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How BTS, Blackpink and SuperM give back through donations to charitable causes and support for social issues like climate change

  • BTS and their Army fandom made headlines last year after the band donated US$1 million in support of Black Lives Matter, which fans then matched
  • Blackpink started promoting the UN’s 26th climate change conference in February with a video titled ‘Climate Action in Your Area’

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K-pop supergroup BTS reaffirmed their commitment to the “Love Myself” anti-violence campaign in partnership with Unicef this month. Photo: Big Hit Entertainment

The world may be in a chaotic state, but many K-pop stars are hoping to make it a better place by supporting causes ranging from social justice and climate change to coronavirus pandemic relief.

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K-pop stars and their fans have a long history of charitable giving and supporting causes that are important to them. In the past, forests have been restored and schools been built in the names of K-pop stars, while donations made by, and in the name of, K-pop stars have improved the lives of many people both in South Korea and around the world.

A recent high-profile example came last year when BTS and their Army fandom made news after the band donated US$1 million in support of Black Lives Matter. Their fans also rallied to donate and matched the BTS sum within 24 hours. 

But that was far from the first – or last – time BTS and Army adopted a charitable cause: in the first week of March, they reaffirmed their commitment to the “Love Myself” anti-violence campaign in partnership with Unicef, the UN’s children’s fund.

Since 2017, the Love Myself campaign spearheaded by BTS and their management company, Big Hit Entertainment, has raised nearly US$3 million to improve the lives of adolescents across the world, and the recommitment arrives as the world enters the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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SuperM, a seven-member team featuring members of SM Entertainment groups Exo, NCT 127, WayV and Shinee, announced a similar campaign in January.

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