BTS seen at the Today Show on February 21, 2020 in New York City. /VCG
Popular South Korean band BTS donated one million U.S. dollars to Black Lives Matter (BLM) in support of U.S. protests against police brutality, its music label, Big Hit Entertainment, said on Sunday.
On Thursday, the seven-member BTS wrote on its Twitter account that they are against racism and violence with the hashtag BlackLivesMatter:
"We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together."
The hashtag went viral among the K-pop group's fans and started another wave of donations with a new hashtag, MatchAMillion.
BTS seen at the Today Show on February 21, 2020 in New York City. /VCG
The movement encouraged BTS' fan base, known as ARMY, an acronym for Adorable Representative MC for Youth, to match the one million U.S. dollar donation the group made.
One Twitter user said, "ARMYs, let's #MatchAMillion with BTS's donation to #BlackLivesMatter!"
The boyband suspended their world tour over coronavirus concerns in April.
The rolling, global protests reflect rising anger over police treatment of ethnic minorities, sparked by the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis after a white officer detaining him knelt on his neck.