BigHit Entertainment Announces Their Stance On Recent Issues Regarding BTS
Recent issues have arisen regarding BTS members wearing clothing in the past that included images of the atomic bomb and the Nazi symbol. An international Jewish rights association also denounced them for waving a flag during a performance that contained images similar to the Swastika.
BigHit Entertainment released a long statement explaining their stance on the recent issues. They first began by emphasizing that BigHit and its artists do not condone any relations to the atomic bomb or the Nazi party.
[공지] 최근 방탄소년단에 제기된 이슈들에 대한 빅히트엔터테인먼트의 입장
(https://t.co/1uhd2xTW4N) pic.twitter.com/wM2yBIP3KA— BigHit Entertainment (@BigHitEnt) November 13, 2018
“BigHit is against – and do not condone – any references to wars, bombs, etc during promotions for BTS or any of our artists. We are clarifying that BigHit had no intension, and never will have the intensions, to harm anyone who was hurt by the Atomic Bomb.
BigHit is against – and do not condone – any totalitarianism or extreme political organizations, including the Nazi party, in relation to BTS or any of our artists’ promotions. We are clarifying that BigHit had no intension, and never will have the intensions, to harm anyone who was hurt by the history related to these types of organizations.”
— BigHit Entertainment
They formally apologized for not being more careful about the apparels and imagery that their artists presented. They clarified that the fault lays with BigHit and not any of their artists.
“We would like to clarify that the responsibility falls onto BigHit, who are in charge of the artists but had failed to take detailed precautions. Our artists have no responsibility or relations to the many details of the promotional situations.”
— BigHit Entertainment
They also explained that the flags that BTS waved during Seo Taiji’s concert did not depict the Swastika. It was merely a creative imagery that criticized the standardized education system of totalitarianism beliefs.
“The performance was criticizing the society’s ‘Classroom Ideals’ of a standardized education system.
The related flag and images are creative artworks that are not related to the Nazi, and the performance was to mock the standardized and totalitarianism education system.”
— BigHit Entertainment
They concluded by reiterating that they will learn from their mistakes to become a better, more careful company that does not cause harm to anyone in the world. They also revealed that they’ve formally apologized to the associations that were offended by the recent happenings.
“BigHit and our artists will not only consider the lessons we’ve learned through the recent issues, but also build a foundation of understanding various societies/histories/cultures. We will carefully review all of the details regarding BigHit and its’ artists promotions, so that no one will be hurt from our actions.
Once again, we sincerely apologize for everyone who was hurt by our failure to carefully review these issues.”
— BigHit Entertainment
Read BigHit Entertainment’s full statement below:
“Hello, this is BigHit Entertainment.
There has recently been a lot of issues arising relating to BigHit Entertainment’s (BigHit) artist, BTS. Our position about the issues are as follows.
1. These are the recent issues that BigHit examined.
- Issue regarding one of our artists wearing an apparel with an image of the Atomic Bomb.
- Issue regarding one of our artists wearing a hat containing the Nazi symbol for a past photoshoot in Korea.
- Issue regarding our artists waving a flag with a mark that potentially reflects the Nazi symbol while participating in an event performance
2. The following is BigHit’s stance on the issues.
- BigHit is against – and do not condone – any references to wars, bombs, etc during promotions for BTS or any of our artists. We are clarifying that BigHit had no intension, and never will have the intensions, to harm anyone who was hurt by the Atomic Bomb.
- BigHit is against – and do not condone – any totalitarianism or extreme political organizations, including the Nazi party, in relation to BTS or any of our artists’ promotions. We are clarifying that BigHit had no intension, and never will have the intensions, to harm anyone who was hurt by the history related to these types of organizations.
3. BigHit would like to apologize for the following issues.
- In regards to the apparel featuring the image of an atomic bomb, BigHit did not have any negative intensions whatsoever as mentioned before. We have confirmed that the design was not created with the purpose to cause pain to any of the atomic bomb victims. Nevertheless, we sincerely apologize for failing to realize beforehand that we could unintentionally cause pain to the victims by having one of our artists wear the shirt, as well as everyone who felt uncomfortable by having one of our artists be related in any way to the atomic bomb image.
- In regards to the hat with a Nazi symbol being worn during a past photoshoot, BigHit did not have any negative intensions whatsoever as mentioned before. Regardless that all of the outfits and accessories related to the photoshoot was provided by the responsible media, we sincerely apologize for failing to realize beforehand that we could unintentionally cause pain to the victims of the Nazi party, as well as everyone who felt uncomfortable by having one of our artists be related in any way to the Nazi party.
- We would like to clarify that the responsibility falls onto BigHit, who are in charge of the artists but had failed to take detailed precautions. Our artists have no responsibility or relations to the many details of the promotional situations.
4. BigHit would like to give an explanation about the recent issue regarding an event performance.
- The event in question is a scene from 2017, where BigHit’s artists participated in the anniversary performance for Seo Taiji, a legendary artist in Korea. The performance was criticizing the society’s ‘Classroom Ideals’ of a standardized education system.
- The related flag and images are creative artworks that are not related to the Nazi, and the performance was to mock the standardized and totalitarianism education system.
- As mentioned before, it is untrue that the performance had any connections with the Nazi. Instead, we believe it needs to be addressed that the images hold a creative element that criticizes the totalitarianism belief.
5. BigHit will do its best to improve in the future by learning from the recent issues.
- BigHit exists for the purpose of ‘giving comfort and touching the hearts of everyone around the globe through music and artists.’ We understand that it is our duty to be more considerate about many elements while living in the generation of variety and inclusiveness. We are doing our best to carry everything out well.
- BigHit and our artists will not only consider the lessons we’ve learned through the recent issues, but also build a foundation of understanding various societies/histories/cultures. We will carefully review all of the details regarding BigHit and its’ artists promotions, so that no one will be hurt from our actions.
- Once again, we sincerely apologize for everyone who was hurt by our failure to carefully review these issues.
6. In order to resolve these issues, BigHit will be taking these measures.
- BigHit is currently underway in apologizing and explaining our stance to the Atomic Bomb Victims’ Associations in Japan and Korea.
- We have sent a letter to the Simon Wiesenthal Center containing our explanation about the issue and an apology to those who could have been hurt by the recent issue.
— BigHit Entertainment
