Jakarta, Indonesia — JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) —
Fans of Korean pop bands around the world are increasingly channeling their millions-strong online community into climate and environmental activism, protesting trade deals linked to coal energy, urging K-pop artists to reduce waste and raising awareness about climate-related issues.
Other climate activist groups have begun joining forces with Kpop4Planet, an environmental group founded in 2021 by K-pop fans Nurul Sarifah and Dayeon Lee. After Kpop4Planet petitioned South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co., it recently canceled a deal linked to coal-fired power plants in Indonesia.
The ability to quickly organize a large, dedicated group has made K-pop fans an increasingly influential online lobby as they participate in protests and promote causes including the Black Lives Matter movement. Politicians have also tried to harness this power.
“I realized how K-pop fans can be seen as a potential powerhouse,” said Sarifah. “We believe we can harness this power for action against climate change.”
In 2021, Korea Beyond Coal — a coalition of civic groups calling on South Korea to stop using coal energy — teamed up with Kpop4Planet in 2021 to raise awareness about plans for a coal-fired power plant.
The factory site near Maengbang Beach, the location of the photo shoot for the album cover of one of K-pop band BTS’s hit songs, is a popular destination for the band’s fans and a joint petition created by Kpop4Planet and Korea Beyond Coal got thousands of signatures.
“We realized that Kpop4Planet has experience in mobilizing and connecting people and sharing information using social media… which is very useful when it comes to climate campaigns,” said Euijin Kim, communications officer at Solutions for Our Climate, which does part of Korea beyond coal.
The plant is still operating, but the groups have managed to raise awareness about the environmental issues caused by coal power, Lee said.
“We want to show the power and influence that K-pop fans can have… we believe that if we all come together, we can make better social impacts and perhaps change our society in more sustainable ways,” said Lee. “And, Of course, let’s love K-pop together.”
Korean pop culture fan club activism and philanthropy began in the 1960s, said Stephanie Choi, a postdoctoral associate at the University at Buffalo who studies K-pop culture. Now, K-pop fans regularly organize thousands of people on social media platforms to buy gifts for extremely popular K-pop singers and bands or promote other causes.
Sarifah and Lee have aligned Kpop4Planet’s activities with several causes, starting with calling on entertainment companies to reduce culture-related waste from K-pop fans collecting photo cards of band members, which are included in albums and sold as goods. K-pop record labels often release multiple versions of albums with dozens of different photo cards, encouraging fans to buy albums in bulk to enter sweepstakes for meet-and-greet events with K-pop stars.
“The problem is that it creates a lot of waste,” Lee said in an interview. “We wanted to address this issue first because it was the most well-known issue among K-pop fans.”
Entertainment companies have not responded directly to Kpop4Planet’s petitions and other outreach, but Lee still sees the campaign as a success.
“There were changes after our campaign: major entertainment companies published environmental, social and governance reports and published eco-friendly albums, including some record releases using QR codes to minimize waste,” she said.
Kpop4Planet’s petition against Hyundai protested a deal the company signed to buy aluminum from coal-fired projects in Indonesia.
The memorandum of understanding signed in 2022 with a unit of one of Indonesia’s biggest coal miners, Adaro Energy Indonesia, gave Hyundai the right to buy low-carbon aluminum from an industrial park that Indonesian authorities portray as “green.”
However, the smelter used to produce the aluminum will initially be powered by newly built coal plants. Hydroelectric and solar energy will power the industrial park later.
Given K-pop group BTS’ collaboration with Hyundai, Kpop4Planet saw a chance to put its influence into action. In March 2023, Kpop4Planet launched a petition calling on Hyundai to withdraw from the project until the coal phase-out and to disclose details of the energy used to manufacture the aluminum. The petition gained more than 10,000 signatures in two months, and Kpop4Planet sent its appeals to Hyundai Motor headquarters. In March, Hyundai Motor said it had terminated the agreement with Adaro.
“Following the expiration of the MOU at the end of 2023, both companies have decided not to renew it and to explore other opportunities independently,” a Hyundai Motor spokesperson wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
Adaro did not respond to a request for comment sent by the AP.
“This is a victory for thousands of people, friends who took action and also show that they genuinely care about the climate crisis and local communities,” said Sarifah.
___ Asia Entertainment Editor Juwon Park in Seoul contributed to this report.
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