Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.
All seven members of BTS joined Tuesday afternoon’s White House press briefing to honor the final day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre introduced the band and RM gave the group’s opening and closing remarks in English, with the other six members of the group delivering brief statements in Korean. Following their collective speech, a translator read RM’s remarks in Korean and the rest of the band’s words in English. They then left the briefing to join President Biden for a private discussion of Asian inclusion, representation and diversity.
According to the translator, Jin said BTS “stand with the AANHPI community” while Ji-min said the group are “devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes;” J-Hope shifted gears, acknowledging the septet’s global ARMY© of fans “who have different nationalities and cultures and use different language,” and Jungkook added that the band are “surprised that music created by South Korean artists reaches so many people around the world, transcending languages and cultural barriers” and “believe music is always an amazing and wonderful unifier of all things;” Suga emphasized that “it’s not wrong to be different” and that “equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences;” and V concluded that BTS “hope today is one step forward to respecting and understanding each and every one as a valuable person.”
