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Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Toronto radio station sparks K-Pop Twitter feud

What started as an innocent tweet from an independent Toronto radio station turned into a full-blown war in the K-pop Twittersphere this weekend.

The initial tweet from Toronto Hits 93 has since been deleted, but asked listeners Sunday, "What would ya'll think of us dedicating one hour each day to K-POP tracks?"

The question brought fans of two opposing boy bands, EXO and BTS (the group that had Western viewers baffled at last year's Billboard music awards) into the fold in an eruption of tweets that had users turning on each other quickly.

In an industry like K-pop, it's important for fans to remind others where their loyalties lie.

BTS fans – who dub themselves the Army – were at the forefront of the conversation with claims that other boy bands were undeserving of Canadian radio play.

Some demanded that the proposed radio program play BTS hits only, because all your other favs could never.

EXO lovers – a.k.a. EXO-Ls – were quick to clap back at BTS fans. 

For those unfamiliar with the politics of K-pop, the whole affair seems a bit ludicrous. But the historic rivalry of these fandoms is complicated and clearly everyone is a little sensitive about the issue.

The Canadian BTS fan Twitter account even officially addressed the fan war by turning on the radio station itself.

Hits 93 responded to the backlash yesterday evening with an apologetic Twitter thread from its founder Viktor, who said the station was no longer considering the hour-long K-pop program for its airwaves.

The fact that this could have been Toronto's very first radio program dedicated to K-pop didn't seem to deter some fans (to the dismay of others) from celebrating their 'victory'.


by Tanya Mok via blogTO

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