ARMYs Under Fire For Rude Behavior At Korean Popular Culture & Arts Awards
On October 24, BTS received the honor of being awarded an Order of Cultural Merit for their contributions to the spread of Korean culture.
Despite the celebratory mood on this day, the behavior of some ARMYs who were at the event has caused the fandom to receive some criticism from netizens and other ARMYs alike.
Ignoring the fact that filming inside the venue was banned, some ARMYs continued to illegally film the event.
Numerous staff members continued to ask fans to put away their cameras but the illegal filming did not stop.
In fact, fans began to block the aisles to film the BTS members more closely once the award ceremony was over and the staff members’ voices were left unheard.
A majority of the audience who were blocking the aisles filming were revealed to be BTS fans.
One staff member stated in an interview that there was no use trying to stop these fans.
“We continued to ask them to refrain from filming, but it was no use.” ㅡ Staff Member
This goes against the “Purple Ribbon Campaign” that ARMYs had set up for the group. Earlier that day when BTS arrived at Incheon International Airport, fans continued the ongoing campaign, holding up signs that read, “BTS and ARMY protect each other” and “Film with your heart, not your camera”.
Netizens and other ARMYs have been shaming those who went against the rules and caused inconveniences to the others who were attending the event.
- “Please don’t do things they tell you not to do. Let’s not be fans that disgrace our artists. As a fan myself, if the artist sees these types of reports, they’ll be disappointed.”
- “Those who hold up their cameras and push each other at such a chaotic place are not real fans.”
- “ARMY again…”
- “ARMYs are always like that lol. It’s not even surprising. The artists are continuing to grow but the mindset of fans are continuously downgrading.”
- “Fangirls suffer from a certain type of mental illness.”
- “It was seriously so loud. At an official event for an Order of Cultural Merit, it’s not like it was a concert. They were so rude screaming and making such a big deal. At the airport, they were all so polite and determined not to bother them. They’re so inconsistent, they’ve disgraced BTS.”
