Johnny of NCT 127, Yeri of Red Velvet, and Other K-pop Idols Who Spoke Out in Support of the Black Lives Matter Movement
Across the world, people are taking part in the Black Lives Matter movement through protests, donations, and social media campaigns. Over the past few days, several Korean artists including NCT 127’s Johnny, Yeri of Red Velvet, and Eric Nam have publicly shown their support for the movement. K-pop fans have also redirected their organized fan efforts to support Black Lives Matter in various ways.
Jae of Day6 and Got7’s Mark donated to the cause
Protests broke out in the U.S. after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in police custody in Minnesota on May 25. All four police officers involved in Floyd’s death were fired, and one officer was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Celebrities including John Boyega, Taylor Swift, Halsey, Ariana Grande, J. Cole, Lauren Jauregui, and Chrissy Teigen have all either spoken out in support of Black Lives Matter, donated to the movement, or participated in protests with activists.
Day6 is a South Korean rock band under JYP Entertainment, one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea. Jae is a vocalist and electric guitarist in the group, and on May 31, he posted that he donated to the Minnesota Freedom Fund. He also shared a link encouraging his followers to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
Got7 is a K-pop group that also belongs with JYP Entertainment. On May 31, Mark Tuan, a member of the group, posted on his personal Twitter page encouraging fans to take part in the movement. Tuan also shared that he donated $7,000 to the George Floyd Memorial Fund.
“Stay stong, stay safe,” he tweeted to his 5.4 million followers.
K-pop idols Yeri and Johnny of SM Entertainment supported Black Lives Matter on social media
SM Entertainment is the largest entertainment company in South Korea, and it represents famed K-pop groups TVXQ!, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, Shinee, f(x), Exo, Red Velvet, NCT, and SuperM. So far, two K-pop idols from SM Entertainment have spoken out in support of Black Lives Matter.
Yeri of Red Velvet shared a photo of the movement on her Instagram story. NCT 127’s Johnny shared a black square on his personal Instagram page along with a brief message.
“Please let everyone be safe. I see you, I care for you. #blacklivesmatter,” he captioned the post.
RELATED: Everything the NCT 127 Members Said About Each Other in the ‘To You’ Series
Eric Nam posted on social media
Nam is a singer-songwriter who was born in Atlanta. He moved to South Korea from the U.S. to pursue a music career, and in 2019 he released his first English-language album Before We Begin.
On May 28, the singer-songwriter posted a statement about Black Lives Matter on Twitter.
“It does not matter what color your skin is, this affects you. RACISM IS NOT DEAD. George and Ahmaud are just two of the countless number of black men and women who have lost their lives senselessly. sign the petitions, raise your voice, and do what you can. #BlackLivesMatter,” Nam tweeted.
K-pop fans are supporting Black Lives Matter
K-pop fans are known for their strong social media presence, and over the past week fans of different artists have come together with a common goal. Fans have encouraged the artists they follow to use their platform to speak out, and they have used their social media accounts to help support the movement.
In a tweet on May 31, the Dallas Police Department asked people to submit videos “of illegal activity” from Black Lives Matter protests to the iWatch Dallas app. K-pop fans instead spammed the app with fancams of their favorite K-pop artists, which resulted in the app being temporarily unavailable. Buzzfeed News also reported that multiple people left one-star reviews for the app in the Google Play Store and iOS App Store.
