- On June 20th, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
at his very first campaign rally in almost four months,
Donald Trump and his staff stared out,
into a half empty arena in shock and horror.
While there were a variety of valid factors,
that could account for the humiliating rows of empty seats,
most commentators attributed the abysmal rally turnout,
to an unlikely culprit,
K-pop stans.
Some have been baffled by yet another plot was to 2020,
in which an army of fans have become anonymous 2.0.
But if you've been paying attention,
the rise of K-pop fandoms,
as an unstoppable force for social activism,
is less surprising than it may seem.
(air whooshing)
Many attribute K-pop's origin to the three person group,
Seo-Taiji and Boys,
who performed on live TV as part of a talent competition,
in 1992.
After their appearance,
they became a sensation in South Korea.
Propelling forward a commercial agenda,
of homegrown Korean talent.
In the early 2000s,
K-pop artists gained popularity in countries like,
Japan, China, and Taiwan.
And by 2009 Wonder Girls became the first K-pop artists,
to make it on the billboard hot 100.
However, most credit size 2012 novelty hit "Gangnam Style",
as the first actual break into the American mainstream.
That same year, Kye Kyoungbon Koo,
director of the Korea Creative Content Agency,
described the growing phenomenon saying,
"YouTube has really changed the awareness of K-pop.
"Both American kids,
"and second generation Korean-American kids,
"are discovering it."
By nature,
the global community of K-pop fans,
was created by the internet, to exist on the internet,
and it's still their best tool to connect.
Despite the fact that,
K-pop artists don't get much radio playing,
their popularity in the US,
has continued to grow due to social media and streaming.
Eventually, the music industry,
could not ignore the viral potential,
of including K-pop acts, in events like award shows.
BTS became the first Korean group,
to perform at the American Music Award show in 2017.
By 2018, they returned to the show,
winning the favorite social artists,
on top of also winning the top social artist award,
at the Billboard Music Awards that year.
By 2019, BTS won three AMAs,
and came home with the second most awards of the night.
Today, the K-pop industry is estimated,
to be worth over $5 billion globally,
and bands sell arenas around the world, in minutes.
And the industry only continues to grow,
as K-pop artists collaborate,
with even more popular US musicians,
creating crossover amongst fan bases.
And while fandom is nothing new,
K-pop fans have perhaps surpassed
the devotion of any other in the past.
Many experts attribute the first modern fandom,
to the popularity of Arthur Conan Doyle's character,
Sherlock Holmes.
When Holmes was killed off,
in a short story in December, 1893,
as many as 20,000 readers canceled their subscriptions,
even more wrote letters to the publisher,
voicing their outrage.
Eight years later,
after continued pressure from the public and his publishers,
Doyle brought Holmes back,
in the form of his infamous prequel,
"The Hound of the Baskervilles".
He followed that up with a new series of short stories,
called the return of Sherlock Holmes,
which brought the character back to life, for good.
K-pop fans have since evolved,
to become the greatest marketing force,
behind their favorite bands.
Not only organizing promotion across social media,
but they even buyout billboards themselves,
taking over,
some of the most expensive advertising real estate,
Times Square.
However,
fandoms don't just work together to promote their idols.
They also do charity work,
funding many projects around the world.
Dating back to at least 20 years ago,
Korean idols have encouraged fans to not send gifts,
and instead give their money and energy to charities.
Their loyal fans follow perfect orders,
sparking the community's involvement,
with social activism.
20 years later, that spirit remains, but it has evolved,
into a deft force of community organizing.
They overpower award shows,
especially those that require fan participation like voting,
and sharing wins for their beloved artists.
With scientific precision,
they learn to use algorithms to their advantage,
and pump social media with hashtags,
to make sure their favorites are always trending.
Typically, K-pop fandoms deliberately make hashtags trend,
to hype new music releases.
In 2019, Blackpink,
were the female K-pop group to perform at Coachella,
and the band has a huge following.
On May 28th, 2020,
just three days after George Floyd was killed,
Lady Gaga released her newest album, Chromatica,
featuring a most anticipated collaboration with Blackpink,
called sour candy.
While many were excited for the release,
increasing the group's mainstream exposure,
instead Blackpink fans,
united to stop #sourcandy from trending,
helping #blacklivesmatter to remain centered and trending.
This would give way to a series of hashtag takeovers.
K-pop fans also infiltrated hashtags like,
#whitelivesmatter, #bluelivesmatter and #whiteoutwednesday,
in an effort to make it more difficult,
for white supremacists and sympathizers,
to promote their agenda and find one another.
Just a few days later,
K-pop activists struck again.
On May 30th,
the Dallas Police Department announced on Twitter,
that people would report illegal activity,
from the protest, using their iWatch Dallas app.
In response, K-pop stans organized to spam the app,
with fan cams or short clips of K-pop performances,
which historically, K-pop fans used to spam Twitter.
Calls to action included tweets like,
"Download the app and (beep) flood that (beep),
"with fan cams, make it so hard for them,
"to find anything besides our faves dancing."
And May 31st, the app was temporarily shut down.
Though the police department did not comment,
on what caused the app to shut down.
Which brings us to June 4th, 2020,
the day BTS tweeted out their solidarity,
with the Black Lives Matter Movement, stating,
"We stand against racial discrimination.
"We condemn violence.
"You, I, and we, all have the right to be respected.
"We will stand together,"
adding at the end, #blacklivesmatter.
Later this week,
BTS and the record label donated $1 million,
directly to the organization.
Kailee Scales, BLM's managing director,
said on their contribution,
"Black people all over the world are in pain at this moment,
"from the trauma of centuries of oppression.
"We are moved by the generosity of BTS and allies,
"all over the world who stand in solidarity,
"in the fight for black lives."
Moreover, in response, K-pop devotees,
announced that they had raised an additional $1 million,
to the organization to match BTS' donation.
We told you the BTS Army does not play.
Emboldened then by the momentum of activism,
and their favorite idol standing in solidarity,
K-pop stans decided to take on, Donald Trump.
When Trump's presidential campaign posted a tweet,
inviting supporters to register for free tickets,
to the Tulsa rally,
K-pop stans co-opted the link,
realizing that you could reserve seats and not show up.
Spreading the word through social media,
their message ultimately went viral on several platforms,
including tiktok.
Mary Jo Laupp, from Fort Dodge, Iowa,
posted a tiktok on the subject,
receiving 700,000 likes and over 2 million views,
and she believes that at least 17,000 tickets were reserved,
based on the comments she received.
Many users deleted their posts within 24 to 48 hours,
hoping to keep the Trump campaign in the dark.
And obviously it worked,
as the campaign was astounded that,
their anticipated crowd of a hundred thousand supporters,
couldn't even fill the 19,000 seat arena.
YouTuber Elijah Daniel who participated in the prank,
said of the social media activism,
"These kids are smart and they thought of everything."
And when he calls them kids, he isn't hyperbolizing.
Tiktok's largest demographic are 13 to 17 year olds,
a group that can't vote,
but are making their civic voices heard regardless.
But the K-pop community is far from perfect,
and as a group, there's still learning, growing,
and coming to terms with their own inherent racism.
In 2018, racism within the BTS Army came to light,
as black members spoke out about their harassment,
and erasure, they experienced.
Using hashtags like #BlackARMYsEquality,
and #BlackARMYsMatter.
Moreover, K-pop idols are often critiqued for appropriation,
and even more insidious examples of racism like black face.
Though, often cultural commentators,
say there's a learning curve,
when it comes to handling race,
outside of Korea's largely homogenous culture.
However, in an increasingly globalized world,
excuses of ignorance are increasingly weak.
Profiting from black culture without honoring the history,
or giving due credit to black artists,
is no longer excusable.
K-pop star CL,
wrote on Instagram of the black lives matter movement.
"Artists, directors, writers, dancers,
"designers, producers, stylists, and the K-pop industry,
"are all inspired by black culture,
"whether they acknowledge it or not.
"I would like to encourage K-pop fans to give back,
"and show love and support for all that we've received,
"from black artists.
"I want to explain to K-pop fans, fellow Asians,
"and non Americans,
"who feel like they have no connection to what's happening,
"that we are all connected."
And if the K-pop community has anything to say about it,
they're taking the re-education and activism,
into their own hands.
The power of their passion is already undeniable.
The communication, our organization already unparalleled.
It seems like endless possibilities,
for what they might achieve on the horizon.
(upbeat music)