According to a survey conducted on 367 K-pop fans around the world last July, 88.9 percent responded that they agree with creating a culture of being environmentally friendly in the K-pop market in consideration of the climate crisis. Last October, Indonesia's K-pop fans donated 8,724 trees to a mangrove forest, in celebration of a BTS member's birthday. Instead of sending gifts to the star, which would have harmed the environment, fans practiced a form of gift giving which saw them giving gifts to the earth by planting trees.
K-pop fans' green campaigns are on the rise, becoming a powerful influence in changing the entertainment industry and its ecosystem. K-pop fans delivered signatures from about 100,000 participants of the "No K-pop on a Dead Planet" campaign to major entertainment companies, while also delivering the demand that entertainment companies minimize their use of plastics in making albums and plan for concerts with lower carbon emissions.
In addition, fans now call for providing some photos and message cards only for albums, with the remaining parts to be digitized and sold online (known as platform albums). Streaming services that are run on 100-percent renewable energy are also on their wish list.
The key idea is this: if the entertainment companies proactively participate in fighting against the climate crisis, then Generation MZ fans will greatly appreciate the companies' efforts to safeguard their future against the looming destruction caused by climate change. Moreover, the fans will naturally prefer these companies to others that care less about the climate.
Of course, K-pop stars are able to make an even bigger impact with regards to climate justice than their beloved fans. Chosen as an ambassador to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) in 2021, Blackpink delivered a message to their fans around the world, increasing awareness of climate change across different countries. Blackpink's YouTube video encouraging people to participate in actions against climate change recorded 7.8 million views in a month, thanks to the 70 million subscribers of their official YouTube channel.
During the U.N. General Assembly session held last September, BTS made a proposal to the current leaders of the world: "We feel an encroaching sense of dread that our time on this earth is limited… But I learned while preparing for today that there are many young people who have an interest in environmental issues and choose it as their field of study… There are still many pages left in this story about us, and I thought, we shouldn't talk like the ending's already been written."
It wasn't surprising that this stirring speech was watched by a million people online, which was about 20 times as many as the number of views of all previous speeches ever delivered at the U.N. It was striking to me though, as the atmosphere was quite different, even just a few years ago when I spoke at a U.N. General Assembly event as the director of the International Emission Trading Association (IETA).
At the U.N. General Assembly session, while current leaders from all around the world diligently engaged in discussions to come up with various solutions to the climate crisis, and it was great to see many countries, including the U.S. and China, declaring their commitment to carbon neutrality, there was little to no communication with the future generation, nor any empathy toward the future lying ahead of the younger generation.
After listening to BTS' message, I wondered whether the numerous declarations for carbon neutrality announced to date were products of abundant discussions with younger generation and backed by their support. In Spring 2021, the Pew Research Center, known for its public opinion polling in the U.S., conducted a survey of 16,000 people who are mostly based in the northern hemisphere. When asked about their levels of concern for the climate crisis, the number of responders who were concerned about suffering from climate change had significantly increased compared to the number identified in a 2015 survey.
Further, the survey demonstrated a generational gap in terms of feelings toward the climate crisis: While 71 percent of the responders aged 18 to 29 indicated their concerns about the harmful impacts of the climate crisis, only 52 percent of the responders aged 65 or older expressed such concerns. It seems we need more conversations between the younger generation and the older generation.
The message from the future generation, that "there is no K-pop on a dead planet," is more moving than the older generation's declaration for carbon neutrality, perhaps because of the increasingly overarching attitude among K-pop fans pursuing this good cause with empathy. It would be amazing to see the increasingly influential K-pop culture taking the lead in enlarging the channel of empathy and communication between the older generation and the younger generation to solve the climate crisis.
Kim Sung-woo is the head of Environment & Energy Research Institute at law firm Kim & Chang.