KUALA LUMPUR: It seems that fans of uber popular K-Pop outfit BTS have been positively influenced by the good vibes of the seven-member group.
Known to empower youngsters with its uplifting music and social awareness, it’s fans, lovingly known as Army, have shown support for the victims of sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army of yesteryear.
According to Koreaboo, an international fan had recently shared a post on Twitter which encouraged BTS lovers to help Korea’s comfort women, called “halmonies” (or grandmothers) who were victims of sexual slavery before and during World War II.
The post which included a link to donate money quickly saw fans contributing to the House of Sharing, the nursing home for living comfort women.
The home was established in 1992 and is currently located in the outskirts of Seoul.
House of Sharing had indicated that it received over 2 million KRW (about RM7,500) in three days beginning Nov 16.
Donations apparently came from around the world, including the US, England, France, Germany, Malaysia, Indonesia and more.
In a statement, the organisation added that: “The donations from BTS’ international fans are not limited to mere support for the project, but it is another movement for remembering the history of the Japanese invasion and the issues of the comfort women.”
The fan of the original post also claimed to have gotten in touch with the House of Sharing and said that one of the grandmothers there was very grateful that her story was being shared after she had heard about what the Army were doing.
Other BTS fans were touched by the generosity and activism of the Army to spread more awareness on the issue and expressed many positive comments online.
One fan wrote: “Wow! You all are so amazing, highly intellectual, beautiful, brave and have a heart for humankind. I'm very thankful to be part of this family.”
Another fan wrote: “I’ve learned a lot from this controversy. Armys are amazing. I really love this fandom.”
But this is apparently not the first time BTS fans have shown support for the cause. In June and September, BTS lovers had apparently collected 10 million KRW (about RM37,211) in donations for the House of Sharing under the name BTS’ Army.