By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
October 6, 2018
I am feeling salty today. So grab a cup of hot tea (and maybe a slice of delicious cake) to make this all go down better.
Full disclosure: I asked for — but was not granted — an interview with BTS this tour. That’s OK. I profiled them last year and did a think piece on them for Rolling Stone this year. I was not invited to attend their concerts. That’s also OK. Those press seats were rightly reserved for the music critics who would review the shows.
Neither of the major dailies in my home market (Chicago) chose to send anyone. Why? There are many reasons, but the justification I can politely point out is that the editors here don’t view BTS as newsworthy. That’s poor judgment in my opinion, but I don’t run the newspapers.
Because most music editors are men, few will admit to liking boy bands even if they do (which they probably don’t). One of the reasons why I covered boy bands during my previous staff position at a Chicago daily was because it was dumped on me. No one wanted to cover it, because it was viewed as having little value, even though these acts were selling out stadiums nationwide. Frankly, I didn’t want to cover them either, but I was good at it and grew to appreciate some of the groups and their music.
Which leads me to this post. This morning, I woke up early, already cranky from a back spasm. Several people on Twitter had tagged me regarding an in-person interview that Richard Lloyd Parry of The Times had done with BTS.
There are some instances when I disagree with fans: I do not care if BTS is described as a K-Pop group. It doesn’t bother me at all if other Korean groups are mentioned in the same breath as BTS. And frankly, I’m not pressed if critics don’t like BTS. However, I would like them to articulate why they don’t like the music, rather than merely pointing out they’re pretty and dance well.
But we are on the same page when it comes to this piece, which starts off describing Min Yoong-gi as a “pale and delicate” young man. 👀 Yikes. Why not just call him a lotus blossom and get it over with?
OK, I can live with that opening, I guess. But the article veers off into xenophobia when Parry points out that RM is the only member who’s fluent in English, but he doesn’t speak it perfectly. It’s almost as if this reporter doesn’t understand that English isn’t the primary language spoken by Koreans in South Korea.🤔
In the first paragraph below, Parry is baffled by RM’s usage of English syntax. In the second paragraph, he is challenging the notion of RM’s fluency and intelligence by including quotes in a way to make it as awkward as possible. He makes no effort to paraphrase RM or to break the quotes up so that it flows better:
Some of you may be saying, “But, Jae. RM said it and so it would be unfair to not include all the words that he said.”
🍵 Here’s the tea: Like any reporter, I can make a person I interview sound stupid if I want to. But why would I want to, right? What I saw in that second paragraph are discourse markers that people use in conversation to fill empty space, because the other person is expecting him to talk. For RM, they most likely were used to buy himself a few seconds of time while he translated his Korean thoughts into English. I know that’s what I do when I go back and forth between the two languages.
There’s no shame in not speaking English perfectly as a foreign language. But it is obnoxious to use a person’s words specifically for the intent of shaming them.
At one of my previous jobs, there was a reporter (a white woman) who went out of her way to make Asian immigrants sound stupid by printing their broken English verbatim. Meanwhile, she cleaned up her own language to make herself sound more articulate. When called on it, she feigned innocence, saying that she didn’t want to edit out their voice. Uh huh. And yet when she interviewed white people, she edited out all their whatever, um, like, you know etc.
When we were new immigrants to the U.S., my father worked at IBM as a computer programmer. For quite a long time, he ordered the same thing for lunch every day: apple pie and coffee. It wasn’t until many years later that I learned that the reason he ordered that odd lunch was because he could say those words without any trace of his Korean accent. My smart, handsome, multi-lingual father didn’t want to be teased by the cafeteria workers for his broken English.
That was literally decades ago. It’s disappointing to see that despite all the time that has passed since then, not much has really changed.
I may add more to this later. But for now, I will leave you with the speech that RM wrote for the United Nations last month. His speech was heartfelt, poetic and beautiful … and he delivered it in flawless English.
© 2018 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
Here’s why: Middle-aged white men are viewed as the default voice of reason. Send a woman and she’s a “groupie.”
I have been watching kdramas and listening to kpop for almost 3 years now and that has been the catalyst for me learning korean. While learning Korean I have gained an appreciation for people who learn English as a second language. I can’t even imagine shaming someone for not speaking a language perfectly when it’s not their native tongue.
Reading this made me so angry. I wish I had anything else to say about it. I can’t even bring myself to read the whole article he wrote. Just the snippets you included here.
Thank you so much for writing this, Jae! The reporter was beyond obnoxious! I’m so upset! I can’t believe he would denigrate BTS like that! He also didn’t even seem to know the difference between their last names and their first names (calling Yoongi “Min” and Jimin “Park”). And he’s based in Tokyo and can’t seem to know the difference? Also, doesn’t Yoongi spell his name Yoon-gi? One “g” and not two? It’s as though this man didn’t even bother to do proper research before interviewing the group! There are so many things wrong with the interview!! I’m very, very upset!! Again, thank you, Jae, for writing this piece and speaking up about this.
The name thing is standard reporting style but your other points are correct. The man wrote a horrible article.
Hi Karla, it is Min Yoon-gi or Yoongi. Everyone makes a spelling error here or there, so the copy editor just didn’t catch it. It’s common practice in journalism to refer to people by their last names, so Min and Park are correct. I know it can all be confusing, but I hope this helps!
Also, depending on which publication I’m writing for, I write the names American style. i.e. Yoon-gi Min.
You failed to mention that this person who interviewed them is not from the US at all in your disparaging remarks about American culture. I honestly also don’t care if the women in your anecdote was white or purple, it is her behavior not her color that makes her sub par. I would think that if you are so willing to admit to your ability to make someone look good or bad in an article then “why would you want to make them look bad”? This drivel does nothing for BTS, if anything it brings more light to an article that should be buried. Are you working to get this Richard Lloyd person clicks, cause that is all you accomplished with this article. There is a reason you didn’t get an interview with BTS and it is plain as day right here.
I’ll bite. What’s as plain as day?
Reading comprehension is your friend. Go read it again and then come back to discuss.
My post wasn’t a biography on Parry or a condemnation about American culture. By your logic, I should never point out any racist behavior that I have witnessed in the U.S., because it makes America look bad. How does keeping quiet improve conditions for people who are being ridiculed and/or abused?
Goonza said: “I honestly also don’t care if the women in your anecdote was white or purple, it is her behavior not her color that makes her sub par.”
I really dislike comments like this, because it reduces actual racism into a glib soundbite.
I don’t work for BTS. My job isn’t to “protect” them from negative coverage. They are grown men who can handle life as it happens. I do find it disturbing that you want to censor what their fans should and shouldn’t read. Regardless of Parry’s “drivel,” shouldn’t the individual have the freedom to choose if he or she would like to read the piece? By the time I read it, I saw that it had already been shared by thousands of fans, some of whom enjoyed it. I don’t think less of them for liking it. Why do you?
Finally, my life doesn’t depend on whether I get to interview BTS (or anyone else) again. So while your last remark was meant to make me feel bad about myself, it only makes me feel sad for you.
I hope you have a nice day.
Would just like to say they’re not being very mature when they’re still making very presuming digs at you for not getting interviews with BTS when they clearly don’t know the work you’ve done. To me that’s a failed attempt at being “civil.”
The person doesn’t know how the industry works. I reviewed a very popular band’s concert & pointed out some faults. On their next tour, their management still offered me an interview. Bands/management aren’t stupid, esp. when reviews point out constructive criticism.
So, it appears that I can not log into any social media without seeing that someone is trying to silence a truth teller.🤬
I love you and I respect and admired your wisdom. Everyone has their own opinion on things but the most beautiful of them all is the fact you hold your ground on your opinion and I admired a bull head ! You know I’ve always been a fan of yours 💞
They took their time to tell you off! YOU’VE MADE IT TO THE BIG TIMES! Don’t worry. I still love you. 🤗
Jae-Ha, Jae-Ha, Jae-Ha, Girlfriend, YOU ARE THE REAL MVP 👏👏👏💜💜👏👏
“They are grown men who can handle life as it happens” I love that line.
.. reading your article, and then reading the comment left for you, it is easy to assume that the person has never been on the receiving end of the mockery one faces when trying to modulate between languages with completely different syntax.
And is one of those “Manager Armys”
It doesn’t truly matter the origin of the interviewer. The main point was that the person went out of their way to portray the guys in a less than favorable light.
Your comparison of the interviewer to your former colleague is valid in their treatment of their subjects.
So, for the commenter to say what they did, it boggles the mind.
I hope this finds you well,
Tea in hand, with a fine slice of 무지개떡.
You have my full support and 💜
I’m really glad you wrote about it. Thank you. It irks me to know there’s someone out there with a platform who felt empowered enough to try and shame when in fact, trying to mock someone’s use of a second language whom is making an effort… that’s where shame is.
Serious question: are you high? You make no sense at all.
I’m about to pop off. Listen Gonza you are an embarrassment to the fandom. stop it.
What is your point? I mean, like, I literally don’t know what you’re complaining about. You sound crazy and are the type of ARMY that gives us bad names. How is she making the U.S. look bad? Is she supposed to make up having dealt with prejudice in other countries to make it all even steven because she pointed out some stuff that happened in the U.S.? She’s American and works in America so most of her anecdotes are going to be about America. Deal with it.
lmao i can guarantee you that this whiner is a white woman snowflake.
I’m confused. I read this twice and saw no “disparaging remarks” about American culture. Are you one of those nationalists who thinks that anyone who says anything negative that has ever happened to them in America is a hater?
She’s not BTS’s press agent and it’s not her job to promote them or write only good things about that. With all that said, how does this article hurt them? Also she doesn’t post links to the original article which has already been shared by BTS fans. How is that her fault? It was shared by them long before she wrote this.
This is dangerous rhetoric when some white woman (and let’s face it this commenter is a white woman) says that pointing out racial discrimination is disparaging to the United States. Not pointing it out is disparaing to the United States!
😠 this person needs to love herself. honestly i don’t even understand her point because she is just spewing useless garbage. i loved the article you wrote jae and thank you for saying what needed to be said. you are also sweet to protect this person. she does not sound nice.
Some people have way too much time on their hands.
“You failed to mention that this person who interviewed them is not from the US at all in your disparaging remarks about American culture.”
How is this a failure? Does a British journalist get a pass on making fun of RM’s English speaking? What disparaging remarks did she make about American culture? Yes please be specific.
“I honestly also don’t care if the women in your anecdote was white or purple, it is her behavior not her color that makes her sub par.”
A purple woman can’t be racist because she does not exist. It’s like comparing something to a unicorn. Her behavior is tied to her color and if you can’t see that that’s on you. The woman being white is telling because it is white people who are most often racist towards Asians. It is a relevant piece of detail, just as it would be a relevant piece of detail if an Asian American reporter was making fun of a different ethnicity.
“I would think that if you are so willing to admit to your ability to make someone look good or bad in an article then “why would you want to make them look bad”?”
That literally makes so sense. What are you trying to say here?
“This drivel does nothing for BTS, if anything it brings more light to an article that should be buried.”
Why does this article have to do anything for BTS? What does that have to do with a journalist and her writing? Why should the article be buried? Who died and left you as the arbitor of good taste?
“Are you working to get this Richard Lloyd person clicks, cause that is all you accomplished with this article.”
Are you insane? There is no link to the the article she is talking about. Also if she was working with Dick, don’t you think she would write a fawning article and include links in her post so everyone could easily click? Are you that stupid or are you just being a douche?
“There is a reason you didn’t get an interview with BTS and it is plain as day right here.”
LMAO! Though immature fans think otherwise, BTS isn’t the pinnacle of a journalist’s career. She has interviewed actors and singers who have won multiple Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, and Grammys.
I salute you Alexa!
THIS!!
Big Hit shared Jae’s interview last year so your weak implication that Big Hit didn’t like her article is false. Also if you haven’t been paying attention, none of the outlets that talked to BTS last year got interviews this year, so you can take your bitchy attitude and leave.
This is crazy. When I saw that he did his research based on THAT book…. I remember it’s the book I thought about getting until I read the reviews by ARMY saying just how factually incorrect it was before giving it a single star, which didn’t even deserve that much. And what he’s saying about what he read even seems a little off. It makes them seem very average and irrelevant, even like “whats so special?”. Kinda triggered me tbh lol
I absolutely agree. So tired of white male privilege which legitimizes itself by condemning anything which is seen as challenging to the maintenance of the said privilege.
Jim, I find those signs amusing, too. 😊And I also agree with you about the criticism. I thought it must’ve gone over his head that he was in Korea, interviewing Koreans who were doing their best to accommodate HIS language barrier and he pointed out errors in … syntax. 🙄
Good grief! Why do others feel the need to tear others down at all. I always think it’s their own insecurities. Kim Namjoon’s English is better than my Korean will ever be.
Good thing Armys aren’t worried about an uninformed writer who just doesn’t know how to appreciate BTS like we do. Kim Namjoon’s grasp of the English language is amazing. #LoveYourself
I thank you for writing this post. It is unacceptable how RM was treated, it is below the dignity of the journalistic profession. It says more about Parry than his RM. It brought tears to my eyes to read your anecdote about your father. I am so sorry he was treated that way. I am a white American, and I was privileged to meet a Korean PhD. student by happenstance. He had a lovely Korean name, but introduced himself as Ben. I basically told him, “$&#@ what these people think, make.them.say.your.name. This is America. The world comes here.” I invited him to a church barbecue, and I hope he made many American friends after me (my phone got lost and I wasn’t able to find him again).