The context is historical.
Koreaboo
4 minutes ago
Ahead of the release of Arirang, BTS have come under fire for alleged racism and whitewashing in content for the upcoming release.
BTS | HYBE
When the release’s title was first announced, fans digging into its possible meaning discovered the story behind the first recording of “Arirang.”
In the 1890s, seven Korean students recorded the song while attending an American university, making it the first documented recording in history. This sort of preservation remains important to this date due to the meaning the song has taken on.
The seven Koreans who recorded “Arirang.”| New York Post
This was depicted in the animated trailer for BTS’s album, which showed them connected to the “seven Koreans.”
However, one important detail of the original recording of “Arirang” is that it took place while the group were attending Howard University, a historically black college/university. The university was established to help educate former slaves, and at a time of racial inequality was one of the few universities that offered education to anyone.
The students were also reportedly housed amongst Howard University teachers.
| HYBE Howard University | TripAdvisor
In the animated trailer, the scene where the seven are shown singing for a crowd at the university, only a few black people are seen and are behind white individuals.
In 1887, about a third of Howard University’s student population was white, according to The Washington Post. The video did state that there were historical inaccuracies possible, and that it was a “modern reimagining.”
As a result, some have seen this as a whitewashing of history, accusing BTS of racism.
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