For years, it has seemed that nothing could would stem the tide of love K-Pop supergroup BTS has enjoyed over the years. But some Chinese fans think BTS bandleader RM has gone a step too far online.
On Monday (Feb 7), RM, born Kim Nam-joon, posted an IG Story on his @RKive account of South Korean skater Hwang Dae-heon, who had finished first in the men’s short-track 1,000 metres semi-final.
220207 @BTS_twt RM IG Story
🐨 👏👏👍
(He is watching the Beijing Olympics)https://t.co/ARDj06xQJP pic.twitter.com/hLALZXHCtv
— 💙 ᴮᴱ구찌⁷ 💐 #yourlovev 💙 (@PoisonIvyTae) February 7, 2022
In that race, Hwang was penalised for an “illegal late pass causing contact” with Li Wenlong of China, and was disqualified, while Li went on to win the silver.
Ren Ziwei, who also represents China, took the gold.
RM, 27, added three emojis to his Instagram post — two of clapping hands and a thumbs-up.
This seemed to rile many Chinese netizens, who unleashed strong feelings on China’s social media site Weibo, where “#BTSinsultingChina (#防弹少年团辱华)” trended.
Several netizens also left angry comments on the BTS frontman’s account. When that account disabled comments, disgruntled netizens moved to other BTS accounts to vent their ire.
The Korea Times wrote that the netizens have called out RM for the IG Stories post and demanded that he apologise for “denying the referee’s decision”.
Some went so far as to leave vomit emojis and to insult RM’s looks.
But BTS’ legions of fans, who are known as BTS ARMY, have flooded the hate posts with purple heart emojis, a symbol they’ve adopted as their own.
Several fans, however, have expressed shock, seeing nothing wrong with the K-Pop star cheering on his countryman.
Meanwhile, Olympic officials’ decision to penalise Hwang remains controversial. South Korea has filed a protest over the judgment call with the International Skating Union (ISU), world skating’s governing body, and also with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee has announced plans to raise the issue with the sporting world’s highest tribunal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Yoon Hong-geun, South Korea’s Chef de Mission for the Games, said at a press conference after the incident that he has asked for a meeting with Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The South China Morning Post quoted Mr Yoon as saying: “In sports, fair play must be guaranteed. After the end of last night’s races, we lodged a strong protest through international short track officials.
“We will take whatever measures necessary to make sure such injustices will never occur again in international sports.” /TISG
Read also: BTS’s Jungkook starts 2022 by breaking Guinness World Record
BTS’s Jungkook starts 2022 by breaking Guinness World Record