On the evening of January 3, 2021, Jimin suddenly posted a message on Weverse which wrote "#SorryJung-in".
It is known that in October 2020, Korean public was extremely shocked over the case of a 16-month-old
baby girl, Jung In, was abused and tortured to death by her adoptive parents, Jang and
Ahn.
Previously, the police three times ignored Jung-in’s teacher and pediatrician’s warning
about signs of violence.
Jung In was hospitalized on October 13, 2020 in a critical condition.
Right after detecting signs of violence on the little girl’s body, the doctors immediately
notified the police.
Jimin's post initially posed a big question among the fandom because no one knew what
was going on until the heartbreaking truth behind it was revealed.
Jimin was obviously using his influence to raise the awareness of child abuse and to
participate in the #SorryJung-in campaign.
This move of Jimin attracted great attention from both domestic and international fans.
Thus, news about Jung In was also widely spread, especially on Twitter.
This social media platform flooded with tweets claiming justice for Jung In.
Currently, the hashtag #SorryJung-in is also in the top global trending.
At the same time, the hashtag #JiminWeLoveYouSoMuch also quickly entered the global trending,
showing love and appreciation from fans to Jimin for his kind actions.
It is known that Jimin rarely uses Weverse.
Last year, he only accessed the app 15 times.
But this time, he used his influence to spread awareness among people, including Weverse
users BTS themselves are active activists of UNICEF
in the Korean region.
Since their debut until now, BTS has written many songs about the difficulties of young
Koreans, from school violence to social injustice.
Back in time 8 months ago, perhaps you all knew about the incident that happened to an
American citizen named George Floyed on May 26.
During the following months, the world continued to defend human rights and oppose racism against
black people.
After expressing their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, BTS and BigHit also
made significant donations to the anti-racism campaign
Specifically, BigHit confirmed that BTS and the agency itself donated $1 million to the
Black Lives Matter.
Then, BTS shared on their Twitter account: “We stand up against racism.
We condemn violence.
We all have the right to be respected.
We will stand side by side"
Not only BTS, on the evening of May 31, Mark (GOT7) also shared on Twitter a screenshot
of the information confirming he had donated to the official George Floyd Memorial Foundation.
The male idol from JYP also donated 7,000 USD for the charity.
Attaching the post, Mark also wrote: “Be strong and stay safe”, along with a link
to a donation website to guide people who want to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
Jonghyun was also one of the artists who are not afraid to raise opinions on sensitive
political and social issues.
In addition to violence against children and racism, LGBT is also one of the social issues
that are of great concern to the society.
The fact that Jonghyun publicly expressed his support and sympathy for the LGBT community
is a clear proof of his concern about social issues.
Jonghyun once used the image of a campaign calling for equal rights for the homosexual
community as his personal avatar.
The male idol also sent private messages to a female college student who initiated this
movement to encourage her.
This is the image of the campaign that Jonghyun set as his Twitter profile picture:
And here is the thoughtful message he sent to the female student participating in the
campaign mentioned above:
“As an entertainer, as another kind of minority facing the public, I feel at a loss towards
a world that does not accept differences.
Of course it can’t be compared to anything you went through.
I support you for speaking out that difference doesn’t mean wrong.
I don’t think you’re a person who needs consolation or worries.
You are strong.
I wish for your health and for a good end of the year”.
Through those specific actions, it can be seen that Jonghyun really cared about LGBT,
not just expressing his opinion superficially
However, Kpop idols do not always receive complete support when giving personal opinions
about social issues.
Many idols have been turned away just because they want to express their views on such matters.
Frankly, whether Kpop idols can speak up about social issues or not, it depends a lot on
their agencies.
Because, in a harsh environment like the Kpop industry, no idol becomes famous without the
help of agencies.
Therefore, the "obedience" to the management company is a common thing for idols.
The companies often want their artists to focus on music and promotion instead of other
things.
According to Lee Gyu Tag, professor of cultural anthropology at George Mason Korea University,
"If an idol speaks up about a social or political issue, they may have to face backlash from
the opposition.
Worse, they can become the target of negative comments.
This has really happened to Kpop idols recently”.
For example, Red Velvet's Yeri, after supporting the Black Lives Matter movement by sharing
a photo capturing the moment of an anti-racism protest, the female idol immediately received
countless criticisms such as: "She just wants fame", "What does an Asian woman like you
do that for?
Do you benefit from this?”
Obviously, with Kpop's global influence, Kpop artists may face more dilemmas in the future
if they continue to express their personal views on social issues.
But as human beings, they can't just stand by and do nothing about the injustice happening
everyday without taking a single move against it.
Despite the prejudices, they still speak up whenever possible.
In particular, with their great influence, Kpop artists’ actions against social evils
will contribute to spreading awareness among the fan community, thereby somewhat improving
the situation.
So, do you think it's necessary for the idols to speak up about social issues?
Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Also, don’t forget to like, share and subscribe to BebossTV for more great contents in the
future.
Thank you for watching!