BERLIN — A Bavarian radio station apologized Friday for a bunch’s feedback evaluating widespread South Korean Ok-pop band BTS to the coronavirus, saying his alternative of phrases had gone too far however was on no account meant to be “hurtful or racist.”
The assertion got here after legions of followers accused the station’s Matthias Matuschik of racism for his feedback on the band’s cowl of Coldplay’s “Repair You,” taking to social media utilizing the hashtags #Bayern3Racist, #Bayern3Apologize and #RassismusBeiBayern3 which interprets as “racism at Bayern3.”
“Racism shouldn’t be an possibility,” wrote one consumer, @Vroseeeee1 in a blunt tweet in English, German, Korean and Spanish.
The uproar got here after a reside present Wednesday, by which Matuschik derided BTS’s model of “Repair You” as “blasphemy” and in contrast the band to COVID-19, describing them as “some crappy virus that hopefully there will likely be a vaccine for quickly as effectively.”
He then dug his gap deeper as he tried to roll again the remark considerably, saying “I’ve nothing towards South Korea, you possibly can’t accuse me of xenophobia solely as a result of this boyband is from South Korea… I’ve a automobile from South Korea. I’ve the good automobile round.”
Then he went on to say that in penance for the duvet, BTW “will likely be vacationing in North Korea for the subsequent 20 years.”
BTS, which debuted in 2013, turned the most important boy band on the planet, promoting out stadiums worldwide and delivering a video message on the U.N. Normal Meeting this yr.
Their songs, full of intimate, socially acutely aware lyrics, are credited for his or her success. Not like different Ok-pop bands that fastidiously keep the personas created by their labels, BTS is understood for its lively engagement with followers — referred to as ARMY — by way of social media. BTS has over 33.1 million followers on Twitter.
Offence on the feedback didn’t solely come from South Korea, with many social media customers in Germany and elsewhere instantly condemning them.
“I do know which radio station I received’t be listening to anymore, bye @Bayern3,” wrote consumer @fairesvmns in a German-language publish that included audio of Matuschik’s feedback. “I actually don’t want racism of this form and type in 2021.”
Many South Koreans residing overseas expressed issues that the remarks might incite anti-Asian violence, already on the rise in lots of locations.
“This isn’t nearly #BTS, it’s about so many Asian people who find themselves coping with excessive racism particularly attributable to pandemic,” Hansl Chang, a South Korean who lives in Germany, tweeted.
Within the station’s apology, it stated that whereas Matuschik was “presenting his opinion in an ironic, exaggerated manner and with exaggerated pleasure, his phrases went too far and damage the emotions of BTS followers.
“However he — and he has assured us of this — on no account supposed this. He simply wished to specific his displeasure over the aforementioned cowl model.”
It famous that Matuschik has been concerned in serving to increase help for refugees and has a “fixed marketing campaign towards right-wing extremism” and has proven he’s towards xenophobia or racism in any type.
“That doesn’t change the truth that a lot of you discovered his statements to be hurtful or racist,” Bayern3 stated. “We apologize for this in each manner doable. We are going to work on the matter with Matthias and the staff intimately once more within the subsequent few days.”
___
Juwon Park in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
David Rising, The Related Press
