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Global K-Pop sensation BTS closed out Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month today with its first visit to the White House. The group joined press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a briefing—an event that’s part of the Biden Administration’s response to combating Asian hate crimes in the U.S. “It’s not wrong to be different,” one of the group’s members, Suga, said during the event. “I think equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.” BTS, which stands for “Bangtan Boys” or “Beyond the Scene,” consists of seven members: Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Named TIME’s Entertainer of the Year in 2020, BTS is the most successful group in the Korean-Pop industry, and the members are no stranger to using their platform for advocacy. “We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes,” singer-dancer Jimin said during today’s briefing. “To put a stop to this and to support the cause, we’d like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again.” In the last few years, the group’s emerging presence in the music industry has run parallel to an uptick in Asian hate crimes in the U.S., a country with a strong “BTS Army” fandom presence. Anti-Asian hate crimes increased 339 percent nationwide in 2021, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. “People of all communities within the greater API movement should come out in full force to say, we’re not going to take this,” Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, a non-profit that tracks hate and discrimination against Asians in the U.S., recently told TIME. “We are Americans, just like everyone else. We may not speak English in the same way. We may eat food that’s different at home. We may worship in different venues, but we are still American.” Read more about BTS: Subscribe to TIME’s YouTube channel ►► Subscribe to TIME: Get the day’s top headlines to your inbox, curated by TIME editors: Follow us: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram:
