They braved sweltering heat, they pressed their faces to the fence, they clutched cameraphones in the hope of glimpsing their idols.
The dozens of young fans at the White House gates resembled a pop concert on Tuesday – but the adulation was not for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, whose approval ratings are on the slide. The Korean pop sensations BTS were here to give sleepy Washington a shot of adrenaline, discuss Asian inclusion and representation and address hate crimes against Asian people.
“I would say thank you for helping me love myself a little more,” said Damaris Monroy Hernandez, a student spending her 16th birthday hoping to meet the K-pop group. “I’m just happy they came here because I love the fact that they’re spreading awareness about the Asian hate that’s happening in the world. They’re amazing people.”
As Hernandez spoke, someone in the crowd said, “One, two, three … Stop Asian hate! Stop Asian hate!” and others joined in the chant.
BTS-mania was also evident in the White House press briefing room, where journalists from South Korea and Japan stood in the aisles. The room had not been so full since a reality TV star became president.
“Oh, wow!” said the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre. “So much excitement.” She joked: “I know – it’s the Fed chair meeting, right?”
BTS’s seven members – who go by the names J-Hope, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin, RM and Jimin - lined up behind her, dressed uniformly in dark suits, white shirts and black ties reminiscent of the films Men in Black and Reservoir Dogs. Each gave short statements, mostly in Korean, assisted by an interpreter.
Jimin said: “We were devastated by the recent surge in hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes. To put a stop to this and support the cause we’d like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again.”
Suga added: “It is not wrong to be different. I think equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.”
And V remarked: “Everyone has their own history. We hope that today is one step closer to respecting and understanding each and every one as a valuable person.”
Since making their debut in 2013, BTS have become known for lyrics and social campaigns aimed at empowering young people. The Grammy-nominated boy band thanked their fans, known as “the army”, for their continuing support and praised their diversity.
J-Hope said: “We are here once again thanks to our army, our fans worldwide, who have different nationalities and cultures and use different languages. We are truly and always grateful.”
Jungkook added: “We are still surprised that music created by South Korean artists reaches so many people around the world, transcending language and cultural barriers. We believe music is always an amazing and wonderful unifier of all things.”
The group filed out without taking questions and made the short walk to the Oval Office on what was the last day of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders heritage month.
Next up at the briefing room lectern was Brian Deese, director of the national economic council, a technocrat who cannot be described as one of Washington’s more colourful or flamboyant figures.
Slipping a pen into his breast pocket, he raised his eyebrows and smiled wryly as the international media contingent fled the aisles and some reporters laughed at the jarring gear shift.
Deese said: “OK, so I get to go home and tell my kids that BTS opened for me. I did not expect that when I woke up this morning, and I know that you’re all here to talk about trimmed mean inflation, and you’re as excited about that as you are for them.”
It turned out trimmed mean inflation did not set pulses racing. Later Jean-Pierre was asked whether BTS had been filming a music video at the White House. She neither confirmed nor denied it.
“You heard from them directly, about how important it was for them to use their platform to be here to talk about issues that matter to them, in particular the anti-Asian hate that we have seen across this country these past few years,” the press secretary said.
Crimes against Asian Americans rose by more than 300% last year, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, as Donald Trump continues to encourage Americans to blame China for the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden last year signed a bipartisan bill geared at addressing the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes into law.
The BTS visit made for one of of Biden’s more unusual days since taking office. Earlier he met New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, a political rock star in her own right; had lunch with Harris; and met the Federal Reserve Board chairman, Jerome Powell, along with the treasury secretary, Janet Yellen.
History will judge whether the 79-year-old’s subsequent meeting with BTS produces an image as memorable as Richard Nixon’s encounter with Elvis Presley in 1970.
• This article was amended on 1 June 2022. BTS have twice been nominated for a Grammy but have not won one as an earlier version stated.
