by A British producer and DJ commented on K-pop criticizing K-pop and apologized after the criticism flooded in.
Matan Johar, 31, known as ‘Mat Joe’, tweeted on the 6th that “K-pop is still a niche market in the West.”
After asking the question, “To be honest, how many K-pop fans do you personally know?” Jo continued to criticize K-pop, citing BTS as an example.
“There are a lot of big corporations incentivized here for the K-pop model to work,” he points out.
DJ Joe also said he was suspicious of K-pop fans. Mainly, they criticized them for using anime profile pictures and posting garbage-like low-quality images of complete concerts. “Not all K-pop fans are real,” he added.
Regarding ‘McDonald’s BTS Mill,’ a collaboration between McDonald’s and BTS, which attracted global attention, he emphasized that BTS has a ‘clear motive’ behind it, not because BTS is popular in the music world.
He also criticized BTS’ fan club, ARMY, for saying that supporting the multi-billion dollar industry is close to ‘youth grooming’ and slavery.
Joe’s tweet immediately became the subject of education for the BTS fan club, and one of them criticized him for being mistaken.
One Twitter user criticized Joe, saying, “I am a medical student, and not only my classmates but also my professors are BTS fans.
Another fan mentioned that BTS went through a difficult period of obscurity right after their debut. The fan explained to Jo, “It’s interesting that you talk about large companies. BTS started as a small agency, and the company has grown thanks to BTS.” He added that BTS’ success in the West was due to their grassroots fans.
Some netizens found Cho’s 2014 tweet, “I want to be surrounded by geek-looking Korean girls,” and accused him of being a racist.
Joe apologized for his reckless remarks on Twitter on the 7th. He said, “I apologize for my derogatory remarks towards Asians, and I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.
He said, “I will learn more on my own so that I do not fall into prejudice. I will suspend my internet activity for a while to reflect on my actions.” Currently, Joe’s Twitter, including the apology, can only be viewed by authorized followers.
