Experts have noted how US and global K-pop fans have successfully drowned out a racist BLM backlash and humiliated Donald Trump all within the space of a few weeks. Tara Pilkington reports.
Social activism that runs throughout the K-pop community, and this has become increasingly clear in the last few days.
Following the viral impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, some online groups attempt to blunt the impact of BLM by using hashtags such as #WhiteLivesMatter when posting on Twitter.
However, this effort was swiftly boycotted by young people worldwide united by their love of South Korean pop music!
Rather than seeing racist messages when clicking onto #WhiteLivesMatter, these messages were drowned out by floods of video clips and memes of K-pop fans favourite artists, many accompanied by anti-racist messages.
One of the most famous K-pop bands on the planet, BTS, even praised their fan base and 26million Twitter followers for their efforts, saying: “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together. #BlackLivesMatter,”
More recently, K-pop fans humiliated Donald Trump by registering for tickets to his US president’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, even though they had no intention of attending.
His campaign chairman boasted that nearly a million people had requested tickets, however, in reality, he ended up speaking in front of around 6,200 supporters and organisers were forced to close an “overflow” area outside.
While it is unclear how big an impact this campaign had on the low turnout, many online users believe it was a large contributing factor.
