BTS AT THE WHITE HOUSE
BTS met President Joe Biden at The White House on May 31st to celebrate AANHPI Month and discuss anti-Asian hate.
While the meeting itself was behind closed doors, the group spoke to reporters at a briefing a few minutes earlier. They were unable to take questions, but they each gave short speeches expressing their thoughts, hopes, and feelings.
Jimin
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
“We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes.
To put a stop on this and to support the cause, we’d like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again.”
Suga
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“It’s not wrong to be different. I think equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.”
J-Hope
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
“We are here today thanks to our ARMY, our fans worldwide, who have different nationalities, and cultures, and use different languages. We are truly and always grateful.”
Jungkook
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“We still feel surprised that music created by South Korean artists reaches so many people around the world, transcending languages and cultural barriers.
We believe music is always an amazing and wonderful unifier of all things.”
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Except for RM, who gave opening and closing remarks in English, the BTS members spoke in Korean. Netizens praised this decision, saying they were moved to hear the group’s native language at The White House, where non-English is rarely spoken.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
In a video on his Instagram account, President Biden told BTS: “People care a lot about what you say, and what you’re doing is good for all people. It’s not just your great talent, it’s the message you’re communicating. It matters.”
Later, the President tweeted: “Thanks for all you’re doing to raise awareness around the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination.
I look forward to sharing more of our conversation soon.”
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
BTS will release their new anthology album “Proof” on June 10th.