K-Pop Band BTS Meet US President Biden at the White House
US President, Joe Biden hosted popular music band, BTS at the White House as part of a visit aimed at discussing Asian inclusion and representation and addressing anti-Asian hate crimes and disinformation.
In his speech, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre maintained that the band play an important role as young ambassadors.
“While many of you may know BTS as Grammy-nominated international icons they also play an important role as youth ambassadors promoting a message of respect and positivity.”
Each member of the band spoke at the podium, most in Korean following Jean-Pierre’s introduction. RM, the group’s leader and only member of the band fluent in English, began by thanking Jean-Pierre for her “kind words,” and introducing the group.
“Hi, we’re BTS and it is a great honor to be invited to the White House today to discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion and diversity,” he said.
The rest of the group, speaking through an interpreter, said they “joined the White House to stand with” the AAPI community “and to celebrate.”
“We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes. To put a stop on this and support the cause, we’d like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again,” the translator related. “We are here today thanks to our army — our fans worldwide — who have different nationalities and cultures and use different languages.”
