SPOTLIGHT 23/07/28 Korean pop music fans call for action to save the planet

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Korean pop music fans call for action to save the planet

K-Pop For Planet group seeks end to 'the structural problems in the entertainment industry'

A banner of Korean climate action group, K-Pop For Planet. (Photo: K-Pop For Planet website)

By UCA News reporter

Published: July 28, 2023 11:54 AM GMT

A group of Korean pop music fans who formed an ecological platform two years ago has continued to raise awareness about climate change and environmental protection in the East Asian nation.

Members of K-Pop 4 Planet stood at Maengbang Beach in Samcheok with placards calling for action to save the planet when famous Korean band group BTS filmed a music video in the third week of July.

The group chose the location as Maengbang Beach, a popular tourist destination about seven kilometers from Samcheok city, faces dangers due to ongoing construction of a coal-fired power plant.

Besides, the members also urged the band and K-pop fans to engage in activities to stop pollution and protect environment by providing eco-friendly options when purchasing albums, minimizing plastic packaging of albums and goods, and releasing digital platform albums.

Christina Lee Da-yeon, 21, a K-pop fan who founded the group in 2019, said that she felt guilty personally for environmental pollution regardless of her intentions. 

She said she couldn’t just watch while the earth is being damaged.

Lee says she wants to see an end to “the structural problems in the entertainment industry.”

“K-pop has a culture where you must buy a lot of albums. Since the photo cards are randomly included in the album, some people buy several copies to have the card of the member they want, and one person buys hundreds of albums to win a fan signing event. 

Everything goes to waste,” she said.

“I thought there was a need to change the way companies operate. Because it is not right to pass on the act of polluting the environment to the fans for economic profit only,” she added.

The platform began with collaboration of two Koreans and two Indonesians. In the past years, they have secured signatures of 10,000 K-pop fans from 97 countries for their environmental campaign.

Last April, the group carried out a campaign to collect 8,000 albums that were bought and discarded by fans and returned them to the agency. 

In addition, it held another campaign that calls for a pledge to “use 100 percent renewable energy by 2030" which demanded that the data center of the streaming platforms should be converted to renewable energy.

The group’s campaign has started to bear fruit.

Last year, South Korean rapper and former BTS member J-Hope released his first album “Jack In The Box” on digital platform. Besides, music companies have begun eco-friendly production.

Lee says saving the earth is not difficult as many people think so.“When I started K-Pop for Planet, I had in mind to create easy-to-understand and fresh content so that anyone can participate. As a result, we were able to unite the will of those who love K-pop and became a driving force to change the world,” she said. 

“I believe in the hope that when each person's strength comes together, we can protect the earth God created.”

This report is brought to you in collaboration with the Catholic Times of Korea