BTS Speaks Out Against Anti-Asian Violence In Letter Sharing Their Experience With Discrimination

Mar 30, 2021

On March 30, BTS uploaded a post condemning hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

With their post, which has the hashtags “#StopAsianHate” and “#StopAAPIHate,” BTS joins the movement to put an end to the recent surge of discrimination and violence against Asians. In both Korean and English, BTS details the ways they were also discriminated against as Asians and shows solidarity with the movement to end racism and violence.

BTS’s letter in English reads as follows:

We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. We feel grief and anger.

We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians.
We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English.

We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem.

What is happening right now cannot be dissociated from our identity as Asians. It required considerable time for us to discuss this carefully, and we contemplated deeply on how we should voice our message.

But what our voice must convey is clear.

We stand against racial discrimination.
We condemn violence.
You, I, and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.