White Paper Project
| Academic Commentary | |
|---|---|
| Title: | White Paper Project (The Impact of a T-Shirt: BTS Meets Politics in a Digital World) |
| Commentator: | 4oclock__bts, aflowercastle, agirlinthepark, bts_vmegu, doolsetbangtan, doyou_bangtan, ErinBrownWrites, hallyuhousewife, kaffeeundtae, Kelliente, kinotyka, Modooborahae, perreeyeah, realmyystik, rhdaodai, warm__honey, velvetfield_bts, whenkookie, Yoonchuus, writer_court |
| Date(s): | November 28, 2018 (Version 1), December 6, 2018 (Version 2) |
| Medium: | Google Drive PDF, Website |
| Fandom: | BTS |
| External Links: | whitepaperproject.com, @teamwhitepaper Twitter |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The White Paper Project is a 133-paged paper explaining and contextualising a controversy around BTS, a massively popular K-Pop group. It was published a month after the controversy and revised with feedback a week later. On the White Paper Project website, translations in both English and Korean are available.
In mid-October 2018, an image of BTS member Jimin surfaced online.Taken from the YouTube Premium series Burn the Stage, the screenshot showed Jimin wearing a T-shirt with a depiction of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, a rendering of Korean people celebrating their liberation from Japanese occupation at the end of World War II, and the words "Patriotism," "Our History," "Liberation," and "Korea" in English. The T-shirt ignited debate about the intention and the consequences of Jimin wearing the garment.
First two paragraphs from the Introduction of the White Paper Project
Contents of the Paper
As caveated in the introduction, the White Paper Project does not aim to cover the entire issue, but to illuminate misinformation and disinformation around BTS as well as provide historical context around some of the Korean opinions regarding the T-Shirt. In the introduction, they state their goal for the project was to "show that there was more to the story than was being reported. We wanted to show that the skewed reporting by the media and perceptions by some members of the public erased Korean experiences of history. We wanted to show that the SWC's statement was problematic. We all wanted to do something."
The paper begins with a foreword and introduction of the project and its goals and contents. The following section(2.Overview of Recent Events) covers the timeline of events, from a cancelled appearance on Japan's popular Music Station program to the surfacing of other controversial images and recent events in Korea-Japan relations. The subsections after summarize the criticisms against BTS during the controversy and provide additional context and summarizes the media coverage on the issue. The paper covers its extensive coverage in Korea where media outlets across the political spectrum were supportive of BTS, as well as its coverage in Japan, where Japanese media focused particularly on whether BTS would still appear on Kohaku Uta Gassen and discontent. It also covers the international news coverage, beginning with the AP news article published on November 9 with limited context that shared the Japanese media interpretation based on the Music Station statement when they cancelled the BTS appearance, followed by the SWC statement, the Big Hit statement, and even more opinion and news pieces.
After the comprehensive coverage of the surrounding events, in the third section(3.Historical Context) the paper attempts to address why these events occurred. It outlines Korean colonial history from 1900 to the present, followed by sharing more on the Korean interpretation of the Korean-Japan historical relationship, which is that Japan practices historical revisionism which the West has enabled. The White Paper Project authors then summarize how other Korean groups have been affected by anti-Korea sentiment in Japan and highlight the October 30 law case by the Korean Supreme Corp ruling that the Japanese company Nippon Steel and Sumimoto Metal Corp should pay 100 million won to each of 4 men who were forced laborers during WW11 as an explanation for why the screenshot of Jimin's shirt became such a big controversy.
In section 4, Fandom Response, the project authors summarise the views seen by K-ARMY, J-ARMY, and I-ARMY (international army). It also provides context on the different landscape between these three different groups of fans and their differences. The subsections of this section are titled after their responses: "K-ARMYs Responses and Frustrations: To Clarify and Defend", "I-ARMYs' Responses and Frustrations: To Rally and Learn", "J-Army's Responses and Frustrations: To Support and Learn". (The J-Army's section was added later, due to being unable to find perspectives from them during creation, and later J-ARMY's reaching out to the team after reading the paper to write that section from their perspective).
The final sections are 5.Closing Remarks, 6.References, and 7.Appendix (including an authors note on the changes since version 1, big hit's statement, korean media coverage and recommended resources).
Messages from the Creators
20+ ARMYs from 5 continents spent days and nights over the past two weeks to write a 73-page, thoroughly researched and debated essay. We hope this will act as a compass as we nagivate our way forward. Sending my love and respect to all the team members![1]@doolsetbangtan Nov 30, 2018
💫 Please find yourself an hour, make yourself a cup of tea, and do yourself a favour by reading this. All my love to the entire team, and especially to @doolsetbangtan, my moon and my rock. Everything I want to say is here so[2]@doyou_bangtan Nov 30, 2018
This is, by far, THE most incredible project I have had the privilege of being involved in as an ARMY—as a digital citizen, period. I urge you to give this product of hours of research, many sleepless nights, and incredible passion and dedication a thoughtful read.@doolsetbangtan @doyou_bangtan You guys are the smartest most wonderful bestest most crazily passionate friends ever and I love you for bringing this to fruition.
And everyone else, there are too many amazing contributors to @—you know exactly who you are—you're INCREDIBLE and it was an absolutely privilege to work with you![3]@velvetfield_bts Nov 30, 2018
I'm so honored to be part of @teamwhitepaper. Working with this brilliant, talented, hilarious group of ARMYs from around the world has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. I hope this paper provides clarity, light, and answers for everyone.[4]@ErinBrownWrites Nov 30, 2018
Hi everyone😊A group of us 20+ ARMYs worked day and night from all over the world to write this thoroughly researched, beautiful paper. We would really appreciate it if you would take the time to read it💜 thank you![5]
Academic Reactions
Seok-Kyeong Hong, professor of communication at Seoul National University, introduced WPP at a Korean Association for the Study of Popular Music conference on December 8 and later shared her thoughts on Facebook. "This is a strong example of fan activism."[6] Professor Seok-Kyeong Hong's Facebook post linked
Chang-nam Kim, professor of media&communication at SungKongHoe University and founder/president of the Korean Music Awards, shared White Paper Project on Facebook. He highly evaluated the thoroughness of the paper and said he is impressed with BTS' fans.[7] Professor Chang-nam Kim's Facebook post linked
Fan Reactions
If you’re not here in Nov 2018. This is White Paper Project.A group of ARMY took the risk make this (in) less than a month. Despite them being Koreans & discussing a very sensitive that can backfire them.
To protect the boys from being dragged. Who started by some Kpop stans.[8]@TwentyFiveFor7 Feb 21, 2021
If you are a new army, or you simply never read this document please READ the whole thing. It's very important to understand context. I hope many learn to not just go by what you see on this app. There are a lot of lies, so make sure you always think critically and look for proof[9]@liveinWassaland Feb 3, 2021