KEY POINTS
- Kim Nam-Joon aka RM said they often experience discrimination
- He said BTS will help dissipate Asian hate and racism
- Jungkook thanked the ARMY for encouraging the band during the pandemic
Though the South Korean boy band BTS has been more successful than its contemporaries in its country and abroad, the group’s leader Kim Nam-Joon said that they are still battling “walls” of hate from people who discriminate against Asians, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“For Asian hate, I wasn't born and raised abroad, but Asians…[our path around the world] we truly felt the walls,” Kim Nam-Joon, also known as RM, said during a global press conference held just a few moments before the second day of the group's concert in SoFi stadium in L.A. began, a senior editor at The Atlantic tweeted.
“The walls can always be described as words, sometimes it's visible, sometimes, it's invisible and sensitive,” he added.
The BTS singer-songwriter also offered their help in consoling victims of Asian hate, and vowed to use their music to stop discrimination and racism, saying, “If there's something we can do to help…we are always open. we will try to stop the discrimination and racism. ”
During the press conference, the famous septet said they know the difficulty of getting a Grammy Award, but 28-year-old rapper-songwriter Suga added he can wait until they are able to receive a Record Academy trophy.
“yoongi (Suga): Winning a grammy isn't easy, I'm thankful there are still challenges we can try to work to overcome. jin: just bc we haven't won a Grammy doesn't mean the others aren't important ,” user @LenikaCruz said in her tweet.
Suga also mentioned a Korean proverb that talks about endurance: “There is no tree without ten strokes of an axe,” and added they will accept nominations even for the next 10 years until they win a Grammy award.
Having been absent in the live entertainment scene for a couple of years, the Bangtan boys were both nervous and excited for their series of concerts in Los Angeles. The group’s youngest member, Jungkook, thanked the fans for giving them a lot of encouragement after their world tour was canceled due to the pandemic.
“I am thankful for having such a meaningful time together. We have received a lot of love this year continuing from last year. We released songs that contained hard and honest feelings after the pandemic started, and in turn, we received a lot of strength because a lot of people loved it. We will pour that energy into today’s performance,” Jungkook was quoted in this Koreaboo report.
BTS once again successfully filled SoFi stadium on the second day of its “Permission To Dance -L.A.” concert Sunday. Megan Thee Stallion appeared onstage to perform the remix version of “Butter” with the group for the first time. She was supposed to sing “Butter” with BTS at the recent American Music Awards ceremony, but she canceled her appearance in the event citing personal reasons.
South Korean boy band BTS perform during the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards Photo: MTV / -
