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RM of BTS speaks from the White House briefing room podium on May 31. (EPA/Yonhap News)

US President Joe Biden greeted the K-pop group BTS outside the White House on Tuesday, encouraging its members for their effort to speak out against anti-Asian hate crimes.

Having invited the group to the White House to mark the last day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the US, Biden received BTS members outdoors, right outside the Oval Office.

That night, Biden tagged the official Twitter account of BTS in a tweet, saying, “It was great to meet with you, [BTS]. Thanks for all you’re doing to raise awareness around the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination.”

The tweet also included a video, in which Biden can be seen greeting BTS members to the White House Tuesday afternoon, saying, “Welcome to the White House. Come on up here, guys.”

In his meeting with the K-pop boy band, Biden said, “This is an important month here in America. A lot of our Asian American friends have been subject to real discrimination,” adding, “Hate only hides. When good people talk about it and how bad it is, it goes down. So thank you.”

BTS leader RM responded to Biden in English, saying, “We want to say thank you, sincerely, for your decision — like such as signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law.”

“We just want to be a little help,” RM continued, to which Biden replied, “People care a lot about what you say[. . . .] It’s the message you’re communicating. It matters.”

Before meeting Biden, BTS shared its message against anti-Asian hate crimes at the White House briefing room. RM said, “It is a great honor to be invited to the White House to discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion, and diversity.”

Other members of the group also shared their thoughts about responding to hate, emphasizing that a love for music can be a force of harmony.

Jimin said, “We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes,” while Jungkook said, “We still feel surprised that music created by South Korean artists reaches so many people around the world, transcending language and cultural barriers. We believe music is always an amazing and wonderful unifier of all things.”

“It’s not wrong to be different. I think equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences,” Suga said.

Members of the press crowd the White House briefing room on May 31 to cover BTS’ visit to the White House. (Yonhap News)

Interest in BTS was palpable both inside and outside the White House. The 49 seats in the White House’s briefing room were all occupied, and over 100 reporters stood and watched the group’s press briefing.

US reporters confirmed that they had not seen the briefing room packed to such a degree recently. When BTS members entered the room, reporters held up their phones one after another to take pictures of the K-pop group.

Roughly 200 fans of BTS gathered outside the White House as well, cheering and chanting in support of the group. The live stream of the briefing was watched by over 300,000 viewers simultaneously at one point.

After BTS members left the briefing room, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, joked, “I get to go home and tell my kids BTS opened for me,” before jumping into his briefing.

BTS has consistently spoken out against racist hate, even releasing a statement expressing its opposition to racial discrimination and violence in the aftermath of the Atlanta shooting in March 2021, when eight victims including four Korean American women were shot and killed.

By Lee Bon-young, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]