How BTS Became One of the Most Popular Bands in History

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.https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/who-is-e-tammy-kim/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.https://www.news18.com/amp/news/buzz/why-k-pop-fans-are-demanding-apology-from-new-yorker-writer-for-her-article-on-bts-5423953.html https://www.koreaboo.com/news/kpop-fans-demand-apology-new-yorker-shinee-jonghyun-bigbang-bts/
=== Shawols ===
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. https://x.com/noonaipnida/status/1539537344269025285?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4A https://x.com/xnnxpxgnn/status/1539391708688949248?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4A
=== VIPs ===
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. https://x.com/mrdoomdada/status/1539594716345516038?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4AIn 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.https://x.com/rumtumtugger426/status/1540169850168803328?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4A
=== 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.https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/vhdnkm/comment/id6l26x/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonhttps://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/vhdnkm/comment/id6sehd/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonhttps://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/vhdnkm/comment/id6tvpj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonhttps://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/vhdnkm/comment/id73cjy/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonhttps://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/vhdnkm/comment/idatydq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
During the controversy, other fans expressed their disappointment in the article, citing the concerns expressed by the aforementioned fan communities.https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/vhdnkm/comment/id7ey78/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonhttps://x.com/lady_with_luv7/status/1539713348035612674?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4Ahttps://x.com/susybangtans/status/1539446792705687552?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4Ahttps://x.com/_riotgrrrl/status/1539512634021752833?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4A
=== 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 ====
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. https://www.theidolcast.com/podcasteps/episode-50-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-hip-hop-idol 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 ====
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 ====
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 ====
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 ====
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.https://x.com/nazsneak/status/1539620888324235265?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4A
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." https://x.com/juwonreports/status/1539803558089879553?s=46&t=29cCL2vN4RVOZjzwtTBa4A
== Commentary ==
== 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.https://www.change.org/p/the-new-yorker-apologise-to-shinee-and-bigbang According to the writers of the petition: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.https://www.newsweek.com/kpop-stans-war-new-yorker-writer-over-jonghyun-reference-1717841
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."https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/vhqnft/what_are_your_thoughts_on_a_journalist_randomly/?rdt=37059https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/vhqnft/what_are_your_thoughts_on_a_journalist_randomly/?rdt=37059
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".https://web.archive.org/web/20220621152102/https://twitter.com/etammykim/status/1539266971405111297 It should be noted that, just because no public death threats seem to have survived, it does not mean that Kim never received such messages. However, there is no additional evidence to correlate the existence of such rhetoric. In fact, the vast majority of the surviving discourse remains suprisingly civil.
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. https://www.theidolcast.com/posts/for-your-consideration 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. https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/k-pop/news-why-here-fans-give-mixed-reaction-bang-si-hyuk-katseye-getting-clicked-together-magazine-pictorial https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/1fyaxq5/241007_the_new_yorker_the_kpop_king_bts_is/
== References ==
Category:BTS
Category:2022 Events
Category:Scandals