The Atomic Bomb T-Shirt Controversy and Its Development

In November 2018, the Japanese broadcasting network TV Asahi abruptly canceled BTS’s scheduled appearance on their music show the night before the live broadcast. The stated reason was that BTS member Jimin had worn a T-shirt depicting the atomic bombing of Nagasaki along with an image of Koreans celebrating their liberation from Japanese occupation. Behind this unusual cancellation were Japanese internet ultra-rightists aligned with Zaitokukai,^[1] a far-right nationalist group in Japan. They went as far as falsely accusing BTS of sympathizing with Nazis and even brought this accusation to the attention of a prominent Jewish group in the United States.

As the controversy came to light, the Korean BTS fandom was quick to respond. By explaining the history of Korea, where their liberation from Japanese colonial rule and the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan occurred nearly simultaneously, they tried to make it clear that wearing the T-shirt was not meant to mock the victims of the atomic bomb. Furthermore, an explanation—which was aimed at overseas fans—spread rapidly on social media, stating that the reason for the cancellation by the Japanese broadcaster was not just the T-shirt, but also the Korean Supreme Court’s decision to uphold rulings ordering Japanese firms to pay compensation to Korean victims of forced labor during World War II.

When the Jewish community, wielding significant influence in global media, began to intervene following the false accusation made by the Japanese ultra-rightists, BTS was at risk of being labeled “anti-Semitic.” Their fans delved into the reasons behind the Japanese far-rightists’ targeting of BTS and started questioning Japan’s stance as a victim of war while disregarding its history as a war aggressor. Over time, as information about the atrocities committed by the Japanese military during World War II and the suffering of Asian nations circulated within the fandom, the T-shirt controversy turned into an issue of politics of memory about the history. 

Restoring and Communicating Memories: Asian Fans’ Wartime Memories and Testimonies

As the discourse within the fandom shifted, fans from Asian countries occupied by Japan during World War II began to testify on social media about the atrocities of the Japanese military that they had heard about from their families. 

“Not only Asian countries, but also Pacific islands like Saipan were under Japanese occupation. The most heinous act that the Japanese committed here was refusing to surrender when the United States emerged victorious and lying to the people of Saipan that the Americans would rape their women and eat their children. Many people were so frightened that they committed suicide by jumping off cliffs. I recently learned that some Saipan women were also forced into sexual slavery as ‘comfort women.’” (X, formerly Twitter)

“I’m Filipino and through my history education, I learned about what the Japanese did during World War II. Not only women, but also gay men were mobilized as ‘comfort women.’ Japan occupied my country only for three years, but during that time, they took about a million lives." (X, formerly Twitter)

The collective testimony of fans from Asian countries victimized by Japan during World War II in the transnational community of BTS fandom had a practical impact: By verbalizing their memories, individuals within the community contributed to restoring the history of war and reshaping it from the perspective of victims who had been marginalized in official histories. 

White Paper Project: A Forum for Politics of Memory Built on Solidarity Through Documenting 

After the controversy surrounding the T-shirt abated following a statement from BTS’s management company, more than 20 fans from five continents around the world prepared a 105-page white paper addressing the incident after engaging in a series of online debates.^[2] The paper elucidated the historical and political context of the incident and included a variety of supporting materials. It also presented the reactions of different layers from Korean, Japanese, and other regional members of the global fandom, whose responses and positions on the controversy inevitably differed depending on their social contexts, while evaluating the media coverage of the incident by nation. 

The publication of this white paper by the BTS fandom holds significance in several aspects. Notably, in the process of preparing the white paper, they not only revealed the differences in historical memories between nations, but also made visible their resistance to historical revisionism, demonstrating transnational solidarity across borders. They did not merely offer unconditional support for BTS, but also criticized the controversial actions of the global band, calling on all actors involved to reconsider their cultural sensitivity as global citizens. Additionally, the publication of the white paper highlighted the imbalance in historical and cultural education among countries and the urgent need to address it. For example, Asian fans were not familiar with the Jewish Holocaust, while Western Europeans and Americans exhibited ignorance towards Japan’s colonial rule and wartime atrocities. The T-shirt controversy led to a new recognition that they could better communicate by bridging these memory gaps. Moreover, the assessment of the media coverage of the T-shirt controversy underscored the importance of critically analyzing media narratives within historical and political frameworks. 

BTS Fadom’s Historical Awareness and Performative Activism

Testifying to their memories of the war and publishing the white paper, BTS fans proceeded to engage in active historical awareness raising. They realized the significance of correctly understanding the war’s impact on Asian nations during World War II and began searching for relevant resources to studying them independently. The fandom was particularly shocked by and sensitively reacted to the stories of women who were taken as “comfort women” by the Japanese military. They began sharing lists of documentaries about the history of “comfort women,” exchanging their impressions and their own narratives inspired by these documentaries. This attention extended to the House of Sharing, a shelter for “comfort women” survivors in Korea, with about 300 overseas fans donating to support its cause. 

“The issue of ‘comfort women’ shook me to the core. I knew nothing about this part of history. It’s been less than a month since I learned about it through documentaries and other resources. I discovered that not only Korean women but also women in my own country were victims of ‘comfort women.’” (X, formerly Twitter)

“I’m 54 years old, and the recent controversy surrounding BTS has brought my attention to this part of history. It’s incredibly shocking. No one told me during history classes in high school or college that Japan committed these brutalities during the war. It’s truly shameful. The voices of the survivors need to be ‘heard’ by the world.” (X, formerly Twitter)

Japan’s imperialist ambitions for expansion, which were fueled by violence against women’s bodies, reveal a historical structure of gendered violence. The history of such violence perpetrated against women during World War II was particularly striking for the BTS fandom who are composed mostly of women. They emphasized with the issue, connecting it to their own reality, where as women, they are all potentially commodified and not immune to the violence of the modern gender structure. 

Today, fandom culture is evolving in unprecedented ways due to globalization and advancements in media. The participatory nature of fandom through online media not only influences the landscape of the cultural industry, but also fosters vibrant grassroots discourses in various fields such as politics, economics, and society surrounding the interests of the fandom. While the BTS atomic bomb T-shirt controversy could have escalated into a nationalistic conflict between Korea and Japan, the transnational fandom’s sense of urgency under the pressure of the global public opinion and the consensus regarding wartime violence against women led to their active resistance against historical revisionism. This case can be seen as a practical example where a transnational taste community that formed online engaged in the politics of memory, highlighting the crucial role played by the sensitivity of resistance that faced violence against women.