Korean Artists Boycott Concert For US Forces Anniversary In Korea
Korean artists refused to perform for United States Forces stationed in Korea for the 100th anniversary of its 2nd Infantry Battalion. The boycott of Korean artists invited for the event was in protest of an accident that caused the death of two Korean girls back in 2002.
It was reported by Kpopstarz that among the artists invited to perform for the free concert attended by USFK commander Vincent Brooks, the 8th U.S. Army commanding general Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, officers, soldiers and civilians at Uijeongbu Sports Complex. Insooni, EXID, Oh My Girl, Sweet Sorrow, punk band Crying Nut and rapper SanE. Insooni, who was supposed to perform a set of three songs said that she will not be performing at the concert.
EXID's management Banana Culture Entertainment said that they opted to pull out the K-pop group from the roster of performers in response to the strong reaction from the fans that wanted the idols out of the concert. Banana Culture said that they were flooded by messages and irate posts from EXID's fans compelling them to heed their demand, Korea Times reported.
Because of the boycott, only the 8th Army Band, the city orchestra, a dance troupe, a Korean traditional music band and taekwondo demonstration was left in the program.While the event was intended to strengthen the relationship between the two nations, the boycott may have underscored the underlying gap instead.
It can be recalled 15 years ago that the Yangju Highway Incident took place and claimed the lives of two Korean schoolgirls who were killed after they were struck by one of the armored vehicles that was part of a military convoy headed to a training exercise north of Seoul.
The two soldiers who were charged for the deaths were found not guilty in the case after the incident was ruled as an accident. The unit commander of the US Forces publicly apologized for the accident but it still sparked an anti-American sentiment that still persists to this day.
