It isn't just a BTS problem. Some thoughts on toxic stan culture Vs. accountability.
Quick CW: Some discussion of racism and misogyny
This is my first post. Let me know if I'm posting in the wrong place 🫶
As somebody who has been into Kpop for the better part of 16 years, I've hesitated to engage with the Kpop community at large because of how toxic Kpop stans can be in defending their idols when they do objectively bad things. The fallout of RM and j-hope attending a Chris Brown concert is indicative of a larger issue within the Kpop industry. Idols are not truly being held accountable for their problematic behavior. In fact, they are often receiving unwavering support from much of their fanbases despite repeated instances of unapologetically shameful behavior. I want to talk about the BTS situation as an example, but it's not unique to BTS. I've seen this kind of behavior in almost every fandom. My purpose here is not to blindly hate on BTS, critique all Army, or lump them all into one group, but to undertake a broader discussion about the Kpop industry, and how toxically some fans engage with stan culture, using the current situation as an example.
Most Kpop fans can see why it might be wrong to attend the concert of a known abusive individual, but that hasn't stopped a subsect of Army from vehemently defending BTS by dog-piling on anybody who attempts to educate people and hold the members accountable. This is a tale as old as time with many Kpop stans across many fandoms. People go to war in comments sections to defend their idols, even if the idols are clearly in the wrong. The reason I bring up BTS specifically is because I've seen it happen time and time again whenever BTS comes under scrutiny.
Most of the Army embroiled in these conversations are employing the age-old tosic Kpop stan excuse of "guys 🥹 they're Korean 🥹 they don't know any better!” A rehash of the infantalizing logic used again and again to defend problematic behavior in idols. They act as if their idols are pure, untouched by the world, as if they aren't adults with unrestricted internet access. These are the same excuses some Army use to defend BTS when people bring up members’ past use of the N word, colorist comments, performance of songs with misogynistic lyrics, and cultural appropriation. Again, it's not just Army who do this. This is a problem across fandoms. Korean idols are constantly infantilized by their fanbases due to a simplistic, flattened view of Korean people and culture that usually comes from only engaging with South Korean culture on a surface level, and is candidly, quite fetishistic.
South Korea has a very large alt right movement and massive issues with racism and misogyny, as well as many other political and societal issues. If you dig into anything about South Korean culture outside of Kpop, Kdramas, and KBBQ, it's not hard to find information about these systemic issues. These idols' questionable acts aren't simple, ignorant oopsies. This is indicative of a larger problem that is present in every aspect of the Kpop industry. That is absolutely not to say that all Koreans are racist or misogynistic, or to say that any other country is free from these systemic issues. It's simply to say that it is no more surprising or unfathomable that a Korean person may be racist or misogynistic than it is to say an American might be racist or misogynistic. To excuse this kind of conduct due to an idol being Korean is honestly insulting to the many Korean people who are not like this in the slightest.
The members of BTS are almost all in their 30s. Why are we acting like these men were born yesterday? "They didn't know," is a ridiculous excuse that crumbles under the slightest bit of analysis. The BTS members have been to the US…several times. They have been online, they have access to the same internet as you and me, and they know black culture well enough to appropriate it, which many Army explain as a homage, but how are they going to pay homage to a culture they supposedly don't know anything about? Which is it, do they know black culture, or do they not? What are they, Schrodinger's culture vultures?
When discussions take place about BTS members’ problematic behavior, some Army will say, "But they apologized!" but apologies don't mean much when you continue to engage in and profit off of the behavior you were asked to apologize for. This Chris Brown situation is not surprising in the slightest because many Kpop fans are more likely to hold their idols accountable for smoking cigarettes than they are for misogyny or racism. The toxically high expectations fans have of their idols only seem to apply when an idol wants to date, smoke cigarettes, or if they gain a bit of weight. It seems like idols are permitted by some fans to participate in whatever dubious behavior they like, just so long as they stay skinny and maintain the illusion of being romantically available to their fanbase.
The Kpop industry, many Kpop artists, and some Kpop stans have major issues with anti-blackness, homophobia, Islamophobia, fatphobia, and misogyny. The anti-blackness, in particular, is wild because Kpop has always been derivative of black culture. That's something you have to contend with and acknowledge to be a Kpop fan. Nothing these groups are doing is groundbreaking in the broader context of music. It's often just black music in a shiny and sharply-produced new package with fun choreographies that are also, as it happens, largely inspired by black culture. Almost every pop song, Korean or otherwise, owes its sound to black music and black culture. If you regularly listen to music made by black people, you know this. I find that many Kpop fans say they don’t listen to music made by black people though, sometimes stating it's "too aggressive," all the while listening to noisy ass Kpop. While I often see this sentiment paired with blatant racism, I'm sure for many it's not a conscious choice to refuse to listen to black artists in particular, but I think it's worth noting that if you think this way you probably have some internalized biases you need to work through, and I'm not talking about the fun kind of bias.
It seems that somehow we got lost and collectively decided that we can't enjoy good things made by imperfect people. Instead of grappling with that belief and breaking down why we think that way, some Kpop stans instead do everything they can to defend their idols and maintain their squeaky clean image, even if they’re actively causing harm in doing so. They deny any allegations of problematic behavior that come out against their idols by forcibly silencing the people who are trying to hold the artists and their companies to a higher standard. This isn't unique to Kpop stan culture, but many Kpop stans are particularly egregious in the way they do it. They will bully people and dismiss their concerns, doing everything in their power to make people believe they are absurd for daring to think critically about who they support. These types of stans do such impressive mental gymnastics, they ought to receive an Olympic gold medal in Delusion. They are willfully ignorant to the cultural contexts of their idols’ problematic behavior. Their strategy is the online equivalent of putting their fingers in their ears and saying “NA NA NA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!” while the rest of us attempt to contribute to a nuanced conversation. It's noise pollution with the express purpose of drowning out rational criticism so they don't have to admit that maybe their bias isn't actually perfect.
It's okay to like something and still be critical of it. You don't have to defend your bias tooth and nail. You can demand better behavior from them and still like their music. In fact, I'd say that wanting to see your favorite artist be held accountable and become a better person, learn, and grow actually makes you a better fan than the people who blindly excuse problematic behavior in order to defend their idols. The reason I say this is because holding artists accountable makes it more feasible that they will learn and do better in the future, making it less likely for them to be the subject of scrutiny and scandal for similar behavior later down the line. It also does so without alienating and belittling other fans who may have been hurt by the idols' behavior. You don't have to defend nefarious conduct to ensure your idol's success, and you don't need to silence, gaslight, or dismiss other fans who expect more from the artists they support. You can support an artist and still expect them to be good people.