How BTS Became One of the Most Popular Bands in History

News Media Commentary
Title:	How BTS Became One of the Most Popular Bands in History
Commentator:	E. Tammy Kim
Date(s):	June 21, 2022
Venue:	Print. Digital
Fandom:	BTS
External Links:	"How BTS Became One of the Most Popular Bands in History"; (Archived version)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

How BTS Became One of the Most Popular Bands in History is an article by E. Tammy Kim published in The New Yorker on 21 June 2022. Despite focusing on the career and success of BTS as well as on their fandom (known as ARMY), the article drew significant backlash from other kpop fandoms due to its insensitive handling of events related to other groups, specifically the passing of SHINee member Kim Jonghyun, as well as legal issues involving members of Big Bang.

The article was also criticized for being poorly researched and spreading inaccurate information about the Korean music industry. While Shawols (fans of SHINee) and VIPs (fans of Big Bang) were the two primary fandoms involved in the response, the broader Englishp-speaking kpop community (in particular, kpop stan Twitter) became involved in discussions.

The Article

At the time of the article's publication, E. Tammy Kim was a freelance magazine reporter based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work has appeared in other publications including The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, Al Jazeera America, and The Nation.

In an age of despair and division, a boy band from South Korea remixed the rules of pop and created a fandom bigger than Beatlemania.

The article's introduction/summary https://web.archive.org/web/20240919115657/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/joining-the-bts-army

The article focused on Kim's own experience with BTS and the fandom as well as the the overall trajectory of the group's history. The author intended it to be a "really deep dive" into the group and their fandom.

Fan Response

Fans demanded an apology and retraction of the article quickly after its publication. On Twitter, fans trended the tags #TammyKimApologize and #NewYorkerApologize.

Shawols

Before I knew BTS’s music, I knew of the members as envoys of well-being. In 2017—the same year that Kim Jonghyun, a singer in the K-pop group SHINee, died by suicide—BTS launched a campaign with UNICEF to combat violence against children and teens.

From the Article https://web.archive.org/web/20240919115657/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/joining-the-bts-army

SHINee fans, known by their fandom name Shawols, took issue with the passing of Jonghyun being used without context and in a situation where it was irrelevant. By not discussing Jonghyun's own activism and his openness regarding his mental health struggles, this writes Jonghyun off as merely a footnote and not an important and influential figure in his own right.

Firstly, E. Tammy Kim discredits and disrespectfully uses the name of SHINee’s Kim Jonghyun by reducing his importance and influence in the Kpop industry to his date of death.... This egregious remark is not only tactless and disrespectful to his memory and the feelings of SHINee fans but also factually incorrect as it links his death to BTS’s UNICEF campaign. BTS's campaign with UNICEF began in November 2017, a month before Jonghyun's death. Yet, the juxtaposition of these two separate events within a single sentence creates the impression that Jonghyun's death directly led to this campaign.  BTS’s campaign also is focused on helping end violence, abuse, and bullying against children, which does not pertain to Jonghyun’s situation.  Because these two events are entirely unrelated, mentioning Jonghyun in this way is absolutely and completely unnecessary. It is a dismissive comment that is extremely painful as a fan to read, as it reduces a person's life to his moment of death in some bizarre attempt to falsely and inaccurately contextualize the date of another group’s activism. And it is incredibly ironic considering Jonghyun's own past history of activism in which he has openly supported people with mental health issues, LGBTQ+ concerns, political matters, and other societal issues, even though he faced great pressure not to speak out.  However, none of this background is mentioned or referred to within the article.  E. Tammy Kim does not provide context or a reason for her choice to include Jonghyun at all, and does not mention him at any other time than this one comment about his date of passing.  This reduces Jonghyun to a date marker for another group’s career and is unnecessary, disrespectful to Jonghyun and dismissive of his legacy, insensitive to his family and loved ones, and offensive to his fans....

VIP SHAWOLS https://www.change.org/p/the-new-yorker-apologise-to-shinee-and-bigbang

VIPs

An ARMY named Wang in Chengdu, China, who identifies as gay, though not publicly, told me, “There’s a big queer component of BTS. The fandom feels really welcoming.” (Contrast this with the K-pop group Big Bang, whose singers have been convicted of sex trafficking, gambling, and drug crimes.)

From the Article https://web.archive.org/web/20240919115657/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/joining-the-bts-army

Fans of Big Bang, known as VIPs, also pointed out the inaccuracies of Kim's statement as the legal issues faced by Big Bang members. According to fans, the one correct statement in this article was in regards to the legal charges brought by member Choi Seunghyun, known by the stage name T. O. P. for smoking marijuana in 2017. This was an extremely careless example to utilize as Choi had already completed his sentence, and the backlash from the public was so severe that Choi overdosed, believed to have been him attempting to take his own life.

The article also attempts to praise the inclusion of LGBTQ+ members of BTS ARMY by contrasting this culture to BIGBANG, a group with over 15-years experience.... This comparison is not only completely unrelated to LGBT, but it also contains false information. Firstly, no current or former member of BIGBANG has ever been convicted of sex trafficking. In fact, none of them have even been charged with, nor have they ever been accused of such a crime by any individual or group of individuals. This information is totally false, and is damaging to the reputations of the BIGBANG members. And since such a statement carries legal implications, it is imperative that it be removed as soon as possible. Additionally, the author claims to have done extensive research and describes herself as an ex-lawyer. However, it is difficult to believe that she did any extensive research at all into this matter because no credible source states that any current or former member of BIGBANG was convicted of sex trafficking. And despite perhaps thousands of people correcting her falsehoods, she refused to recognize the severity of her actions and did not correct the misinformation. All of this, while being an ex-lawyer who should be conscious of the repercussions of making false statements.

VIP SHAWOLS https://www.change.org/p/the-new-yorker-apologise-to-shinee-and-bigbang

In response to the insinuation that Big Bang was not a safe group for LGBTQ+ fans to support, Twitter user @RumTumTugger426 made a thread detailing the community's long history of support from the band's leader, and a successful solo artist in his own right, Kwon Jiyong also known by his stage name G-Dragon. The thread was posted on 23 June.

ARMYs

Some ARMY responded to the article positively, believing that it was a good introductory piece for non-fans to understand their love of BTS.

During the controversy, other fans expressed their disappointment in the article, citing the concerns expressed by the aforementioned fan communities.

As an Army and Shawol I’m so beyond irritated by this mention in the article. He [Jonghyun] only ever gets to be brought up by what happened in his final moments, but do any of these journalists that being him up ever pay any respect to his amazing career spanning nearly a decade? His open advocacy for mental health and lgbtq when both were and in many facets still are incredibly taboo topics for any idol to speak about? He was a bright, talented, soulful and caring person and performer and he deserves for that to be his legacy. BTS have done amazing advocacy in both their charitable work but also in their lyrical work when it comes to mental health so I don’t know why the author made these cheap attempt at a connection between Jonghyun and a UNICEF campaign that wasn’t even about mental health?

multistansendhelp on r/Bangtan, 2022 https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/vhdnkm/comment/id7xfk1/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Incorrect Information

Additional concerns were raised about other misinformation contained with in the article, which many longtime fans of kpop quickly identified.

Rap and Hip-Hop in Kpop prior to BTS

It was unusual for a K-pop group to start from a base of rap and hip-hop.

From the Article https://web.archive.org/web/20240919115657/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/joining-the-bts-army

Kim's claim that BTS broke the traditional mold of a kpop group by starting from rap and hip-hop was quickly called out as blatantly false. Rap and hip-hop had influence on k-pop from the early 1990s with the nexus of Korean popular music as it is known today. Of particular note is the the group Seo Taiji and Boys, who are considered the progenitors of kpop idol groups, among other acts like DEUX and H.O.T. Groups more contemporary to BTS's 2013 debut, but still predating it, including Block B, B. A. P., ToppDogg, and Big Bang also incorporated influences from these musical styles into their discography. Many of the groups utilizing rap and hip-hop that emerged in the 2010s, including BTS, were influenced by the popularity of Big Bang who debuted in the prior decade.

The podcast The Idol Cast released an episode titled "The Rise and Fall of the Hip-Hop Idol" in response to this claim.

Creative Freedom of Idols prior to BTS

But, unlike at the Korean big three, Bang [Si-hyuk, founder of Big Hit, which launched BTS and would ultimately rebrand as HYBE] would allow his idols to express themselves... by writing their own music... This relative freedom would make BTS the most popular band in the world and turn Bang into a billionaire.

From the article  https://web.archive.org/web/20240919115657/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/joining-the-bts-army

BTS were not the first kpop idols to exercise creative freedom through participation in song writing. Many other groups, including Big Bang, SHINee, Brown Eyed Girls, and Shinhwa) did so before BTS.

Fan Interaction prior to BTS

But, unlike at the Korean big three, Bang [Si-hyuk] would allow his idols to express themselves... by interacting directly with their fans.

From the Article https://web.archive.org/web/20240919115657/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/joining-the-bts-army

BTS were far from the first idols to interact with fans, both online and in person. For instance, in 2012, G-Dragon used Line to communicate with his fans, and 2PM were active on Twitter starting in 2010. 2NE1 also pioneered uploading YouTube videos other than music videos, which was already being done. The closeness that fans feel towards their idols (see: parasocial relationships) has long been a cornerstone of the kpop market and a reason why fans connect so greatly with the medium.

Kpop songs about the struggles of youth prior to BTS

It was even more unusual for a group to speak and sing openly of the struggles of youth.

From the Article https://web.archive.org/web/20240919115657/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/joining-the-bts-army

Kim further contributed to the spread of misinformation claiming that prior to BTS debuting in 2013, kpop groups did not sing about the challenges faced by young people. Much like the incorporation of rap and hip-hop into Korean popular music, songs about these themes can be found dating back to the 1990s and the 1st Generation of kpop groups. Examples of such songs pre-dating BTS include:

• "Warrior's Descendant" by H. O. T.
• "School Anthem" by SECHSKIES
• "시대유감" ("Regret of the Times") by Seo Taiji & Boys

Misattribution of Social Movements to ARMY

Earlier this year, fans in the Philippines mobilized widely, though unsuccessfully, to prevent Ferdinand (Bongbong) Marcos, Jr., the son and namesake of the country’s notorious dictator, from being elected President.

From the Article https://web.archive.org/web/20240919115657/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/joining-the-bts-army

Other fans took issue with the attribution of the Filipino social movement known as "The Pink Movement" (mentioned in the above quote) to just ARMYs. In reality, this movement was the result of collaboration and work between many different Filipinos, not all of whom where fans of kpop, let alone BTS. Many other fandoms also participated in The Pink Movement.

Misc. Issues with the Article

Readers also took issue with Kim's use of the 2014 Sewol Ferry tragedy in service of her discussion of BTS.

At least one Twitter user accused Kim and The New Yorker of being on the payroll of BTS's company, HYBE.

Other fanbases such as Elfs (fans of the group Super Junior) also spoke out about the same concerns expressed by Shawols and VIPs.

Criticism of Fan Behavior

The fan backlash received its own criticism from journalists. Writing for SheThePeople, Sanjana Deshpande described Kim's article as "....harmless and only speak[ing] about what makes listeners gravitate toward BTS."

Moreover, Juwon Park of the Associated Press commented, "Read somewhere: writers, often Koreans and Korean-Americans, get attacked for not talking about Kpop according to the very specific rules fandoms have established."

Commentary

I don’t even want to read the rest of the article. What was even the purpose of including that? It’s so upsetting and disrespectful to Jonghyun. His passing has zero connection to BTS’ UNICEF campaign. Idk if she was doing this for clout or what kind of picture she was trying to paint but it was so unnecessary. It’s embarrassing actually.

And dragging BigBang was not relevant either. They are their own group and have their own history none of which pertain to BTS.

If she is going to write about the biggest kpop group right now, all she has to do is write solely about them. There is no need to negatively contrast other artists against them.

It leaves such a bad taste in my mouth.

And I am a hardcore ARMY but before being an ARMY, SHINee and BigBang were my first ults in Kpop. So this is just plain upsetting in every single way. I just hate how she had to bring the latter two groups in when she had no reason to.

Like if someone like this can be a writer why can’t half of us on Reddit be one too? shit we write more compelling and thought out posts than whatever article this was

theofficialguac on r/kpopthoughts, 2022 https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/vhqnft/comment/id9123u/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

If you run the article through the credibility checker it only comes up with a 57% at most. This was the most ridiculous article I've seen written in a long time. The amount of fake facts and the use of Jonghyun's passing to..what? what was she even trying to do there? It was disgusting. The whole thing was just so she could go to her colleagues and say, "Oh look! The kpop fans are attacking me in the QRTs!" (Which she is publically tweeting, so we can see her doing it.) The majority of the "attacks' were respectful requests for her to remove Jonghyun's name from the article and to also correct the false statements she made.

ACEwriter12 on r/kpopthoughts, 2022  https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/vhqnft/comment/id8zwfq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Quite frankly, I’m infuriated by this piece of crap. There are so many ways to talk about BTS positively without mentioning anybody else, let alone trying to diminish BigBang’s impact as just a group with problematic members and reducing Jonghyun to solely a tragedy. He specifically should never have been mentioned and frequently is only talked about in relation to his passing.

Jjong is so much more than the end of his life; he’s an artist and a writer and an advocate for so many people. His legacy is one of hope and poetry and passion, he’s not some statistic for some lazy writer to use as evidence of “oh kpop bad except for BTS.” The disrespect is astounding.

And that chick really thinks she’s slick crying about being bullied by “mean kpop stans” when people are rightfully furious at her shitty takes. You can’t be blatantly disrespectful of people and then get mad when you’re called out on it.

cubsgirl101 on r/kpopthoughts, 2022 https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/vhqnft/comment/id8utqm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Super disgusting and heartless and also full of misinformation. The journalist clearly does not know anything about kpop and admits that she just started really paying attention to BTS in April of this year. The article reads more like someone who is parroting a 30 min "Intro to BTS!" Youtube fan made video than someone who's actually done any legitimate research and is throwing in Jonghyun and Bigbang as comparisons to BTS with zero care for anyone. So many of her statements are just straight up false, like saying "...unlike at the Korean big three, Bang would allow his idols to express themselves, both by writing their own music". It's even more offensive considering Jonghyun wrote his own music. She also says "It was unusual for a K-pop group to start from a base of rap and hip-hop." Where is she getting her info?? BTS were inspired by rappers that came before them. All of these are "facts" can easily be disproven if she had done any objective research but I think she just assumed any article about BTS would do well regardless.

Crystal-cookies18 on r/kpopthoughts, 2022  https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/vhqnft/comment/id939h6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Response

International Shawols and VIPs collaborated to make a change.org petition demanding an apology from The New Yorker as well as the piece's author. It was launched on 24 June 2022 amassed over 3,600 signatures. According to the writers of the petition:

This petition is a plea for responsible journalism. Entertainment pieces deserve the same kind of fact-checking and integrity that political features do. Freedom of the press allows journalists to write as they please. The public, however, has the right to QUESTION the validity of their work especially in the face of blatant inaccuracies and falsehoods. Thousands have reached out and provided her with the correct data. Thousands have conveyed their dismay over treating a much revered icon's death as a time stamp. We have given her a chance to humbly edit, correct, or retract the misleading and offending items on her poorly researched article but were only laughed at and blocked on social media. Libelous and fallacious content should not be ignored and repercussions should follow.

VIP SHAWOLS, 24 June 2022 https://www.change.org/p/the-new-yorker-apologise-to-shinee-and-bigbang

As of September 2024, the article remains online. No officially apology or statement has ever been made. The text of the article also remains the same, despite the fact that the author and magazine were notified of numerous pieces of false information and insensitive handling of unrelated topics.

Newsweek picked up on the backlash and wrote an article about it. They reached out to the author for comment, but there is no further information to indicate whether this ever resulted in anything.

Tammy Kim's twitter account (@etammykim) has been deleted as of September 2024. Screenshots of Kim's do not seem to have survived. Contemporary posts by reddit users claim that Kim, "...tried to play off all the VALID criticism as dths and tried playing the victim card."

One archived tweet accessible on the Way Back Machine shows that Kim posted on June 21st, in an apparent mockery of the valid criticism: "Lmao the mean kpop fans starting in with their usual death threats".

It is is unclear if the Twitter account was deleted in response to the 2022 controversy. It may have been deleted in response to a second incident in 2023, though the details of that are rather unclear by surviving tweets.

Legacy

On 7 October 2024, The New Yorker published another article that drew at least some comparisons to Kim's work two years prior. The article, titled "The K-Pop King" by Alex Barasch drew similar controversy for spreading the same false information as Kim as well as unnecessarily dragging Big Bang. While the article purported to also discuss the new HYBE group Katseye, its focused on the company's CEO Bang Si-hyuk drew confusion from fans as well as anger that he was taking credit for the successes of his artists, such as the members of BTS.