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BTS performing for their online concert BTS Map of the Soul, which ran from Oct. 10 to 11. (Big Hit Entertainment)

“It seemed an innocuous remark from a wildly popular boy band known more for its open-armed inclusiveness than for any overt provocation. But when the leader of the Korean pop group BTS acknowledged the shared suffering of Americans and Koreans during a recent ceremony commemorating the Korean War, internet users in China wasted no time registering their offense.”

A growing controversy surrounding a collective outcry from Chinese internet users over remarks from the pop group BTS and the response from South Korean businesses operating in China has been the focus of increasing news coverage. The controversy brings together two phenomena: an intensifying wave of patriotism in China and the interests of businesses who wish to avoid losing the massive Chinese market.

The controversy began with remarks made by BTS leader RM (Kim Nam-joon) after receiving a Van Fleet Award from the US-based Korea Society in an online awards ceremony on Oct. 7. Referring to the Korean War, RM said, “We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together, and the sacrifices of countless men and women.”

As a signatory to the Armistice Agreement that halted the Korean War, China also suffered many sacrifices. Over the weekend, many Chinese internet users began posting messages denouncing BTS on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. Some were more moderate responses, such as one user’s comment reading, “I like BTS, but I also don’t forget that I am Chinese.” Others were more vehement, with one reading, “They’re making money in China while messing with Chinese people’s emotions. We need to drive them out of the Chinese market.”

The situation escalated further when the Global Times entered the fray stirring up nationalist sentiments. Things have reached the point where some have begun talking about boycotts of South Korean businesses using BTS members in their advertisements. There is no need to remind people of the bitter lesson learned with China’s response to South Korea’s deployment of the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. As every foreign business in China knows all too well, the “patriotism risk” is something to be avoided.

Samsung removed posts related to its BTS limited edition smartphone (the Galaxy S20+) and earbuds (Galaxy Buds Plus) from its website and Chinese e-commerce sites after they were targeted. The products were put on the market in early July, and sales appear to have nearly concluded. The move was a preemptive measure in response to sentiments among Chinese consumers. Hyundai Motor and the sportswear brand Fila adopted similar measures.

The sudden outcry over BTS from Chinese internet users and the response from South Korean businesses operating China are both familiar sights. As China’s economic might has grown, it has been accompanied by an intensifying wave of patriotism, particularly among young people. The response has been even stronger on issues that China regards as matters of “sovereignty” and “internal politics,” including those related to Tibet, Xinjiang, Taiwan, and Hong Kong -- something readily apparent from an examination of recent episodes.

“Look at the situations from all angles -- and you will become more open.” This was the caption that accompanied a photograph of a white car against a beach backdrop that was posted on Instagram in early February 2018 by the German automobile company Mercedes-Benz. It was met with an unexpected response from an unexpected place, as signs of a boycott campaign began to emerge among internet users in China -- a country where Instagram is blocked. The reason had to do with the caption, which was a quote from the Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibetan government in exile.

Mercedes immediately responded with an apology posted to Weibo -- the Chinese equivalent of Twitter -- explaining that while it had removed the post as quickly as possible, the company “fully understand[s] that the incident has hurt the feelings of Chinese people.” At the time, the Chinese already accounted for over 10% of global sales for parent company Daimler.

Similar incidents also occurred one after another last year amid intense demonstrations in Hong Kong opposing a repatriation law. In June 2019, the sports brand Nike abruptly halted sales of its Undercover limited edition brand produced by Japanese designer Jun Takahashi. The reason had to do with pressure from Chinese internet users, who announced plans for a boycott after Takahashi posted a photograph of the Hong Kong demonstrations on social media along with a message opposing repatriation to China.

In July of the same year, the fashion brand Versace suddenly halted sales of a new T-shirt and issued an apology. The problem concerned the T-shirt’s design, which showed Hong Kong and Macau as independent countries. Apologies have been issued for similar reasons by Dolce & Gabbana, Coach, and Givenchy. In May 2018, the US clothing company Gap publicly apologized after protests claiming that Taiwan, Tibet, and the South China Sea were not properly labeled on a map of China used for a T-shirt design.

Products have not been the only targets. In 2016, Tzuyu, a Taiwanese member of the popular female JYP act TWICE, waved South Korean and Taiwanese flags during an appearance on an entertainment program. She faced a harsh backlash soon after with boycotts of companies using her in their advertisements, on the grounds that she had stepped on Chinese toes with regard to the “one China” issue -- an especially sensitive one for Chinese people. An apology was ultimately issued by JYP’s director, producer Park Jin-young, and Tzuyu was forced to post an apology video on YouTube, in which she said she “always takes pride in being Chinese.”

Not long ago, Korean celebrity Lee Hyo-ri faced a sustained barrage of negative posts from Chinese people after a reference to the name “Mao” on a TV show, which recalled former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Beyond the realm of popular culture, Chinese fans also have to be considered in the area of sports. With over 600 million basketball fans in China, the popularity of the NBA there defies the imagination. Many young people can be seen on the streets wearing US pro basketball outfits. But China Central Television (CCTV) declined to air a live broadcast of the NBA’s opening game in October of last year. The problems stemmed from a Twitter post of support for the Hong Kong demonstrations earlier that month by Houston Rockets manager Daryl Morey. The Rockets and NBA publicly apologized to China, only to then face denunciations from the American public.

Experts trace the origins of the Chinese patriotism wave among young people to 1989. In June of that year, democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square were violently suppressed, while the Cold War came to a close with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Having reached the 10th year of its reform and openness program, the Chinese leadership was obliged to emphasize “patriotic education” rooted in history and ideology. Chinese in their 20s and 30s today are the recipients of this intensified patriotic education.

Another factor to consider has to do with the circumstances of China’s growth. The Chinese teens and 20-somethings behind this wave of patriotism were born and raised in the 1990s and 2000s. Having grown up free from economic difficulties and in relative abundance, members of this generation show stronger feelings of national pride and exclusive nationalism than past generations. Their schooling period in particular coincides with the intensification of patriotic education since President Xi Jinping came to power.

Further fueling the situation is the local online ecosystem, which has been disconnected from the outside world through the “Great Firewall of China.” In a piece published on the website Politico on Sept. 1, Wang Yaqiu, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch noted that extreme patriotic sentiments among young Chinese have been fanned by a situation in which people are used to the internet environment, but have access to major foreign sites blocked without the use of a virtual private network (VPN).

By Jung In-hwan, Beijing correspondent

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