednesday (Oct 7) for their contributions to promoting US-Korea relations. In their award speech, members mentioned the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War, saying, “We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women.” The speech attracted criticisms from mainland netizens, who stated through Weibo that it insulted China, some even commented, “Go away, BTS has died”. The post in question received 1.66 million likes and 36 thousand comments.

The James A. Van Fleet Award was organised by US non-profit organisation The Korea Society and established in 1995 in commemoration of James A. Van Fleet, Commander of the US Eighth Army during the Korean War and Founder of the organisation. The award is mainly given to persons or organisations that promoted US-Korea relations. The award ceremony this year was held online last Wednesday, during which the BTS was given the award for their musical achievements, influence on fans globally and promotion of US-Korea relations. During the award speech, the group’s leader Kim Nam-joon (RM) mentioned that this year marked the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, which gave special significance to the organisation’s annual gala this year. “We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women. After 70 years, the world we are living in is much closer than before, and boundaries in many aspects are getting more blurred.” Kim’s speech did not specify the two nations mentioned.

Source: Stand News #Oct11

#Korea #US #China #Weibo #BTS #AwardCeremony #TheKoreanSociety #JamesAVanFleetAward

https://bit.ly/2GVLPLM
BTS Supporters Counterattack after Chinese Netizens Sniped BTS,
Zhao Lijian Tried to Calm them Down along with the Deletion of the Provocative Report by Global Times

South Korean K-pop boy band BangTan Sonyeondan (BTS) has gained an award for their efforts to promote South Korea-US relations. However, their award-winning speech, relevant to the Korean War, caused dissatisfaction among Chinese netizens and being sniped, such as claiming not to buy the endorsed products. BTS supporters, on the other hand, fought back on social networking sites. A netizen said, “thanks to the 50 Cent Army and the Little Pink, Korea has become anti-communist now!" Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian then showed kindness, saying that "promoting friendship should be our (China and Korea) common pursuit". The Global Times also deleted its reports criticizing BTS. The Director of the Military Affairs Department of South Korea, Moo Jung-woo, responded yesterday (13 October) that the accusations made by Chinese netizens were "uncomfortable." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea also stated that it would remain concerned about the situation.

Earlier, BTS gained the “James A. Van Fleet Award”. A member mentioned in their speeches that "we will always remember the painful history of our two countries and the countless sacrifices made by men and women". As a result, the Chinese netizens criticized BTS for not respecting the Chinese martyrs and not understanding the history of the anti-American war effort.

Global Times published a report on Monday (12 October), stating that "we cannot tolerate anything that involves our national dignity”. Chinese netizens urged not to purchase any BTS-endorsed product. Subsequently, a South Korean company Samsung removed the BTS-endorsed products from its Chinese online stores, and a manufacturer Hyundai and a sports brand FILA also removed BTS-relevant posts from their Chinese social media pages.

Source: Stand News #Oct14

https://bit.ly/3jdAGDf

#BTS #SouthKorea #Kpop #ChineseForeignMinistry #ZhaoLiJian #ChineseNetizens #GlobalTimes #China #JamesAVanFleetAward #Samsung #Hyundai #FILA