'No K-pop on a Dead Planet' K-pop Fans Rally at HYBE Headquarters
By JW Yoo | May 2, 2022
Global K-pop fans who united to combat climate change demanded major K-pop entertainment agencies to go green.
On April 21, K-pop fans who fight for climate justice, 'Kpop 4 Planet', gathered at the HYBE headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The fans collected a total of 8,027 K-pop physical album copies and transformed them in to an art piece to raise awareness on how much environmental damage the entertainment companies are inflicting.
The artist piece was titled, 'Art Should Not End Up Here'―highlighting that the companies should take environmentally sustainable options when it comes to artist production. Kpop 4 Planet explained that they chose HYBE as 15.23 million copies out of 57 million physical album copies sold in 2021 solely came from the company.
The organization also pointed out how the companies have been encouraging the sales of physical albums through "marketing gimmicks" such as random photo cards, while not many fans actually listen to the artists' music through CDs these days. Kpop 4 Planet's Lee Da-yeon said, "Considering its massive influence, K-pop should be more responsible in tackling global issues like climate change, and the companies like HYBE, SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment should listen to the voices of the fans who are asking them to join the green movement for future generations. There will be no K-pop on a dead planet," during the 'Sustainable K-entertainment Conference' held at the National Assembly in December 2021.
Many K-pop fans around the world are already putting their gathered efforts to go green; by planting trees on their favorite artists' birthdays, and setting a crowdfund for endangered species or victims of natural disasters, etc.
