You might’ve seen them screaming 
in the stands or camping out for hours in lines.
But recently, K-pop fans have 
done much more than that.
While some protested 
on the streets for Black Lives Matter, 
K-pop stans in the U.S. flooded police 
surveillance apps and racist hashtags 
with videos of their favorite groups.
They claim to have registered hundreds 
of tickets to President Trump’s Tulsa rally
and then didn’t show up, leaving row after row empty. 
What is it about the world of 
K-pop behind the glowing skin, 
powerful dance moves 
and catchy rhythm that’s got its fans politically active? 
My Blackness and who I am as a person
comes before any K-pop artist.
We’re going to look at who the K-pop fans are in the U.S., 
how they got involved in politics
and whether or not the K-pop industry 
is doing enough for its supporters of color. 
So, who makes up the K-pop fandom in the U.S.?
It’s important to know that they are neither 
composed of just the Asian diaspora community
nor just screaming girls with a lot of time on their hands.
It’s a lot more complicated than that.
First, the fandoms are divided 
into the artists you support.
So if you are a BTS fan, 
you are part of what's known as “Army.” 
If you’re a Blackpink fan, then you’re a "Blink."
And you can be part of multiple fandoms.
The K-pop fandom in the 
United States is quite diverse
and it includes many people of color. 
African American and Latinx. 
The fandom is also characterized 
by being very LGBT friendly.
This is CedarBough Saeji -
a professor in East Asian languages 
and culture at Indiana University. 
She’s lived in Korea for almost 16 years and 
understands K-pop and its expansion to the U.S.
Music fandoms tend to be younger. 
And so I would say probably the 
average age is in the 20s. 
She says one reason K-pop attracts people of color
is because they see it as a way 
to escape from mainstream, white-centric media.
With K-pop, I feel like it was very familiar 
to the Black 90s bands that 
I was like listening to.
It’s often easy to ignore that 
these fans have multiple identities.
Because before they are fans, 
they are individuals with multiple 
interests and unique struggles. 
They're thoughtful people who are concerned 
about this country and concerned about the world. 
They are open-minded, outward-looking, 
and really culturally curious.
K-pop fans are also young people 
who are learning that their voice matters.
That’s why in the wake of Black Lives Matter 
and the police killing of George Floyd,
fans used the tools they had developed as K-pop fans
to fight for a cause they saw as meaningful. 
It’s important to note that these fandoms 
operate online mostly through Twitter. 
And mobilizing online to boost idol ratings 
is nothing new in the world of K-pop.
We'll do giant streaming parties and 
get their faves to like the top of the Melon chart 
or in the American sense, like the top of the Hot 100.
So it wasn't really surprising to see that happen 
in the BLM sense where fans could 
just like really easily trend a hashtag to number one.
People have learned how to avoid 
looking like a bot online,
and make that view count go up while still showing
to YouTube that this is a real person
behind that play click.
That explains why the Trump administration
was completely oblivious to the fact that the rally 
was booked out by K-pop fans 
who don’t actually live in the area.
There’s also a history of fans using their money
toward social causes in the name of idols. 
It’s a practice that goes back to the beginning 
of fandoms in South Korea. 
K-pop artists have long encouraged their fans 
to use their money for local causes
rather than buy luxurious gifts for artists 
who are already millionaires. 
Fans would put their money together and 
they would donate rice 
to a facility for the elderly or for the homeless,
or they would donate money to support an orphanage, 
things like that.
Fans have recognized that this is a great way 
to get positive press coverage 
for both the artists and the fandoms.
In late 2018, BTS made an empowering speech at 
the UN General Assembly about self-love.
No matter who you are, where you’re from, 
your skin color and gender identity, 
just speak yourself.
So when BTS donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter, 
its fandom - Army - mobilized to 
match another $1 million in just 24 hours.
And so it doesn’t come as a surprise that 
most media coverage of K-pop fans
has made them out to be a united front 
of politically motivated teenagers fighting for Black lives.
Flooding Twitter and Instagram with
fan videos and memes
in an attempt to drown out the racist posts
and create a positive and uplifting conversation.
But fans of color like Ahomari and Ellie
say that's far from the truth.
It's felt performative.
There's never been a fight for Black lives.
Like a year ago, a Black K-pop fan could say
Black Lives Matter online,
and we'll probably get a ton of sh*t from
non-Black K-pop fans.
While BTS and Army's donation seemed positive at first,
some Black fans say it was later used
to silence their voices.
So anytime an idol does any type of
cultural appropriation,
Black fans will try to call it out and say,
Hey, this is offensive.
And then a random person would come up and be like,
well, they donated like $1 million to BLM.
It was like, Hey, we donated — shut up now.
Ellie also says it was counterproductive
to trend a racist hashtag with fancams –
these, by the way, are close-up videos
of an artist's live performance, uploaded by fans.
Seeing white lives matter trending
was actually really triggering.
Just the saying alone is an act of aggression
towards Black Lives Matter.
In the end, fans of color and experts agree
that the K-pop fandom in the U.S.
is really just another reflection of American society.
But what about the idols?
Do they care about the issues that affect their audience?
While BTS and a few other artists
issued statements condemning racism,
most idols and parent companies stayed
radio silent in the wake of Black Lives Matter.
Even prior to that, K-pop groups had
repeatedly offended Black people.
There have been accusations of
cultural appropriation and blackface.
The entertainment companies
behind various K-pop artists
often issue written apologies but...
It never goes past that.
It's always like, we're reflecting, we're learning,
but are we truly learning about these cultures?
It's hard to ignore that
these artists and companies come from
a largely racially uniform society where they personally
may not have experienced systemic racism.
Yet racism is pervasive in Korea,
particulary against migrant workers from
developing Asian countries.
As a Black fan, we have to do emotional labor.
We have to educate these idols -
in terms of trying to make sure an idol becomes
a better person in terms of respecting cultures.
Like it or not, K-pop has built itself on Black culture.
This is Seo Taiji and Boys -
one of the first boy bands in Korea.
The industry continues to borrow music from
Black producers and musicians who often don't get credit.
The music really owes so much to
forms of music that were originated with
African Americans in the United States,
such as R&B and hip-hop.
They can't bury their head in the sand and pretend
that they're not a part of this world,
which includes systemic racism.
As a supporter of multiple K-pop groups,
Ellie is calling on entertainment companies
to provide its artists with cultural sensitivity training.
If you're trying to go global with your groups,
you should really take the time to make sure that your
education is global and understanding of Black people.
And I feel like these companies really don't do enough
to respect Black fans and just Black creatives.
As the K-pop industry profits millions
in a market attracting people of color,
it's becoming harder to turn a blind eye
to who its fans are as individuals.
My Blackness and who I am as a person
comes before any K-pop artist,
any K-pop company, any K-pop fandom.
K-pop has shown potential to be
a positive political and social force -
with its ability to transcend
cultures, nationalities and languages.
K-pop stans have also demonstrated they are capable of
producing fast, real-life results for causes they care about.
Results that will also help boost the image 
of their favorite groups.
So what will be their next cause that they will champion?
I don't know, but they know that they have power.
They know that they have a voice.
They know that they can make a difference.
