By Jae-Ha Kim
January 28, 2022
jaehakim.com
Happy (almost) Lunar New Year!
Let’s get right to it, shall we? This woman started a thread of K-pop journalists who she felt weren’t doing their jobs of protecting her boys from racist comments. Who? BTS. You know, that super famous talented group of Korean multi-millionaires who have lawyers, managers and agents to protect them against libel and slander. (This isn’t even counting their millions of fans, known as ARMY, who have their backs at all times.)
I have no idea who these people are, but if anyone thinks I run to Instagram to stir up stans, you’re misguided and incredibly dense. I’m not verified on IG like I am on Twitter, where I have ten times as many followers. And the majority of my IG followers are foodies.
And not for nothing, but I’ve been writing about racism before anyone in BTS was even born. So to make up this garbage and only get upset when something happens to BTS is myopic. As if the rest of us don’t suffer from injustice and aren’t impacted by anti-Asian hate. And as if racism rolls off our shoulders and doesn’t negatively effect our own well being.
I wrote this a year ago & it’s still happening. We are not your punchline. Ashley Park should not have been put in the position of having to defend fellow Koreans when Kimmel equated BTS w/COVID. These jokes are racist & fuel hatred towards all Asians.https://t.co/jWxbGQyWoa
— Jae-Ha Kim 김재하 (@GoAwayWithJae) January 22, 2022
To chastise me for not protecting her oppas fast enough for her liking is so incredibly entitled and twisted. People like her hate everyone included on her little expose thread. Why do they want people they don’t like, respect or trust to do anything? If they hate us that much, why not approach other people you do respect to do your bidding? But, of course, that wouldn’t get them the admiration of their fellow haters.
She started her thread off with me, probably because she dislikes me the most. Yay? And she and her ilk chastised me for not doing what she wanted me to do. They don’t seem to care that I’m not a K-pop writer — because saying that I am fits their narrative better — or how racist they come across assuming that I must be, because … Korean.
Of course, these people make no sense. I, a Korean woman, benefit from Asians?? But I don’t use my connections to support Asians? Is she high?
After how he treated Ashley, this doesn’t surprise me at all. Remember, this is the man who had an affair with a woman whose standup routine referred to Asians as ch—s. Birds of a feather… https://t.co/k9ZGxBIwQ5
— Jae-Ha Kim 김재하 (@GoAwayWithJae) January 28, 2022
Have they already forgotten about Brian Steinberg, Harry Shearer, Matthias Matuschik (1) (2) (3), emasculation of Asian men, Anne Hegerty, THR, Richard Lloyd Parry (1), (2), and Ethan-gate (which resulted in my receiving tens of thousands of racist messages from some of his two million followers)? Many of these tweets were followed up by articles I wrote, like these two pieces about BTS and anti-Asian hate in Teen Vogue (1, 2). I wrote an essay about what BTS means to Asian Americans in general and adoptees specifically in Burdock. And I wrote about their socio-political relevance in Rolling Stone. I also penned other posts on my personal website.
And while BTS may be the only Asians some of these stans are truly concerned about, I care very much about my community. And I have written editorials and think pieces about racism against Asians not for a year or two, but for decades. The security at my previous newspaper had to be tightened after I received numerous death threats for chastising radio shock jocks, who joked about Asians as “Chinaman.” I’ve even detailed the racism I faced as an immigrant, and how heartbreaking it was to see my child face slurs at our local pool. This is all documented.
I’m disgusted by the likes of Kimmel, who use BTS as jokes, w/o caring that it’s this type of humor that dehumanizes Asians/get us bullied/beaten/killed. Omicron is not a joke & to conflate a disease w/ an Asian group is irresponsible. At least pretend to be a decent human being.
— Jae-Ha Kim 김재하 (@GoAwayWithJae) January 28, 2022
This should be obvious to anyone who has ever held a job. But, journalists are not available to write about everything at any given moment. Journalists have deadlines and responsibilities first and foremost to their employers. We also have families to take care of and our own personal lives to tend to. Not seeing a comment from us doesn’t mean that we condone racism. Us having large platforms and not speaking up fast enough for you (or at all) doesn’t mean we are racist.
Also, when we know that a colleague is writing about a topic, we are not going to talk over them when they’re literally getting the job done. We are also not going to reveal what they are writing. That is not our place. Why is it so difficult for some people to comprehend this?
And for everyone who believes that getting paid to write is somehow abhorrent, you need to get a clue. If you want to write for free, do so. If your writing isn’t polished enough to get published by an outlet, then start your own blog. While my personal website costs money to maintain, literally anyone can sign up for a free Tumblr blog. There are numerous free online options.
I say this often, but I’ll say it again: Unless you are members of my immediately family (particularly my mother!) or my employer, I owe you nothing, especially my precious time.
tl;dr: Combatting racism isn’t accomplished by whoever makes the first social media post or writes the first article. It’s a lifelong commitment that focuses on the victims —all of them — and not just one specific group that you happen to favor.
Note: Thank you to everyone who sent screenshots. I’ve updated this as time permitted, because…I’m busy. People can try to spread lies, but it’s more than fair to hold them accountable. This post isn’t a rebuttal, so much as it is a summary. Cheers!
© 2022 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
EXTRA, EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT:
K-drama Adoption Storylines Are Making Positive Strides, But There’s More Work to Do
Tin Machine gives its singer power to be Simply Bowie
The Racism BTS Continues to Face Is Part of Larger Anti-Asian Xenophobia
The Epik Highs and Lows of Tablo
Rolling Stones at Soldier Field
“Minari”: Deconstructing the American Dream
lmao those two tweeting at Jae are crazy and not crazy good. Delusional. That one big mouth thinks she did something and that SHE’s the reason anyone made any comments. I don’t think she realizes that everyone she tried to boss around is an adult with a job and their job isn’t to be BTS’s mouthpieces ffs. I didn’t see her write anything about it. But that’s what hypocrites do: nothing.
In the real world, this Kimmel thing isn’t news and publications aren’t going to free up their skeletal staff to write about a non story. Sounds harsh but it’s the truth.
And how does she know that all these journalists didn’t pitch story ideas about this and were turned down? Does she think anyone can just walk in and say, “I’m going to write about BTS” and the publicaitons will just say Yes!!!! lol She’s a moron.
Personally, I think too many journalists are bullied by haters and too many protect these stans by not showing their usernames or addressing them in public on social. Jae has a public account. People are using her for clout and to gain their own followers. Honestly just stop covering their names. Share their stupidity. Get them kick off of Twitter so they don’t continue to do this to you and others. Hold them accountable!!!
The problem is that people with large followings who are supposedly adults like that dumass phd Omer will use that to hate on Jae some more. She does it constantly and her lemmings continue to eat up all her garbage.
For all the whiners bleating about Jae not writing about this issue. Think about it. Teen Vogue posted their article written by their editor about this and then almosts immediately after it ran, Jae made her first tweet about this. If these children used their pea brains, they could figure out that Jae already knew about the article. She didn’t write one because it was already written. She tweeted about this after the article ran so she’s not taking attention away from it.
Or she was busy working and didn’t have time to write about this or she was busy not working and had other things to do. Regardless of why she didn’t write an article, it’s none of our business and she is not under any obligation to write anything about BTS or anyone. She’s not even a Kpop writer so I don’t know why everyone has their panties in a wad over this. Talk about racism. These asses think she’s a Kpop writer because she’s Korean.
THIS! They are so racist and don’t do any minimal research to support their crazy theories.
That racist bitch started a whole thread of journalists she hates and then her equally stupid minion has the caucasity to say that YOU ARE BENEFITING from Asians… Are they too stupid to know you are Asian and that you’re not a fucking Kpop writer? God gave everyone brains and look how it’s wasted. I’m sorry you have to deal with racists like these people.
She started the thread off with Jae, too. Such a passive aggressive move going after a popular journalist. She’s not only racist, she’s also a misogynist. Notice how just about everyone in her thread is a woman.
I did. @megaminimoni_ had always been problematic. She’s not Army. She’s basically a saesang.
I don’t think she’s white tho.
You can be black and racist against Asians too. That makes it worse for one minority to do this to another.
Seriously what the fuck is wrong with these people? Sorry there are so many rabid haters who are obsessed with you. If they put half that energy into bettering themselves, they’d be much happier.
It’s obvious these are attention seekers and the only way they can get any positive affirmation is from their fellow weirdos who think this is AMAZING and COOL. Given their own lack of talent and initiative, all they can do is bitch and moan as brave little keyboard warriors.
OK I’ll say it. When has BTS ever come out and told their fans to stop doing this to journalists, especially women of color and ESPECIALLY Korean women? They know what’s going on. They are multi millionaires with power. But they won’t do this one little thing. Their asshole fans would listen to them. By not speaking up, they’re telling their idiot fans that they approve of everything they do.
Ms. Kim, I guess you didn’t get the memo that you are on call 24/7 to rebut anything that could ever be perceived as negative that is spoken/written/aired about BTS. You are not to ever sleep, receive payment, or have a life. I hope you understand that these are the rules for…
Oh wait, I’m not crazy. They are. This is essentially what they want. I’m so glad you posted this because there has to be a learning lesson in here somewhere. I hope they will grow out of their stupidity. Supposedly these are adult women behaving this way. Sad.
Let me get this straight. These complainers don’t approve of racist jokes against BTS but they do approve of dragging a Korean journalist all over social media because she’s not behaving how they want her to: like their lapdog. What a bunch of simple minded losers. Why don’t they become journalists and do the job they think no one is doing well? I’m sure there are plenty of newspapers willing to hire stans who only want to write about BTS. lol I hope they are children, because if not, there is little hope for them to become productive adults.
The irony is that they want BTS protected at all costs and want every single slight against them to be argued, dissected, and fought over. But they sling shit at everyone else. They do this constantly to Jae and don’t care about her feelings or how it may impact her mental health. They literally only care about their oppars. As far as I’m concerned, these “people” are racist sexist assholes who should be kicked off the internet. They may think they’re being cute and funny but in reality are pathetic losers. I hope they step on all the Lego’s.
Where are all these social justice warriors when Ms. Kim and other POC are being attacked online with words much more vile than anything that’s been said against BTS? Hypocrites.
Exactly! The literally only care about their biases and no one else. But they’re the first to attack.
Time to take the trash out again, Jae. I hope you are blocking or at least muting them all. They are obsessed with you. I’ve reported every single one of them. Hopefully other people will, too.
Personally I think BTS fans are making a mountain out of a molehill. What Kimmel said was tacky but it wasn’t racist. He didn’t says BTS had COVID or would kill anyone. He joked about it and Ashley Park laughed about it, too. She even thanked him for having her as a guest on Instagram. I personally would not have said what he said and I don’t think he’s a good comic, but complaining about every single slight (true or not) about BTS is just over the top annoying. You sound like a bunch of whiners. Also, why are these stans so enraged that some journalists didn’t write about this particular issue, but don’t show that same kind of outrage asking why they don’t cover the daily beatings and deaths of Asians around the world. In the bigger picture, which is the more important news? #STOPAAPIHATE
Well that’s your opinion but accepting these “jokes” just make it so that people think it’s acceptable which it’s not.
Did you notice how that person didn’t tag some of the loud-mouthed BTS journalists whose entire timelines are only about BTS? They didn’t write any damned articles about BTS and racism like ever? She pretended it was all in BTS’s honor but really all she wanted to do was hate on a bunch of journalists she sees as easy victims.
Yes I did. She’s pathetic.
They need to make up their minds. Which is it? Are you someone who only uses BTS for clout? Or are you someone who is racist against Koreans and never writes about BTS? lol They are morons. I hope you don’t take anything people this stupid say to heart. They just get dumber by the minute.
Sadly a lot of people on social media are very naive about how the world works. Anyone who is actually in journalism knows that journalists don’t have freedom to write about whatever they want. Ideas are pitched, sometimes an editor responds, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes there’s space for it, sometimes there isn’t. But the most important element of this is that journalists are not required to write about everything just because a group’s fans want it. And that story not being at the top of their to-do list doesn’t make them bad journalists or bad people. That should be obvious, but it is so clearly not. It’s a sad state of affairs when anonymous over zealous fans try to dictate everything. As someone said earlier, why don’t they just write it themselves?
They need to just move along and concentrate on what makes them happy. Why is that so difficult to ascertain?
You have the time to write this book but no time to stand up for BTS? Got it.
1. She has consistently stood up for them since the beginning.
2. You can’t read.
3. Shut the fuck up.
4. Repeat #3.
So? What of it?
You really don’t get the obvious, do you? She is under no obligation to spend her time doing what you think she should be doing.
The tweets in this post literally show that she did support them YET AGAIN. But reading is hard for people like the op.
LOL they are patting themselves on the back thinking they did something good. This is why everyone hates K-pop stans. They were raised poorly and have no sense of accountability.
I saw these in real time and reported her for targeted harassment. But Twitter won’t do anything, because all they care about is engagement. @megaminimoni_ is 20 years old according to her Twitter profile and describes herself as “Yes i’m babie,” so that’s the level of immaturity of these stans. Her performative activism is just a cover for her hatred. She hates Jae for whatever reason and is using the sheep mentality of her fellow low-level thinkers to attack people, all in the name of protecting their biases. What a joke. She knew exactly what she was doing and is problematic as fuck. Check the link to her tweet: https://twitter.com/megaminimoni_/status/1487239521779339268. She got the beehive to do exactly what she wanted. “They ain’t too happy bout this one.” Maybe if people aren’t happy about her call to attack, it’s because she is the problem and not the people on her damned list. She is the worst kind of clout chaser, who uses Asians, but also hates them, unless they’re her “biases.”
The coward changed her username a while ago to @TheeMONOlith and I see that she has been suspended for being a horrible person.
https://twitter.com/TheeMONOlith
This is hysterical. All these weirdos are obsessed with you. I love the ones who say they blocked you a long time ago and yet are always aware of what you’re saying and doing. KIDS: It’s OK, just say you are overly interested in what Jae has to say. No need to be shy. LOL These losers need to walk on grass, get some Vitamin D, and reflect on why they’re such trolls.
It’s disappointing that this is such a recurring theme with these trolls. You’re awesome, they suck, end of story. Happy Lunar New Year, Ms. Kim!
Why give them power by writing this? Just ignore them and take the higher road.
Curious why you felt the need to make that comment? Because you wanted to right? So why isn’t Jae allowed to do the same? Don’t tell a grown woman what she should or shouldn’t do.
I imagine it’s to keep her own receipts of the jerks who bother her constantly. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s her choice to write what she pleases.
Wow way to go crying to all your supporters.
lmao there’s like 30 comments. she literally says this post is for her own memory. she didn’t share this on social media, where there would’ve been a lot more support for her if they knew about people like you.
These salty bitches need a life. Perhaps one day they will be ashamed of their behavior and apologize.
They’re not that deep. Most of them are simply clout chasers who want to argue/fight and then claim to be victims. They latch onto big accounts, hoping that someone will RT them so they can play victim, and cry about how a “big account” RTd them and got all their followers to harass them. They do this all the time. Pretty lame if you ask me.