Ahead of their grand comeback with the anthology album Proof, BTS and Big Hit Music have become hot potatoes. According to the released tracklist, this new smash includes the song “Filter,” composed by Bang Si Hyuk and Autumn Vacation’s Bobby Chung. But the problem is that Booby Chung was indicted last year on charges of sexual assault and illegal filming that led to the death of an aspiring singer and is currently on trial.
Soon after the Proof tracklist containing “Filter” got released, the K-pop fans started pouring out criticisms. The prevailing opinion is that a song written by a sexual offender should not be re-released. On Twitter, posts with the hashtag “Bobby_Chung_Song_Boycott” were constantly tweeted, and it was none other than ARMY that had started this hashtag. These are some of the comments – “I don’t want to hear it even at their concerts,” “Fans of the junior groups are watching us.”
Even BTS members couldn’t avoid criticisms as the label explained that the boys had selected the songs for the second CD themselves. For a long time, the group has been opposing discrimination and violence through their music. One time, when the song they released early in their career was pointed out as being misogynistic, the boys either changed the problematic lyrics or omitted it entirely during concerts. However, this decision of theirs to include Bobby Chung’s song in their new album could possibly make people question their sincerity.
Seo Jung Min Gap, a popular music critic, stated, “It’s only natural for fans to protest against the decision to include the song Bobby Chung participated in the songmaking of. The problem is that the industry, including the agencies, does not show respect for such oppositions.” In fact, Big Hit Music is only concentrating on promoting without making any statement regarding the ongoing controversy. Seo continued, “If they don’t properly state their position on violence or human rights violations, they may be considered realigning or even abetting with such acts. And this could severely damage the BTS that have touched the hearts of many as the portrait of sincere youths.”
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