The New Yorker, Apologise to SHINee and BIGBANG

The Issue

On June 21st 2022, The New Yorker published an article titled, “How BTS Became One of the Most Popular Bands in History” written by one of their contributing writers, E. Tammy Kim. According to the author, the article was meant to be a “really deep dive” into BTS and their fandom, ARMY. But despite the main subject of the article being BTS, the author has managed to upset multiple K-pop communities by unnecessarily including remarks that were not only offensive, but in some cases, completely false. The offended communities have united to demand an apology from E. Tammy Kim and The New Yorker. We also ask that the false and offensive details be either corrected, or for the article to be removed entirely. Here are the parts we would like to be corrected or removed:

Using SHINee’s Jonghyun as a Date Marker

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. She writes: "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." 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. We request that this reference be removed entirely.

Blatantly False Information about BIGBANG

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. The line states, “‘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.)” 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.

Discrediting of 1st and 2nd Generation Groups

E. Tammy Kim writes, “When Bang left J.Y.P. to start Big Hit, in 2005, he set out to make a different kind of K-pop. [...] But, unlike the Korean big three, Bang would allow his idols to express themselves, both by writing their own music and by interacting directly with their fans.” This is false information. BTS are not the first K-pop idols to write their own songs nor the first to interact, on-line and off-line, with fans.

The writer continues, “It was unusual for a K-pop group to start from a base of rap and hip-hop. It was even more unusual for a group to speak and sing openly of the struggles of youth.” Once again this is incorrect. K-pop has always combined different music genres into one. In the early 90s, rap music was first introduced to South Korea’s popular culture. Since then, Korean singers have been including hip-hop sounds in their songs. Particularly at the beginning of the 2010s, there was a surge of K-pop groups debuting or promoting with rap and hip-hop based music. Struggles of youngsters have been themes in K-pop songs since the beginning. Famous examples are H.O.T’s "Warrior's Descendant" and SECHSKIES "School Anthem" which address the issues of school bullying and the toxic Korean education system. Even BTS recognised their legacies by performing a mashup of both songs and their own debut song "No More Dream" at the 2013 MBC Gayo Daejejeon.

Misattributing the Efforts of Multiple K-pop Fandoms to ARMY

The article also states, “Of their own accord, ARMYs have organised to maximise BTS’s streaming numbers, raise funds for charity, and agitate against movements perceived to oppose the values of BTS. [...] 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.” The information here is inaccurate. The Pink Movement is a collective effort of many Filipino citizens. ARMYs were not the only fandom to advocate for presidential candidate Leni Robredo. In fact, many fandoms joined in on the effort.

Do not be deceived. This is not about fanwars or jealousy among fandoms. The international success of one act is actually celebrated and good for the entire industry. Just like in 2013, when G-Dragon and SHINee became the first Korean acts to rank in Billboard or when SHINee became the first Asian group ever to perform in London's Abbey Road Studios in 2011.

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.

As such, we again demand the following:

-Apologies must be made to SHINee, BIGBANG and all who were hurt and offended. It is the right thing to do when this article callously hurt so many.

-The false information and disrespectful portions must be removed from the article or the entire article itself needs to be taken down. Anything less also shows a lack of integrity and empathy that is unacceptable.

-In the future more respect for the hard working artists in K-Pop and their fans should be a top priority. With this common sense approach we hope we can prevent and avoid more incidents like this in the future.

If said author would have performed due diligence and spoken not only to ARMY but also to Shawols and V.I.P.'s, both instances could have been avoided. While the article is about BTS and the Army community, if other artists are going to be brought up, we believe it is essential and beneficial to speak to members of said fandoms, allowing them to speak up and point out constructive criticism.

More respect for Artists and fandoms alike is indeed necessary. As fans we can join together to make sure other fandoms won't have to suffer the same hurt, confusion, frustration and sadness this article caused. That is why we wrote this petition. Please join us by signing and sharing your thoughts. Let's work together to make sure our artists and fandoms are protected and heard. Please also share this fandom to your friends and through social media. Please use our hashtags, #NewYorkerApologize #TammyKimApologize.

References:

H.O.T’s “Warrior’s Descendant”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpGTUmISOyg

SECHSKIES’ “School Anthem”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEMudqq84ks

BTS’ 2013 MBC Gayo Dejejeon performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zifhl5kHK5E

Fandoms for Leni Robredo:

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/filipino-youth-k-pop-ariana-grande-taylor-swift-advocacy-presidential-candidate-leni-robredo

Charges of former BIGBANG member did not involve violence

https://www.topstarnews.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=701904

Indictments of former BIGBANG member