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Image source, Reuters
K-pop fan club OR groups that love South Korean artists is becoming a major political force in the movement against the Thai government. Raising millions of baht for protesters and related organizations In addition to using dance and social media to inspire and encourage young people to attend meetings.
Reuters reported. Earlier this year K-pop fans in the US surprised many by using the power of social media to fund the Black Lives Matter campaign to fight racism, as well as to cause chaos for his second campaign. presidential. Donald trump
In that country His fondness for culture and artists has long been associated with Thai youth. And joining forces to support this next protest reflects the frustration of the younger generation who are dissatisfied with the use of power by the government to silence dissent.
“K-pop fans just want to be the fans who look up to our ‘oppas’ without being interested in anything else. But the way our country is like that. We as citizens have to ask for the best, ”said Supin Chaya, a 23-year-old K-pop enthusiast.
Chayanit Cherdthamthorn, a researcher for Korean studies, stated that K-pop fans seem to be a lot of protesters. That is, a young person, mostly women, AND competent in the use of social networks.
The incident that prompted K-pop fans in Thailand to move in support of the protesters was an incident on October 16 when police used high pressure water to break up the rallies.
Image source, EPA
At that time, “Areeya” was not present at the assembly. A Twitter poll has been started from the fanbase account of the Girls’ Generation fan club, which has over 17,500 followers, to explore whether they would help make a donation. Can the water supply system be connected to this protest?
It seemed that the response was better than expected. As K-pop fans are familiar with fundraising, large billboards have been erected in public spaces to celebrate events such as birthdays or the release of new albums by favorite artists. I like
Areeya, 23, told Reuters that “Many were unhappy with the police crackdown and the use of violence against unarmed protesters that day. So they turned their anger into a donation. “
In just 9 hours a group of Thai fans of the group Girl’s Generation. Calling himself SONE, he raised over 780,000 baht when combined with donations from fans of Korean artists. Also known as the “fandom” (fandom), other groups increased their total donations that week to exceed $ 4 million.
Arya and her teammates have used the proceeds to purchase protective gear, such as a helmet that protects the eyes. They were then distributed to protest participants in various locations, and everything was recorded for transparency.
Image source, Reuters
“Many were unhappy with the police repression and the use of violence against unarmed protesters that day. So they turned their anger into a donation. “
The largest donation was made to the Center for Lawyers for Human Rights. A non-profit organization that provides legal assistance to more than 90 protesters arrested since the middle of the month. Oct.
“Jan”, 27, who raised more than 700,000 baht from a Super Junior fan club called ELF in just 22 hours, said: “We are proud to support what we are doing. We believe and do it on behalf of those we love. “.
Yaowalak Anuphan, Director of Human Rights Lawyers, said: “Suddenly we had more than 10 million baht in our bank account … I was surprised by the K-Pop fans.”
Image source, Reuters
At the same time, according to the social media accounts of K-pop fans. Who usually post stories and news about your favorite artist Become a political issue Hashtags were used in support of the protests. And use the hashtag “shovel” among people who love the monarchy Along with satirical text using K-pop slang
The appearance of K-pop followers was also very common during this protest. It can be seen in the vertical signs, which look no different when going to a Korean artist’s concert. Or even put a photo of a favorite Korean singer to put in a gold frame, the same way most Thais use photos of the royal family.
His knowledge of Korean history and pop culture has also inspired the protests taking place in Thailand.
Natchapon Chalayakul, 24, recently joined Girls’ Generation’s “Into the New World” dance. In a recent protest, the song was sung at a South Korean student rally that led to the ouster of President Pak Geun-hye in 2017.
“K-pop fans read stories about South Korea. And when we look back at our country, we all wonder why we can’t be in the same place as them, ”Natchaphon said.
“As the song says, we also need something new for our country.”
