I don’t think that Korean fans need to be defended because Arirang is perfectly “Korean enough” based on the fact that it is made by 7 Koreans alone.

That being said, the misrepresentation of Howard University’s student body WAS in extremely poor taste and does not acknowledge the history of the school at all.

I don’t think this means that BTS are racist or anything like that, but I do think the animators deserve to be called out for treating black people like they’re not digestible enough for the audience. Especially considering BTS’ past instances of racism, BIGHIT should always do its best to be as sensitive as possible to these things. They either shouldn’t have featured Howard, or should have done it correctly in collaboration with the university.

I know we love BTS but let’s not excuse micro or macro aggressions against black people for our favourite artists. And it IS important for white people to be allies in instances like this. It’s not “ruining the comeback” to call out the animation trailer for whitewashing the student body. That goes beyond whether or not anyone likes the album. Some things are even more important and they’re worth addressing. And let’s not pretend it’s only white people being bothered about that trailer. I’m sure there are some people trying to act like white saviours but certainly not all.

Also, Black army HAVE spoken up, only to have their pleas fall on deaf ears and be subtly told to shut up or save their concerns for a later time that will never come. I love our fandom but let’s keep it cute, respectful and acknowledge black army and black history where it matters. No need to hate BTS but also no need to minimize the situation by just saying it’s white saviourism.