Kim Jang-hwan, chairman of Far East Broadcasting Company, called the BTS performance in Gwanghwamun "not even child's play," prompting continued criticism.
On the 24th, the Far East Broadcasting labor union issued a statement publicly criticizing Pastor Kim's remarks, saying "hatred of popular culture is not the gospel" and that he did not sufficiently consider the global expansion of K-pop and the stature of BTS.
Earlier, Chairman Kim, while delivering a Thursday morning breakfast sermon on the 20th, mentioned BTS's Gwanghwamun performance and offered negative evaluations such as "this is not even child's play," "are you protecting six people who sing?" and "I don't know what the lyrics are," and also expressed a negative view of the performance venue, saying, "If it were me, I would have done it in a wide area like Saemangeum in North Jeolla Province."
In particular, his remarks criticizing the performance venue and the administrative resources deployed have been pointed out as failing to fully consider the symbolism and ripple effects of the performance.
In fact, the "BTS comeback live: ARIRANG" took place in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul with about 100,000 people gathered and was broadcast live worldwide through Netflix. The performance later proved global interest by ranking No. 1 in 77 countries. President Lee Jae-myung also praised the performance at a Cabinet meeting, saying it "played a decisive role in promoting Gwanghwamun and Korea," and mentioned the cultural and national effects of the performance.
With the influence proven to affect national image and the cultural industry beyond a simple performance, remarks describing it as "child's play" have drawn responses that they are out of step with the times.
The labor union pointed out, "Their performances are evaluated as important assets that form national image and cultural competitiveness beyond mere popular entertainment," and added, "Gwanghwamun is not a space that merely remains a symbol of a certain authority, but a public space of the democratic republic where citizens and culture coexist."
They continued, "In a society where various generations and cultures coexist, remarks that demean a particular culture inevitably cause unnecessary conflict," and expressed regret, saying, "Kindness should be shown not only in attitudes toward outsiders but also in how diverse voices of different cultures, generations and internal members are treated."
Meanwhile, BTS will begin a full-fledged world tour starting with this Gwanghwamun performance and continue their global activities.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]