BTS, W Korea face extreme backlash after major gala fail: what happened?

This year’s iteration of the breast cancer awareness gala held by Korean magazine W Korea is attracting major backlash.

Countless people across social media have been sharing videos of the celebrities attending the gala like RM and V from BTS, members of Stray Kids and Aespa, etc where they appear to be partying.

Questions have been raised regarding why there was no talk or consideration for the very serious cause of the gala, instead appearing to be a publicity stunt.

This was the 20th iteration of the magazine’s Love Your W gala, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul. The original goal of the event was to promote early detection of breast cancer and to spread awareness.

Even fans of the groups in question insisted that the event looked like a “celebrity friendship party disguised as a breast cancer campaign.”

Others questioned the point of alcohol being served at an event for cancer, “What does drinking and posing for photos have to do with breast cancer awareness?”

“It’s nothing more than an idol networking event using a breast cancer campaign as a marketing label,” criticized another.

There is also suspicion over how much of the donated amount is actually going to the cause, as despite the gala happening annually for 20 years, the total amount donated is 1.1 billion won (approximately $780,000).

"For one of the country’s largest breast cancer charity events, that’s an incredibly small amount,” remarked a user, to widespread agreement.

The backlash intensified after W Korea’s page was shown to have only posted celebrity performances and challenges from the event, with no sign of any awareness in sight.

“There wasn’t a single photo or statement from the attending celebrities expressing solidarity with the cause,” said a viewer. “It looks more like an influencer event than a campaign for women’s health.”

The criticism has also spread to the idols themselves for treating the event like a hangout and making no effort to pay attention to the cause. This was especially targeted at BTS, with the members having claimed to be activists in the past.

W Korea has since then issued an apology but users remain unsatisfied, citing it as insincere. 

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