BTS supposedly caused one of the largest gaggles of press reporters ever seen at the White House during the Biden Administration:
South Korean supergroup BTS highlighted the need to respect one another as they made their first visit to the White House on Tuesday for a rare meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
The group also joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a daily press briefing before meeting with the U.S. president.
“It is a great honor to be invited to the White House today to discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion and diversity,” group member RM said in the press briefing.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Here is one of these only in Korea stories. There are not many countries that would have pop stars completing mandatory military service like Korea does:
K-pop idol Kang Young-hyun, best known as Young K to fans of his group Day6, is a winner in the Eighth Army’s Best Warriors competition in South Korea.
There’s a lot to sort out there, so let’s take things a step at a time and decode that sentence.
Forty-nine U.S. and Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, or KATUSA, soldiers participated in a six-day competition that included events like an eight-mile march, small arms qualification, land navigation, water survival, obstacle courses, knot-tying and overall military knowledge.
The Eighth crowned winners in categories like best soldier, best noncommissioned officer, best officer and best warrant officer.
Military.com
You can read more at the link, but Kang won the KATUSA category of the Best Warrior competition. The next level of competition is at U.S. Army Pacific in Hawaii. According to the article it is unclear if Yang will compete in this competition. Regardless it is great to see Yang not trying to dodge service like some other celebrities have been able to do. It is also awesome to see him taking his service seriously and pushing himself like he did to win this competition.
With a high number of Korean celebrities that have completed their military service why should BTS be exempted?:
Saturday’s meeting between officials of the agency of boy band BTS, Hybe, and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition committee went without discussing the K-pop sensation’s possible military service exemption, a high-ranking official said, while hinting it could be discussed in the new administration.
There was “no mention about the military service at all,” Ahn Cheol-soo, chief of Yoon’s presidential transition committee, told reporters after his visit to the Hybe headquarters late Saturday. “It is something that should be decided in the newly launched (Yoon) government, after discussion with the National Assembly,” Ahn said, leaving the door open for discussions in the future.
Korea Herald
You can read more at the link.
Did you know Koreans can be charged with breaking a domestic law even if it was committed overseas?:
Police said Tuesday they are investigating two members of a popular K-pop boy band for their alleged involvement in illegal overseas gambling.
Two members of SUPERNOVA have been booked for allegedly playing baccarat, a type of gambling, one or two times in the Philippines from 2016 to 2018 with stakes up to 50 million won (US$42,297), according to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency.
They are also suspected of having participated in illegal online gambling in South Korea.
The boy band members, however, have claimed they did not go to the Philippines for the purpose of gambling and just happened to gamble by chance, according to the police.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
