Some netizens thought the criticism was petty.
Koreaboo
1 hour ago
BTS‘s new teaser for “SWIM” has been hit with major criticism for the “English” skills.
The members of BTS
Since the album was announced, the use of “English” in the teasers and foreign producers in the credits sparked criticism.
BTS’s Catches Flack For English Song Titles And Foreign Producers On “ARIRANG”
On March 19 (local time), BIGHIT MUSIC released the second teaser for “SWIM.”
BTS (방탄소년단) Official Teaser 2
(https://t.co/H8crSKJUoe)#BTS #방탄소년단 #BTS_ARIRANG #BTS_SWIM pic.twitter.com/YIOfUt5K34
— BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) March 18, 2026
When the latest teaser was shared, posts went viral as netizens criticized the English pronunciation of the lyrics in the short teaser. While some were malicious, others shared it as showing a lack of “professionalism.”
“SWEM”
“SWEM”
“I JUST WANNA BIBE”
If you wanna make an English album, make sure to learn the spelling and pronunciation properly.
An album that is supposedly about Korean culture having English lyrics and whoever’s voice that is sounds like a messpic.twitter.com/VY2mh04gQ3
— Mei Mei (@forfunfunny) March 19, 2026
A album apparently about Korean culture about to have English lyrics and whoever voice is that sounds a mess LMAOOO pic.twitter.com/rhHHHRhgWR
— jiminieoppa (@HHivllj) March 18, 2026
They’re professionals, If they want to sing in any language, the least that’s expected is that they know the basic stuff. In the teaser you can’t understand “swim” 😭 It seems they’re only using English for convenience, not because they’re interested in it or know the language pic.twitter.com/Q5Aco6KnAR
— d (@callebites) March 19, 2026
Yet, BTS were defended by netizens, with some even claiming the post was xenophobic, especially as the members are Korean rather than native English speakers.
is this not just straight up xenophobia https://t.co/resglok8eo
— al ౨ৎ (@ihrtaro) March 19, 2026
BTS