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| From top left, BTOB's Seo Eun-kwang, OH MY GIRL's Hyojung, DAY6's Wonpil, and members of THE BOYZ, ATEEZ, AB6IX and Weekly appearing in Kstars 4 Climate's campaign video / Courtesy of Climate Media Hub |
By Ko Dong-hwan
To K-pop artist Lee Dae-hwi from AB6IX, climate change is a key issue facing the "next generation." To his bandmate Kim Dong-hyun, the damage caused by environmental degradation will lead to "tears of humankind." To Juhaknyeon of THE BOYZ, protecting the planet is "your responsibility."
"We have been hearing a lot about polar bears or the environment being destroyed, but we don't really seem to care. Why? Because we think that none of this is our business," said Juhaknyeon in a climate crisis campaign video released by "Kstars 4 Climate" online on Thursday. "The home in which you are living could become submerged under water, and our favorite seasons like spring or fall may no longer exist because of climate change."
BTOB's Seo Eun-kwang said protecting the environment is "a task for all of us," and added that the earth is becoming a place where many organisms have difficulty living. "We tend to be reluctant about doing our tasks and want to do it later," the boy band member said. "But you know we cannot keep putting it off."
"You know when you keep delaying what you are supposed to do, you will eventually wind up getting nothing done, right?" Weekly's Park So-eun said. "Whatever you do, it's best when done consistently. The same goes with combating climate change."
Thirty-one K-pop stars from seven different bands, including Day6, ATEEZ and OH MY GIRL, gave their own impromptu definitions of climate change in the video by writing them on a T-shirt. It was an unprecedented campaign in Korea that, by being launched on the 41st Earth Day on Thursday, hoped to encourage millions of global K-pop fans to play their part in reducing their carbon footprint, using more renewable energy-based electricity or recycling waste.
K-pop has built a significant fan base across the world in the past few years, thanks to globally successful bands like BTS, BLACKPINK, Red Velvet and TWICE. As of 2019, there were 1,799 K-culture fan clubs in 98 countries, with about 100 million members, according to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"I believe our small actions for environment can lead to a meaningful change," Hyojung from OH MY GIRL said. "I hope more and more people will care about climate change, which needs global efforts to be tackled."
The British Embassy Seoul was behind the campaign as an official sponsor. "It's great to see more influential Korean voices like these speaking up for climate action," Simon Smith, the British Ambassador to Seoul, said. "The climate crisis is the greatest challenge that we face, but it is within our power to address it. We all need to act now to protect our planet for future generations."
The campaign released the video on its homepage as well as YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Following the main video released Thursday, more will be updated every two weeks until the end of June.
Lynn Kim from Korea's climate action specialist group, Climate Media Hub, said that because fostering change requires creativity, the artists are expected to express themselves through various ways in the upcoming videos. "Ultimately, halting climate change requires everyone to get on board," Kim told The Korea Times. "And finding new ways to get the message out is essential."
K-pop's engagement with climate action is gaining traction. Last March, a website called Kpop4Planet was launched by a team of K-pop fans and climate activists so that fans of different K-pop acts can gather and share ideas and opinions about the climate crisis.
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