“Fly to My Room?” More like: “Fly to Pennsylvania Avenue!”
South Korean superstars BTS met with President Joe Biden on May 31 as part of the administration’s ongoing celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month.
The arranged meeting saw group members Jin, Suga, RM, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook join the president in a powerful discussion about the importance of Asian representation and inclusion amidst ongoing anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination.
“We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes,” Jimin said. “To put a stop on this and support the cause, we’d like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again.”
J Hope added, “We are here today thanks to our Army—our fans worldwide—who have different nationalities and cultures and use different languages. We are truly and always grateful.”
Jungkook shared that the band was “still surprised that music created by South Korean artists reaches so many people around the world…we believe music is always an amazing and wonderful unifier of all things.” Suga also added, “It’s not wrong to be different, equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.”