Kpop in Politics

Over the past two weeks, Kpop fans have made two notable forays into U.S. domestic politics. First they became involved in the BLM protests, taking over various twitter hashtags and setting up fancams in support of BLM. Second, they apparently hijacked Trump's rally in Tulsa and soaked up ticked reservations with zero intent to attend, creating a debacle that embarrassed the Trump campaign when predictions of mass attendance failed to materialize.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52996705
https://www.vox.com/2020/6/8/21279262/k-pop-fans-black-lives-matter-fancams-youtubers-protest-support
usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/21/trump-tulsa-rally-kpop-stans-tiktok-teens-inflated-expected-turnout/3232615001/

Is this a new wave of music fandom and social media activism? Is Kpop suddenly, gasp, the face of the resistance? Do they actually signify some kind of shifting cultural trend? The fanbase is decidedly multicultural and queer-friendly and its supporters seem to have a strong sense of shared values. Will we see this online activism manifest in wars between say, Kpop-stans and 4channers?

Wait until they make their pilgrimage to Seoul and find out the smoggy, trash filled, gay hating streets don't match up to reality. You can hear their hearts shattering.

dude WHAT is the resistance

Kpop will become outlawed in the US under Mr. Trump's second term. Those caught  secretly playing it will be severely punished.

This will remain the status quo until a plucky teenager from out of town arrives and challenges Donald Trump Jr. to a tractor chicken fight and wins, mostly due to catching a shoelace in the drivetrain.
He soon begins to fall for a rebellious geriatric named Biden (who already has a running mate), and their earnest legislating causes the POTUS to have a change of heart.
Republicans and Democrats (all holding hands) listen to the keening caterwauling of Kpop for the first time in years, become unified for the first time in centuries, and all happily dance the rest of the term away.

dude WHAT is the resistance

dude WHAT is the resistance

Fair enough.

Wait until they make their pilgrimage to Seoul and find out the smoggy, trash filled, gay hating streets don't match up to reality. You can hear their hearts shattering.

You know, they're probably more aware of the shortcomings of life in Korea than you think they are. Sure you aren't projecting for when you came here?

Had visited multiple times before I moved. Well aware of what a dump most of the cities are here.

Don't get salty dude, you CAN say bad things about Korea from time to time. It won't hurt.

lol Mrdegyopo must be so conflicted right now.

Though I wonder if these kpop fans realize how sexist and racist Korean society is, and what a big part kpop plays in that society. You almost never see activism from kpop groups, most of the time they act like cyborgs that don't want to offend anyone. It's nice of the fans to try to change American society but they should move on to changing Korean society. Good luck with that.

I remember hearing a neat little synth section in a female Kpop song, so I went on YouTube to try and find it.
In the comments section, I read quite a messages from  (assuming their profiles aren't fake) women professing their attraction
to these Kpop performers. I suppose Kpop could have a strong appeal to LGBT culture.

I also remember hearing about how BTS fans apparently did some charity work in a show of one-upmanship to some ballet company which inadvertently criticized BTS.

I'm betting it's more along the lines of a teenage rebellion at a cultural level; Republican daddy likes Lynyrd Skynyrd, I'm going to show him by liking Kpop and having purple hair. That and many Kpop fans take things WAY too seriously and allow what should simply be enjoyment of music to spread to anything and everything else.

lol Mrdegyopo must be so conflicted right now.

Though I wonder if these kpop fans realize how sexist and racist Korean society is, and what a big part kpop plays in that society. You almost never see activism from kpop groups, most of the time they act like cyborgs that don't want to offend anyone. It's nice of the fans to try to change American society but they should move on to changing Korean society. Good luck with that.

I don't know, judging from my OP I seem to be handling things pretty well.

I think Kpop fans are a lot more knowledgeable about Korea than you give them credit for. I also think that BTS plays a negligible role in ajosshi racism and sexism. In the 90s groups like HOT sang about the IMF, bullying, and promoting social change. The fans doing this activism are mostly international and a big chunk are U.S. based, hence why they are invested in BLM and trolled the Trump campaign.

I think it's great that they've done more than any of the complainers and moaners on here to stick a finger in the eye of the Trump campaign.

I don't know, judging from my OP I seem to be handling things pretty well.

I think Kpop fans are a lot more knowledgeable about Korea than you give them credit for. I also think that BTS plays a negligible role in ajosshi racism and sexism. In the 90s groups like HOT sang about the IMF, bullying, and promoting social change. The fans doing this activism are mostly international and a big chunk are U.S. based, hence why they are invested in BLM and trolled the Trump campaign.

I think it's great that they've done more than any of the complainers and moaners on here to stick a finger in the eye of the Trump campaign.

Speaking of which, were you or any of your adopted family in Tulsa?

Considering the amount of money that was pumped into pushing K-Pop by the government and the 'Hallyu Wave' you'd think they have a vested interest in keeping the K-pop global brand popular.  As nobody so far has mentioned Yohan's death at the age of 27 last week and adding in Cha In Ha, Goo Hara and Sulli in 2019.  Jong Hyun in 2017.  Plus other actors/actresses as well in the last five years, that's a worrying amount of deaths, surely.   Why change a 'winning' formula with K-Pop and essentially the 'Hallyu Wave'? 

dude WHAT is the resistance

I don't know but apparently it exists exclusively on Twitter.

When I think of "The Resistance" I think of that rich white woman who stitched stuff like "I miss Barack" on plain sweaters and sold them to her rich friends and got an article about her out of it somehow

I think it's great that they've done more than any of the complainers and moaners on here to stick a finger in the eye of the Trump campaign.

Oh yeah now you're against Trump, when it's your precious kpop cultists going against him. Then five minutes later you'll defend everything Trump does again just like you always do, and pretend that nobody notices.

Is Kpop suddenly, gasp, the face of the resistance?

Some Korean K-Pop fans aren't particularly keen on the idea:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-kpop/global-k-pop-fans-emerge-as-political-force-but-some-in-south-korea-worry-idUSKBN23U0WG


A snippet:

But the incident with Trump’s campaign rally sparked new debates among fans in South Korea, who don’t appear to have been significantly involved in that effort. Young South Korean artists rarely get involved with their country’s politics, and many fan forums ban political discussions.

Chang Ju-yeon, a 22-year-old student, said that many Korean fans support BTS-led human rights campaigns, but that the singers should not be used in U.S. politics.

“We’re proud that BTS leads those efforts as global artists, and do want to raise voices together on universal issues that earn everyone’s sympathy,” Chang told Reuters.

“But the artists should stay away from domestic politics, as some people could take advantage of their fame for political purposes and it would eventually come back to hurt them,” Chang added.

A spokeswoman for Big Hit Entertainment, the management label for BTS, declined to comment.

  Chang Ju-yeon, a 22-year-old student, said that many Korean fans support BTS-led human rights campaigns, but that the singers should not be used in U.S. politics.

“We’re proud that BTS leads those efforts as global artists, and do want to raise voices together on universal issues that earn everyone’s sympathy,” Chang told Reuters.

I wish BTS would hurry up and tell us what they think about the protests in Hong Kong or the Uyghur persecution, so I can have an opinion on the subject.

I wish BTS would hurry up and tell us what they think about the protests in Hong Kong or the Uyghur persecution, so I can have an opinion on the subject.

I wish BTS would hurry up and tell us what they think about the protests in Hong Kong or the Uyghur persecution, so I can have an opinion on the subject.

I wish Anthony Fantano would review Twice so I can have an opinion on K-pop

I wish Anthony Fantano would review Twice so I can have an opinion on K-pop

melon is a momo fan 100%

Oh yeah now you're against Trump, when it's your precious kpop cultists going against him. Then five minutes later you'll defend everything Trump does again just like you always do, and pretend that nobody notices.

I think it's great that they organized in a way that didn't harm anyone and was funny. Like 4Chan's war with Shia LeBeouf.

Anyways, it's kind of odd you're lecturing me about only going after Trump for Kpop considering your signature. I've literally called him a conman and a lying sack of shit in the past.