#Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation

[atzupdates]

[231117] ATEEZ Hongjoong donated to celebrate the 5th anniversary of his fanclub

On November 17, group ATEEZ Hongjoong donated 50 million won (~40,000 USD) for pediatric cancer treatment.

Hongjoong held a film photo exhibition "WALKER A" to mark his birthday on the 7th and delivered the donation, including the proceeds from the entrance fee to the photo exhibition, in time for the birthday of ATEEZ's fanclub ATINY.

This isn't Hongjoong's first time doing a good deed! On the occasion of his 25th birthday last year, he held his first private film photography exhibition called "From NOVEMBER 7 and 1998," and through this, he donated 10 million won (~7750 USD) to World Vision to help children who dream of music, exerting a good influence on many fans.

Hongjoong said, "I'm grateful that it was an opportunity to share a lot of love from fans," and added, "I hope many children who are overcoming childhood cancer will not give up treatment due to financial difficulties and dream of a bright future."

Seo Seon-won, secretary-general of the Korea Leukemia Children's Foundation, said, "Thank you for sending warm hearts for children with cancer in commemoration of the meaningful day," adding, "I hope that the good influence of the group ATEEZ Hongjoong and fans will be added to further spread the public's interest and sharing culture for children with cancer."

All the donations raised this time will be used for treatment, transplantation, and rehabilitation treatment for pediatric cancer patients. Once again, we would like to thank ATEEZ Hongjoong.

[atiny-for-life]

Creative Spotlight #1: Kim Hongjoong

Masterlist

Intro: With so many new Atinys coming in, I figured now would be a good time to shed some light on all the boys' creative solo projects over the years, big and small.

Photography

Hongjoong's love for photography goes way back to his predebut days. In one of the first videos ever uploaded to their channel, you can already see him holding a camera on the set of Pirate King.

2 years ago, in 2022, he got to announce his first photo exhibition, FROM NOVEMBER 7, 1998, as a birthday present to himself, which took place from November 1st to 7th at gallery99 and was used to collect money for charity.

There was no entrance fee but spots had to be reserved online to ensure there'd be no dangerous crowding. During the exhibition, there was a little event planned for all attendees in which fans could collect points which were then converted to money that was later donated under Hongjoong and Atiny's name. The total donated amount was 10 million won!

In Logbook Episode 101, we got to see Hongjoong visit the exhibition himself and take a stroll through memory lane.

Due to the success of the 2022 exhibition, Hongjoong held another one last year which took place between November 3rd and 9th, 2023, and was titled A Walker - the event was accompanied by the release of an original song and led to the donation of 50 million won under Hongjoong's and Atiny's name to the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation.

BY. HONGJOONG

Back in 2018, Hongjoong shared during their stay in LA as KQ Fellaz, that he barely went to school since he already started producing music during his high school days. And yes, this is during the same tear jerking monologue where he calls Ateez his family for the first time and says he needs to hurry so he can see their sleeping faces before he goes to bed.

The first time we get to see Hongjoong fully in action as a producer is during his first 1-Day-Vlog in 2020 in which he's working on his Prince cover (more on that in a second).

But now to the main event: Hongjoong has an entire series going where he covers some of his all time favorite songs. Whenever he does, he likes to make the songs his own by recording his own instrumental track and typically adding an additional Korean rap verse with self-written lyrics highlighting his interpretation of the song's message.

Kicking things off with Space Oddity by David Bowie, a classic.

Side Note: As a lover of unisex clothing/androgyny, Hongjoong is likely not just inspired musically by Bowie, but also fashion wise. You can learn more about Bowie's influence on the climate surrounding gender and sexuality here.

Dressed in white, matching both his hair and the background, Hongjoong turned himself into a clean canvas on which he projected first footage of Bowie and later some floating orbs - it's very aesthetic.

Between the original verses and chorus, he placed a Korean rap verse in which he writes from Major Tom's perspective and laments his mental state while stuck alone in outer space, asking ground control to tell his mom he loves her while stating he still appreciates the beauty of space but feels lost and lonely all by himself.

Next up, we've got Purple Rain by Prince, another classic.

Side Note: Like Bowie, Prince too was famous for being androgynous in how he presented himself and toying with what society deemed masculine and feminine. He's famous to this day among the queer community for how persistently he defied gender norms and labels. Learn more about him here.

Instead of filming himself, we get a lyric video this time, fully kept in pastel lavender. Once again, Hongjoong added a rap verse of his own in which he speaks to a lost friend, talking about how he hopes that, even though they're apart now, his friend will still recall him as being sincere and that they can still think of each other fondly and remember the good times.

In a far more elaborate production, we've got Black or White by Michael Jackson up next.

Using green screen and multiple outfits, we get a fun spectacle of a little passion project featuring multiple versions of Hongjoong, background collages, emojis, and more:

Despite being shorter than the other covers, we still get the signature rap verse preceded by his famous giggle and, this time, he's got quite a bit to say.

Diving into the lyrics, he talks about how we're all different colors. Colors which are meant to be mixed. Our roots don't define us. Throughout life, we'll all get mixed up with each other, as we should. He doesn't want to see us divided. To quote: "What's wrong with you, babe? Stop it. You've already experienced the 20th century. Blah blah by dividing groups."

The song ends with the rap verse before the video dives into the making of in which Hongjoong specifically addresses his intent to talk about social issues like Michael Jackson famously used to while he was alive (think: They Don't Really Care About Us).

So long time by Yoon Jong Shin comes next with a sepia-toned video featuring Hongjoong at a grand piano. It's a pretty ballad highlighting his vocals and the use of multiple camera angles allows us to watch him play.

Shortly before we hit the 2 minute mark, Hongjoong gets up and we transition from the shot of the piano to a cassette player while the audio shifts to the original for a moment before Hongjoong returns.

We've reached the rap verse where he mourns a lost love, speaking of memories he can't let go of, even as he pretends everything is okay. He's cold and lonely now, a little mad at himself for continuously getting lost in the memories, and calls himself a fool before we return to the cover-part of the song.

At 3:58, the song wraps up and we've reached the making of section of the video where he talks about how his cover stems from the idea of a time machine taking you through the song, with the first verse (playing the piano) being the past, the rap verse symbolizing the present, and the memories then taking back over as he gets lost in them, leading to the piano's return.

Next up, we've got Last Christmas by Wham! which opens to a short clip of Hongjoong's acting on a pretty Christmas film set before we transition to a simple white back drop.

This time, the signature rap verse comes in early at 50 seconds with a little giggle before he talks about leaving the past in the past and moving on, letting the snow settle over painful memories.

However, this time, we also get a second rap verse at 1:45, where it becomes clear he hasn't moved on at all, plus a Korean vocal section at 2:43 which carries through to the end. Here, he highlights even further that he hopes they'll reconnect next winter so they can leave the painful past behind and live out a shared future.

Hongjoong in his emo era. This is the first Ateez-related video I've ever seen because I was born in '96 and my emo phase never ended so of course this was recommended to me when it was first released.

Numb by Linkin Park got the full Hongjoong treatment and was even reported on by Rolling Stone, quote:

The cover began trending on social media and YouTube within hours of its release, but the true prize came a day later when it caught the attention of Linkin Park themselves. The rock band’s official Twitter account ‘liked’ the post on ATEEZ’s page, with co-founder and vocalist Mike Shinoda confirming on a livestream that he’d seen and enjoyed the cover. As of this writing, Hongjoong’s version of “Numb” has over half a million views on YouTube and has garnered tremendous praise from Linkin Park’s fans.

We get the black eye makeup and nail polish, the plaid half skirt, the dramatic music video with fake fog and red lighting. The rap verse comes in hard, talking about getting mentally weighed down by an abuser and finally breaking free, cutting the ties.

As a long time Linkin Park fan, I love how unique this cover is and Chester would've loved it too I'm sure. I wish he could've seen it.

Fools Garden's Lemon Tree is another classic and I come back to it on the regular because the video has such a unique vibe and the song is famous for getting stuck in your head.

The video features Hongjoong alone in a house surrounded by colorful toys and games, bored out of his mind and visibly seeking a distraction from life but failing to find something, no matter how out of pocket his thinking gets.

Shoutout to the license plate - it's the release date of the song, November 3rd, 1995.

At 1:33, Hongjoong sprints off to the basement which is doused in red and we get a warped version of his signature giggle before the rap verse kicks in. The camera work in this section reminds me a bit of his rap verse in Not Okay.

While down there, he gets more and more deranged, talking about being locked up day by day, imprisoned, losing track of time, but being unable to break out. Instead of trying to escape, he just attempts to distract himself, listening to sad songs on a loop until his pain disappears and his world switches back to yellow.

Busking Event

In 2021, Hongjoong decided to put together a busking event featuring live performances of some covers, plus acoustic versions of some of their songs. Accompanying him were both Ateez and Maddox. You can find the full playlist here:

Collaboration

3 months ago, Chungha made a return to the music scene after escaping her former label and chose Hongjoong as a collaboration partner for her new debut. Beyond his rap verse, she also incorporated a move from Crazy Form in the choreography (she's lovely):

[kpopdramanews]

Lim Youngwoong Fan Club Donates 5 Million Won to Children’s Cancer Foundation

[ericmun]

2022.02.16 Shinhwa’s Eric’s Fanclub UBERIC Donated To Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation To Celebrate His Birthday

On February 16th, Shinhwa Eric’s fanclub “UBEric” sent in donation for treatment of pediatric cancers to the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation (KCLF) in celebration of Shinhwa’s Eric’s (Moon Jung-hyuk) birthday.

The donation will be used by the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation in the name of "Shinhwa’s Eric" toward pediatric cancer treatments.

Starting their first donation in February 2014, UBEric has been donating for eight years this year. And so far, they have donated a total of 16,120,000 won to provide treatment expenses for nine children.

“The letters sent by the supported children's families is the reward and driving force for us to keep giving every year. I deeply thank the supporters for their efforts to continue again this year.” a UBEric representative commented.

The Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation issued a donation certificate to UBEric on February 16th, Eric’s birthday. The certificate contained a commemorative message saying, "UBEric is sending love to the children fighting childhood cancer again this year!"

Every year on this special day since February 2014, we would like to express our gratitude once again to UBEric, who has delivered warm love to children with childhood cancers, and to Shinhwa’s Eric, who has been the motivation for the donation opportunity.

You can read more about past donations from HERE.

Source: KCLF + Twitter Translation: EricMun.tumblr

[jindoelf]

170922 SMTOWN.Smile FB Update:

[allaboutjoongi]

Lee Joon Gi’s fans donate 3,000,000 won in celebration of actor’s birthday and 20th debut anniversary [official]

(https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=109&aid=0004386984)          

DC Inside Lee Joon Gi Gallery donated 3,000,000 won to Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation to help treat childhood cancer in celebration of actor Lee Joon Gi’s birthday on April 17 and 20th debut anniversary.

All the donated money will be used to treat children with childhood cancers under the name of ‘Lee Joon Gi & DC Lee Joon Gi Gallery,’ and the details of the support will be posted in a notice entitled ‘Decision regarding Financial Support for Sick Children’ on the website of Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation.

DC Lee Joon Gi Gallery made the donation, hoping that no child fails to get the medical care they need due to the financial hardship caused by Covid-19, and that the precious donation raised together by the fans who cherish and love Lee Joon GI will be of some help in creating a healthy and bright future for children.

Seo Seon-Won, Secretary General of Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation, said, “I was told that actor Lee Joon Gi and his fans have consistently and continually practiced good deeds and volunteer work to help those in need in our community. I hope this donation will be the ‘first water’ that can help children and their families in need of care for childhood cancers to focus solely on getting the care they need without having to worry about medical bills as soon as possible.”

Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation issued a certificate of donation under the name of ‘Lee Joon Gi & DC Lee Joon Gi Gallery,’ and the certificate makes the donation even more meaningful by including the fans’ message: “Actor Lee Joon Gi and DC Lee Joon Gi Gallery send support to children for a speedy recovery and their precious dreams.”

[mysilentmemory]

210504 Donghae’s IG story update: 5th May Children’s Day thanks for doing it together with me !!

**donation cert to the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation where Donghae is the ambassador

[lgcmedia]

I really can’t emphasize how amazing Jinseo is. A bunch of fans organized a donation for the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation for his birthday in February. Without us knowing, he went ahead and matched the amount we donated! The most amazing (and also lowkey funniest) part is that he tried to do it anonymously. He would have managed to keep it secret, but the foundation accidentally sent us the thank you letter meant for him. He’s such a kind soul, so handsome, and smart to top it off. Really makes me wonder if he has no flaws at all!

[ + / - ] OMG I was among the fans who organized the donation! I can’t believe he found out and decided to match TT [ + / - ] Who is this Jinseo guy? Everyone talks about him, but I have no idea who he is. [ + / - ] Most celebrities do these things. I’m not sure if he really tried to hide his donation or not, but it’s for a good cause so I’ll commend him and the fans for helping.

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[yoongiandlouis]

As this lovely anon pointed out Korean Louies (@/LouisT91KR) have a fundraiser for Louis' birthday!!

The charity they chose is 'Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation' and the due date is December 7th.

Here is the link for more info.

[cafedechangmin]

you inspire us @jichangwook and we want to share a bit of that inspiration and love to the sick children. 💞 congratulations on your 12th debut anniversary in the business! 👏 @glorious_enter @bangchigu @kclfnaum Posted @withregram • @jcwphilippines 'Sometimes, real superheroes live in the hearts of small children fighting big battles" . In Korea, about four children are diagnosed with cancer every day and about 12,000 children get treatment fighting cancer in a year. The sudden disease of the child can put the family in financial hardship and cause various psychological and social difficulties because the treatment usually takes a long period of time.  . We proudly announce our 1st gift to Actor Ji Chang Wook's 12th Anniversary.  . Ji Chang Wook Philippines donated to  Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation for Korean Children with Cancer. . Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation has a commitment to provide social services for children with cancer so that they can receive medical treatment and return to society healthily.  . We hope that through our donation, we can help these children in their battles. . To our JCWPH MEMBERS, we are so thankful and blessed to have you! Thank you! Happy 12th anniversary @jichangwook . . #지창욱 #jichangwook #jichangwookphilippines #jichangwookph #JCWPH #Happy12thAnniversaryJiChangWook https://www.instagram.com/p/CGqt1p-JfHv/?igshid=163x3mh68j0n

[thepachanga]

우리는 또한 태양의 생일을 위해 돈을 모으고 있습니다. 루이 생일 기부 모금 진행 중 👉 together(.)kakao(.)com(/)fundraisings(/)71037 💙

Louis에 대한 당신의 끝없는 지지에 감사한다 😭💗😭💗😭💗😭

korean louies are raising money for louis' birthday!!!! all the money goes towards korea childhood leukemia foundation in the name of louis 💙 here's the link of the fundraising: https://together.kakao.com/fundraisings/71037

[narniacloud]

Fans donate to Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation to celebrate Shinhwa's Eric's birthday

Shinhwa's Eric's fans made a donation to Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation to celebrate his 41st birthday.

The singer is turning 41 (42 in Korean age) on February 16, and to celebrate his birthday his fans donated 2.16 million won KRW (about USD $1,825) to the foundation. The fund will be used to support the children in need. The fans have been giving to the foundation on his birthday since February of 2014.  

In other news, Eric is returning to greet viewers on the screen for the first time in a while, through Channel A's upcoming Fri-Sat drama series 'Eccentric! Chef Moon'.

__

Source: allkpop

[bangtanitalianchannel]

[ARTICOLO] Quello che una boyband ci può insegnare sull’avere un impatto sociale

“Questa è l’era dei social media: i brand e gli influencer faticano a diventare qualcuno su internet e molti stanno studiando la strada migliore per aumentare la propria portata e soprattutto per crearsi un seguito. Se vi dicessi che qualcuno non solo ha già conquistato questo obiettivo, ma lo sta anche sfruttando per esercitare un’influenza positiva, penso che non sarebbe difficile credermi. Ma se vi dicessi invece che questo ‘qualcuno’ è una boyband sudcoreana che al momento sta avendo un successo travolgente in tutto il mondo? Se non avete sentito parlare di loro probabilmente trovereste assurdo tutto ciò, ma se il nome non vi è nuovo ve lo aspettereste di sicuro. Gli incriminati sono i BTS, ovvero i ‘Beyond The Scene’, ‘Bangtan Boys’ o ‘방탄소년단’ in coreano, che si traduce come ‘boy scout antiproiettile’.

Recentemente il gruppo, formato dai membri RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V e Jungkook con un’età compresa tra i 21 e i 26 anni, è arrivato al punto di ottenere oltre 49 milioni di engagement su 18 milioni di follower su Twitter. Ad oggi sono l’unico account sulla piattaforma a raggiungere questo numero. Tuttavia, i loro successi non sono solo legati alla loro attività sui social media: nel 2018 sono infatti diventati le persone più giovani (di parecchi anni) a ricevere l’‘Order of Cultural Merit’ in Corea del Sud, il che è simbolo del loro successo e della loro influenza sulla cultura coreana e del loro contributo all’‘Hallyu wave’, ovvero alla portata internazionale della cultura sudcoreana.

I BTS hanno debuttato nel 2013 e dal quel momento hanno continuato a cantare, danzare e rappare nella loro scalata verso il successo. Hanno iniziato con un sostegno economico minimo – è risaputo che avevano dovuto prendere in prestito l’auto di uno dei produttori per girare un video musicale. Tuttavia, il loro impegno costante e la loro passione la musica li ha portati a catturare l’attenzione di milioni di fan: è accaduto che qualche volta siano rimasti a provare le coreografie per 14 ore in un giorno; inoltre scrivono e producono immancabilmente le loro canzoni, ogni tanto addirittura rilasciando dei mixtape o altri loro lavori gratis. Questo esercito di fan (letteralmente chiamati A.R.M.Y.) non appartiene al tipico segmento demografico normalmente al seguito di una boyband. Molti di coloro che si definiscono ARMY si rivelano essere adulti - addirittura genitori e nonni - che apprezzano la musica dei BTS e partecipano ai loro tour mondiali con i propri figli. Non si possono analizzare i BTS senza includere il loro fandom (ovvero il loro gruppo di fan) dal momento che la loro attività e la loro presenza online sono una forza da non sottovalutare. Insieme, il loro impatto va oltre la musica e la cultura e, come vedremo, si estende anche alla politica, all’economia e in particolare alla società.

L’impatto politico ed economico dei BTS

Andando oltre la musica, nel 2018 l’impatto culturale dei BTS ha anche raggiunto i livelli della politica. Lo scorso ottobre, infatti, il gruppo ha partecipato ad un concerto organizzato a Parigi per celebrare l’amicizia tra la Francia e la Corea del Sud con una sorta di incontro culturale tra i due Paesi. Hanno presenziato all’evento Moon Jae In, presidente della Corea del Sud, e molte personalità di spicco sia francesi che coreane. L’influenza e la popolarità globali dei BTS li hanno certamente resi degli ambasciatori non ufficiali del loro Paese, nonché una specie di “arma” pacifica. Il gruppo non è, tuttavia, estraneo ai temi politici, già affrontati in diverse occasioni, come per esempio nel loro singolo di debutto, “No More Dream” o nella traccia  successiva “N.O”, nelle quali è denunciata la pressione che pesa sulle spalle della gioventù sudcoreana soprattutto nell’ambito scolastico, ma anche in altre canzoni, come “Am I Wrong” o “Change”, quest’ultima frutto della collaborazione fra il leader Namjoon e il rapper americano Wale, che spingono all’azione e al cambiamento. Il video musicale del singolo “Spring Day”, invece, è stato pensato come un omaggio alle vittime del naufragio del traghetto Sewol avvenuto nel 2014, un evento che, all’epoca, divenne un caso mediatico e scatenò accese polemiche contro la politica sudcoreana.

A tutto ciò si aggiunge il potere economico dei BTS che deriva dall’avere una larga distribuzione demografica di fan che investono in tutto ciò che riguardi il gruppo, dalla musica che potrebbero avere gratis, ma che decidono comunque di portare in cima alle classifiche mondiali a qualsiasi tipo di brand con il quale gli artisti abbiano un contratto. Attorno ai BTS soltanto c’è un giro d’affari di più di 60 milioni di dollari (N.B/ circa 52,3 milioni di euro), ma si stima che ogni anno facciano affluire nelle casse della Corea del Sud 3,6 miliardi di dollari (N.B/ equivalenti circa a 3,1 miliardi di euro). Indipendentemente dal settore, le loro sponsorizzazioni sono sempre estremamente produttive, basti citare la Hyundai Palisade, SUV che ultimamente il gruppo sta pubblicizzando e che nella prima giornata di prevendita ha fruttato all’azienda automobilistica coreana 3.500 ordini, l’equivalente di cinque mesi di vendite per altri SUV di produzione straniera. Parimenti negli ultimi tre mesi, grazie alla collaborazione dei  BTS con la Kookmin Bank, più di 120.000 piani di risparmio sono stati aperti, per un bilancio totale di 60 milioni di dollari circa, mentre il recente partenariato con la Mattel, produttrice della famosa bambola di Barbie, ha fatto aumentare dell’8% il valore delle quote azionarie dell’azienda. Come se non bastasse, poi, anche conversazioni casuali possono avere un impatto economico, quando si tratta dei BTS, come quanto accaduto recentemente con Jungkook, uno dei membri del gruppo, che, parlando con i fan su un social, ha menzionato di usare l’ammorbidente prodotto dalla Downy, facendo inconsciamente sì che la Downy vendesse l’equivalente dello stock di due mesi nel giro di poche ore. Essendo incidenti del genere capitati già diverse volte, ormai i media coreani li riconoscono come risultato di quello che chiamano “Effetto BTS”.

Ciò in cui il gruppo crede si traduce sempre in azioni concrete

Per essere d’ispirazione ad un seguito del genere, tuttavia, popolarità e fortuna non sono abbastanza. Sono infatti le idee ad ispirare le persone, ed è nel momento in cui queste si traducono in azioni concrete che il pubblico si sente incoraggiato ad afferrare le redini della situazione. Prendiamo adesso in esame le convinzioni che stanno a cuore ai BTS e ai loro fan e sulle quali lavorano insieme.

Oltre alla volontà dei BTS di aiutare ed incoraggiare i giovani e di raggiungere più persone possibili, il loro messaggio vuole trasmettere due cose: inclusività ed identificazione. Sembra però che il sentiero per raggiungere questo obiettivo sia stato difficoltoso.

I BTS hanno le loro radici nell'hip-hop: prima di unirsi al gruppo RM e Suga erano rapper underground e J-Hope un ballerino hip-hop. La conoscenza dell'hip-hop e delle sue origini non sono così prevalenti nell'industria d'intrattenimento coreana, per questo un viaggio a Los Angeles e l'incontro con i mentori Coolio e Warren G è stato loro utile per capire realmente la cultura e il suo significato.

Successivamente in un'intervista il leader RM ha spiegato cos'ha imparato da Warren G per quanto riguarda il significato di hip-hop: "Non importa quale sia la tua nazionalità o da dove tu provenga, l'hip-hop è un tipo di musica che è sempre pronto a dare spazio a chi apprezza l'hip-hop stesso. Quindi non ci si deve lasciar frenare da qualsiasi tipo di pregiudizio."

Inoltre quando nel 2016 i fan fecero notare un problema in alcuni dei loro testi che sembravano essere misogini, loro hanno ascoltato e hanno reagito. Ora, come RM ha spiegato in un'intervista, si accertano di consultare specialisti per essere sicuri che i loro testi non siano più in qualche modo offensivi. I BTS lavorano duramente per integrare l'inclusività nel loro messaggio.

E per quanto riguarda l'identificazione? Questo elemento c'è sin dall'inizio. Fin da quando hanno iniziato a partecipare alla scrittura della loro musica i membri hanno affrontato (nei loro testi) problemi personali e vicini a loro. Nei primi album possiamo trovare le difficoltà legate alla scuola, liceo o università. Successivamente i temi si sono trasformati in paura di crescere, solitudine e anche problematiche come la salute mentale sono state affrontate.

La loro ultima serie di album "Love Yourself" è stata scritta come viaggio verso l'amare se stessi, passo per passo, esplorando relazioni tossiche e dannose e il pericolo dell'illusione, prima di arrivare ad un'epifania (una canzone è letteralmente chiamata "Epiphany") per trovare la risposta definitiva: amare se stessi. Mentre non tutti possono soffrire degli stessi problemi, tanti possono trovare conforto in canzoni in cui possono identificarsi anche se le circostanze sono diverse.

Oltre ai messaggi trasmessi attraverso le loro canzoni, i BTS hanno sin da subito prestato la massima attenzione alle loro azioni e a come queste azioni traducono ciò in cui credono. In particolare il gruppo ha una storia di donazioni e beneficenza. Per esempio il rapper Suga il giorno del suo compleanno ha mantenuto una vecchia promessa che consisteva nel comprare ai fan del manzo coreano (notoriamente molto costoso) donandone una parte a 39 orfanotrofi.

Lo stesso giorno i fan hanno fatto una donazione a nome dello stesso artista alla Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation. È infatti diventata una tradizione per i fan quella di donare o organizzare campagne di beneficenza per i compleanni dei membri. Quando UNICEF ha collaborato con Star Wars per la campagna #RoarForChange gli ARMY hanno usato il loro particolare potere su Twitter per raccogliere il milione di dollari, traguardo che si sperava di raggiungere in un mese ma raggiunto in poco più di 24 ore. L'UNICEF è anche collaboratore dei BTS, con la serie Love Yourself tradotta da settembre 2017 nella campagna #EndViolence e #LoveMyself, che ha raccolto più di 1,4 milioni di dollari in un anno. Inoltre, il gruppo è parte della nuova campagna dell'UNICEF Generation Unlimited, lanciata in settembre 2018. Orgogliosi di questo coinvolgimento, gli ARMY si sono persino uniti a formare One In An ARMY, un'organizzazione che ogni mese sceglie un ente benefico diverso in modo da raccogliere fondi e campagne per incrementare la consapevolezza legata al problema: tra quelle già aiutate, NGOSyriaCare, che provvede cibo per i rifugiati siriani, e Thirst Relief, che procura acqua potabile in diversi paesi.

Un'influenza positiva

Ora che abbiamo esaminato perché i BTS ispirano, attraverso le loro idee e azioni, gli altri, passiamo a studiare l’estensione della loro influenza e del loro impatto sugli stessi. Anche se prima di tutto sono artisti musicali (cantanti, rapper, ballerini, scrittori, produttori…), utilizzano diversi mezzi per comunicare la loro arte, che in cambio ispira anche gli altri a sviluppare la propria creatività. Una trama che prosegue attraverso diversi loro video musicali e canzoni, per esempio, è ora raccontata anche per mezzo di un webtoon (fumetto online), nonché di un libro, che sarà rilasciato a marzo. Usano anche “Highlight reels”, o corti, per raccontare la storia. La vita reale (invece), uno sguardo dietro le quinte al loro tour mondiale del 2017, è stata raffigurata attraverso un documentario su YouTube ed un film rilasciato nei cinema mondiali, che mostrava un nuovo tipo di sincerità e vulnerabilità, in quanto il pubblico ha scoperto il lato oscuro dei riflettori e la pressione e le sofferenze che sopportano. Anche i libri non sono inusuali nella loro arte: l'album Wings è basato su Demian di Herman Hesse e la canzone Magic Shop su Into The Magic Shop di Dr. James R. Doty. Allo stesso modo, i fan ricambiano sviluppando abilità in diversi settori, che siano artistici o musicali con cover e fanart, o incrementando la loro conoscenza dell'industria dell'intrattenimento. Molti gruppi si sono formati, come club del libro, o per aiutare negli studi, condividere consigli sulla carriera o ricette da tutto il mondo. In questi casi, internet ha veramente aiutato il mondo a diventare un villaggio globale. Diversi giornali online sono stati creati e i fan hanno la possibilità di imparare a scrivere, modificare video, creare siti web e guidare campagne di marketing.

In molti modi, queste piccole cose mostrano il considerevole impatto che il gruppo ha avuto nelle vite di molte persone. Ma grandi eventi e progetti rivelano la sua vera estensione. Lo scorso settembre, i BTS sono apparsi davanti alle Nazioni Unite per il lancio dell'ultima campagna dell'UNICEF, Generation Unlimited. Il loro discorso ha fatto il giro del mondo, e per una buona ragione. Il leader, RM, si è rivolto alle Nazione Unite con un lungo discorso, interamente in inglese, in cui ha raccontato la sua storia. Ha incoraggiato così il suo pubblico ad esprimersi e a guadagnare sicurezza:

“Abbiamo imparato ad amare noi stessi quindi vi incoraggio ora a ‘parlare di voi stessi’. Vorrei chiedere ad ognuno di voi: qual è il tuo nome? Che cosa ti emoziona e fa battere il tuo cuore? Raccontami la tua storia. Voglio sentire la tua voce e voglio sentire la tua convinzione. Non importa chi tu sia, da dove vieni, il colore della tua pelle, la tua identità di genere: fai sentire la tua voce. Trova il tuo nome e trova la tua voce parlando di te stesso.”

La rivista TIME li ha dichiarati parte dei Leader della Prossima Generazione, un tributo alla loro influenza positiva e alle tante cose che verranno.

L’orgoglio nel loro retaggio coreano, chiaramente visibile in numerose loro esibizioni e canzoni, le quali usano strumenti coreani tradizionali o vengono scritte in dialetto, ha avuto un impatto enorme: la loro dedizione nel continuare a cantare e a comunicare esclusivamente in coreano ha spinto i fan ad imparare la lingua. Una fan e parlante inglese racconta in questo articolo come imparare una nuova lingua e scoprirne la cultura l’ha portata a realizzare come si fosse sempre aspettata che gli altri la salutassero in inglese e a come non avesse mai pensato di venire loro incontro almeno a metà strada.

Non solo i fan riscoprono vecchie tradizione ma sfidano anche i comportamenti cosiddetti normalizzati, come l’invasione della privacy e il razzismo su internet, argomenti discussi da gruppi numerosi in server speciali creati su Discord, in un tentativo di risolvere queste problematiche attraverso il dialogo piuttosto che attraverso un ciclo ripetuto di offese, scuse e dimenticanze. I problemi riguardanti la privacy e il mobbing nella vita reale cercano di essere risolti anche attraverso il progetto Purple Ribbon ARMY, il quale ha lo scopo di ridurre il mobbing nei confronti del gruppo negli aeroporti durante i loro tour mondiali o in altri luoghi visitati durante la loro schedule. Come possiamo vedere, c’è un vero sforzo mirato a portare il cambiamento e rendere un pochino migliore, magari, la vita delle persone.

Che cosa possiamo imparare quindi da questo fenomeno? Beh, se vuoi allargare la portata della tua influenza, ecco qui alcune delle cose a cui dovresti prestare attenzione. Prima di tutto, ciò in cui credi e come ti comporti di conseguenza: le persone ti seguiranno se si immedesimeranno nelle tue intenzioni e giudicheranno le tue azioni come significative. Affidabilità, inclusività e apertura mentale ti faranno fare molta strada nel mettere le persone a proprio agio con le tue idee e i tuoi progetti. Infine, se commetti un errore, impara da esso e fai in modo che le tue azioni future mettano in mostra ciò che hai imparato. E ricorda: il mondo - e internet - possono essere un bel posto se tu li aiuti a diventare tali.”

Traduzione a cura di Bangtan Italian Channel Subs (©Cam, ©Clara, ©CiHope, ©jimindipityR, ©lynch ) | ©Medium.com

[ericmun]

210216 Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation: UBeric Made Donation for Medical Expenses in Celebration of Shinhwa’s Eric’s Birthday

Shinhwa’s Eric’s supporters, ‘UBeric’, delivered 2.16 million won (Eric’s birthday) to the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation on February 16th to celebrate the 43rd birthday of Shinhwa’s Eric (Moon Jung Hyuk).

The donation received will be used by the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation to fund the treatment of childhood cancer under the name of ‘Shinhwa’s Eric.’

Started the first donation in February of 2014, UBeric has been donating for 7 years this year and has donated a total of 15,120,000 million won ($14,000) so far to cancer treatment and medical expenses for 8 children.

A master from UBeric stated, “I’m happy to deliver love this year as always to the children who are our future under the name of Eric (Moon Jung Hyuk). I hope the children who receive support will complete their cancer treatment safely and grow healthily into leaders of tomorrow.”

The Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation issued a donation certificate under the name of ‘Moon Jung Hyuk’ on February 16th, the day of the celebration. The certificate contains a message saying, “To celebrate Moon Jung Hyuk’s birthday, we are sending love to children fighting childhood cancer this year as always!”

Once again, we would like to thank ‘UBeric’ for delivering warm love to children with childhood cancer in celebration of a special day since February of 2014 and ‘Shinhwa’s Eric’ for being a inspiration of the donation.

Source: Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation Translation: EricMun.tumblr

[jindoelf]

Birthday Support project by CharmanderD1015: To celebrate his birthday they made a donation in his name (as ambassador) to Kora Childhood Leukemia Foundation 2017.10.15 #HAPPYDONGHAEDAY 우리 #동해 오빠생일기념 소아암 어린이 위한 #후원금 #기부 했습니다^^ ♥ ☞https://t.co/tukKcRiK5b #슈주리턴즈 #SuperJunior #Donghae #한국백혈병어린이재단 They responded & said that overseas fanclubs Charmander. Helious. QiuQiu & violet Donated to the center 👏👏👏 171015 @gockclf twitter: #슈퍼주니어 #동해 해외 팬클럽 #파이리디 #해리오스 #Violet #QiuQiu #생일기념 소아암 어린이 위한 #후원금 #기부 ♥ ☞https://t.co/L9IILDJWKU #HappyDonghaeDay #슈주리턴즈 #SuperJunior #Donghae #한국백혈병어린이재단

[shutupkimjongdae]

[TRANS/ARTICLE] Korean vs Chinese Fans on Gift-Giving Culture; Chinese Fans of Chen Participate in Adoption Programs This is a compilation consisting of the four related written works below:

Title 1: 140530 "From subway ads to a dolphin" Chinese fans' gift-giving culture is on a-whole-nother level

Title 2: 130904 Kim Jongdae received a dolphin as a birthday present from Chinese fans

Title 3: 180628 Evolution of fans’ love, everything about the gift-giving culture

Title 4: Notable animal adoptions made under CHEN’s name by Chinese fans; Adoption programs under World Wildlife Fund - Hong Kong

140530 "From subway ads to a dolphin" Chinese fans' gift-giving culture is on a-whole-nother level

(picture shown above) Caption: Adoption certificate of a dolphin that was adopted by a Chinese fan for member Chen (real name Kim Jongdae) of the group EXO Hallyu (Korean Wave) has almost become a familiar word to us now. Especially in our neighboring country, China, Hallyu has become very popular. China is the second largest country by total area and has the largest population; it's truly a 'continent'[1], and they're huge compared to us. Proportionally, the number of fans in China who love and support K-pop stars is huge. What is the difference between Chinese and Korean fan culture? Then, how does the fan culture in China differ from that in Korea? In order to find out more about the fan culture in China, we conducted both online and in-person interviews with 15 Chinese fans, who are either fans of a K-pop idol or have high interest in K-pop. Surprisingly, the Chinese fan culture seems to be not much different from the Korean fan culture. Fans from both China and Korea are more than willing to follow the idol no matter where they go, frequently interact online, and sometimes even meet up in person. They sometimes buy a gift for the idol together. And most importantly, most of the fans are young women of ages between 12 and 25. We are guessing the fan chants and different ways of supporting an idol that are popular in Korea may have affected the Chinese fan culture since (most) K-pop stars are from Korea. "We are jealous of the Korean fans who have better chances of seeing the idol in person" (ID: zhuangyixinge). "If we like the same idol, that means we are family" (우치[2], 12, Sichuan). Some of them expressed jealousy and a sense of comradeship/relatability towards Korean fans. While doing the interview, the most interesting and noteworthy thing we discovered about China's fan culture is the huge gift-giving culture. "There are two traits that Chinese fans have. First, they're rich, and second, they're rich" (거이몽[2], 23, Henan). "The Chinese fans really give a lot of gifts to the idols" (구이쩐[2], 21, Sichuan). As though proportional to the size of population, the number of wealthy fans among the Chinese fans is also large. In Korea, they call gift-giving to an idol as "paying a tribute", but it seems silly to call the gifts given by the Chinese fans as "tribute" since they are on another level. They even spent tens of millions of wons to put up birthday ads for an EXO member in Korean subway stations The second generation K-pop group who is gaining a lot of popularity in China, EXO, has also received many interesting gifts from Chinese fans. Chinese EXO fans are famous for putting up members' birthday ads in subway stations or bus stations, which usually costs several million won.

Caption: An EXO member Xiumin's birthday ad on a subway station wall Just like the fans of other popular K-pop groups like Super Junior[3], EXO's Chinese fans celebrate the members' birthdays through a bus or subway ad. This March[4], member Luhan had his birthday, and the Chinese fans have put a birthday ad on the 420 bus in downtown Beijing, which costs around 20 million won, for two years in a row. Besides this, EXO is famous for having received unique gifts from their Chinese fans. They used hot air balloons and trucks to celebrate LAY's birthday and to celebrate the member CHEN's birthday, they adopted a dolphin living in the Northern Scotland region under his name, which is very unique. Ultimately, the fans' love for their idols is the same no matter where they are from. There is a small difference in their fan culture, but it could be that the Chinese fan culture was also influenced by Hallyu; there is no striking difference between the Chinese and the Korean fans. However, because there are many fans from China who are well off, some Chinese fans will give such fancy gifts that we can't even imagine. But recently, many K-pop idols have stopped accepting gifts that are too expensive. Even in Korea, instead of physically buying idols expensive gifts, the fans have started to do things like donating money under the idol's name or doing volunteer work, and the fan culture is becoming more about giving back to society and is changing in a positive way. We are guessing the Chinese fans will be influenced by this too, and the idols will be receiving less "tributes" in the future and will be given more heartwarming gifts.

130904 Kim Jongdae received a dolphin as a birthday present from Chinese fans[5]

It looks like they didn’t buy the ownership, but are financially supporting a wild dolphin[6]. Its name is SUN DANCE, meaning dancing in the direction of the sun. I also heard they are building a 'Jongdae library' in Mongolia. Amazing. Chinese[7] fans are another level. Last time they gave him a star as a birthday present.

180628 Evolution of fans’ love, everything about the gift-giving culture

Summary: Interview with Kim Yoonha, a popular culture critic, regarding fan culture. Mentions various idols and what their fans have contributed to the culture. Unrelated parts omitted. Recently, there have been more cases where the fans do volunteer work or other acts of kindness as a gift to their artists. Especially since more celebrities[8] are telling the fans directly that "the love you give us is enough, we will not accept gifts and hope you will use the money on something better". For example, there are many fans who have helped build things like wells and libraries in (financially) struggling areas like some countries in Africa to show their love to the artists[9]. Recently, there were some really interesting gifts. You know, the endangered species[10]. Animals such as dolphins. EXO CHEN's fans, they sponsored wild animals and gifted (Chen) the adoption certificate of a dolphin[11]. Another interesting and popular way of showing love to their artists is buying a constellation under their names.

Notable animal adoptions made under CHEN’s name by Chinese fans; Adoption programs under World Wildlife Fund - Hong Kong

Chenest (2013): Bengal Tiger under Kim Jong Dae

SmileKJD (2014): Giant Panda under Kim Jong Dae

TwinklingChenstar (2014): Chinese White Dolphin under Chen from EXO

far more endangered than pandas and thus is called “panda of the water”

motivation: nickname “one who came from the star of the dolphins” (pun on 2014 K-drama “You Who Came From the Stars”) given to Chen by Korean media because of his high notes of the whistle register (often referred to as dolphin sounds)

also known as “Pink Dolphin” since upon adulthood, their skin turns pink, which is fitting as “our Jongdae likes pink the most~”

Chenest (2014): My Baby Shark Project under Kim Jong Dae

6 young sharks as well as their mother

the sharks’ locations can be seen via Google Maps or Google Earth (location IDs stated on certificate)

5 baby sharks have been named as various forms of Chen’s name: Kim Jongdae, Chen, Chen Chen, 金鐘大 (his Chinese name),, Jongdae; the 6th one is named after Chenest (meaning: hoping Chenest can accompany wherever Chen goes)

Notes: 1. ‘continent’ = slang expression some Koreans use to refer to China even though it’s not actually one; as neighboring countries, both China and Japan often come up in conversation and are referred to by their distinct landforms: Korea as the peninsula, Japan as the island, and China as the continent as it is neither the aforementioned nor landlocked) 2. Names of Chinese fans have been left in their already translated Korean forms due to irrelevance and possibility of inaccuracy. 3. Unrelated (non-EXO) parts omitted. 4. The article said March, but Luhan’s birthday is 4/20 (and thus the 420 bus). 5. Redundant parts omitted. 6. This particular dolphin adoption (by fansite C-C Lemons) is mentioned again in following article. 7. Following from previous note [1] above, this post also refers to Chinese fans as “continental” fans. 8. Chen is one of these idols; he announced on 160719 that he will no longer accept fan gifts. 9. Some known fan donations under Chen’s name: UNICEF, Korean Animal Welfare Association, Save the Children, The Snail of Love, Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation, ALS Association, “Chen” Forest, Siheung Jungwang Social Welfare Centre, scholarship for students attending his alma mater (mentioned on 160921), etc. 10. Other animals adoptions have also been made under Chen’s name. See next part. 11.. We are not sure if there is a particular “recent” dolphin adoption the critic is referring to (as this article was published recently in June 2018). All related information that was found is on adoptions made in 2013-2014, mentioned above already.

source: x x x x x x x translator: jen + phyl please do not repost without permission!