White House in Frenzy over BTS Appearance: "Never Seen This Many Gathered Before"

Reporters Keep Taking Photos and Videos in Amazement
BTS Visits the U.S. to Discuss 'Countermeasures Against Anti-Asian Hate Crimes'

When the group BTS appeared in the White House briefing room on the 31st (local time), many reporters took out their phones to take photos and videos.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] On the 31st (local time), BTS appeared in the White House briefing room, where serious and cool-headed questions and answers usually take place, creating a literal 'crowd of people.'

According to Yonhap News, BTS visited the press room on the last day of the United States' 'Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month' to discuss 'measures to respond to anti-Asian hate crimes' before meeting with President Joe Biden.

When BTS opened the press room door with spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre and appeared with somewhat tense expressions, the reporters remained relatively calm without much reaction.

However, as each BTS member began to speak, most reporters immediately took out their phones to take photos or record videos, showing a bustling scene. Some reporters quickly uploaded these to their social media accounts.

The photographers and camera operators positioned at the back of the briefing room repeatedly shouted, "Phone down, phone down."

This was an urgent plea to lower the phones as they were obstructing the shooting angles. Nevertheless, many ignored these requests and continued to hold up their phones, showing great interest in the world-famous stars visiting the press room.

The press room was literally packed with no space to step.

An American reporter who has covered the White House since the Donald Trump administration said that during Trump's presidency, the former president often visited the briefing room and engaged in nearly two-hour-long debates with reporters, causing the room to be crowded frequently. However, since the Biden administration began, he could not recall a time when so many reporters gathered in the briefing room.

After most designated seats were filled, about 100 foreign reporters from Korea, Japan, and other countries stood around the seats waiting for BTS's statements.

American reporters who regularly cover the White House showed surprised expressions upon entering the press room and seeing the crowded scene, and a Japanese reporter said, "BTS is very popular in Japan as well, so I came here in person."

American reporters were also seen filming the entire briefing room in 360-degree video, seemingly fascinated by the scene.

Meanwhile, this situation was not limited to the press room. Due to a large influx of BTS fans during the live broadcast of the briefing on YouTube, the number of simultaneous viewers once exceeded 300,000.

A White House correspondent said with a surprised expression, "I never expected so many people to connect."

BTS stayed in the briefing room for about six minutes that day. Except for the leader RM, the other six members took turns speaking in Korean, emphasizing the eradication of Asian hate crimes, which was a notable moment. English interpretation followed after the speeches.

A representative from BTS's agency HYBE said, "They spoke in Korean because they are Korean," and added, "There was no special request from the White House."

After finishing their prepared remarks, BTS left the briefing room without answering the flood of questions such as "Why did you come to the White House?" and "Why are you wearing black suits?"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.