Claim that BTS and ‘Parasite’ were Korean Government Projects Made Netizens Furious

Netizens posted a series of translations from claims made in Japanese media on an online community forum, which lead to fans’ anger. The claim said that BTS and Bong Joon Ho Oscar-winning “Parasite” were initially the Korean government projects.

BTS and “Parasite” were part of a national conspiracy

According to the writer, Mr. Murata claimed that BTS and “Parasite” were national projects issued by the Korean government.

“No, for sure, Korea has been institutionally using their so-called nationwide culture or sports to better their image. Not only sports but also cinema. The only reason why Korean films are rising at the moment is that it’s a government-regulated project. That’s why the case is different from Japan. Therefore, emergency dispatches have taken systematic measures overseas. That also shows how their mentality is different [from ours]. Although I can’t say which method is better.”

Netizens’ Reaction

Although the original video features a Korean media expert saying the claim is untrue, netizens expressed annoyance of the Japanese media reports. One netizen posted a screenshot showing BTS’s history and wrote, “These reporters do not have any idea how steadily BTS grew to become a success.”

Another netizen wrote about the “Parasite” director, Bong Joon Ho, interesting fact, “During the Lee Myung-bak administration, Bong was classified as a strong leftist and blacklisted. Actor Song Kang-ho was included in the blacklist after releasing a statement calling for abolishing the enforcement decree of the Sewol ferry government during the Park Geun-Hye administration. Vice-Chairman Lee Mi-Kyung had to retire from the front line of management in 2014 after investing in the movie ‘Gwanghae’ and ‘Attorney’. The Washington Post praised Bong’s film “Parasite,” as it conveyed the fact that the three men were blacklisted in the past when Bong’s film “Parasite” won the Academy Awards.”

Here are some other reactions

“LOL, please keep going with those analyses without grounds. You’re just wasting your money.“

“Even smaller countries have won the Oscars and gone on Billboard charts. Are you claiming that they all worked under a national conspiracy of some sort?“

“Honestly, at least if you’re going to admit that these so-called national projects have worked extremely well, why not try copying them“

“Yall, I’m not even a K-net – I’m an overseas fan and sometimes when I read these things about K-pop and K-films on SNS, I get so annoyed because it’s an overused rhetoric“

Netizens even expressed their annoyance on Twitter

And ARMYs helped the government to get BTS to the Top right? Nice one pic.twitter.com/Yg2tGjJFz7

— Meowgi⁷#1 on HOT100? (@KatiOtamy) September 13, 2020

I’m really sorry for our hardworking J-ARMY rn, but it’s no surprise anymore, how many times people want to discredit and downplay BTS achievement, we’re only going bigger and higher, and they can stay pressed lol

— uhmm.. a fan of Billboard Hot100 No1 Singer ?⁷ (@phbdn191234) September 13, 2020

LOL. I know this creates serious problems and we all know that BTS and Bong Joon Ho fully deserve ALL the credit for their works but… ? this just tells u how good they are. Legends of Korean entertainment

— PLEASE STREAM DYNAMITE! (@realpurplexed) September 13, 2020

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