South Korea and the United States fought on the same side during Fifties military conflict with North Korea which received support from China. Not surprisingly, the events of this conflict which is known in history as the Korean War, are interpreted differently by the two sides.
South Korean boy band BTS is facing a strong backlash from Chinese fans after its lead member RM said after receiving the General James A Van Fleet Award celebrating US-South Korea relations that they “will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women”.
RM was referring to the Korean War, a 1950-53 conflict during which the United States and South Korea fought against North Korea supported by China and Soviet Union.
The statement has angered Chinese fans of the K-pop band, who rushed to point out that it was the United States who was the “aggressor” in the war in which thousands of Chinese lives were lost, according to Beijing-based outlet Global Times.
The comments were made on Chinese microblogging website Weibo, which is used by millions of BTS's fans, as many disappointed Army members (the name for BTS fandom) pledged to stop following the band.
“They didn't say anything about China, they don't remember the sacrifices of the Chinese people. Fans should not admire the breadth of soul of these guys, they don't need to look for reasons to sell their homeland,” said a Weibo user under the nickname…
