BTS became not only the South Korean act, but the first Asian act to win the Artist of the Year award at the American Music Awards 2021 on November 22. The historic act led South Korean President Moon Jae In to congratulate the seven men once again for their contribution to its soft power.
He posted an inspiring message for BTS on his official Twitter account a day later, November 23. Hours later, the group replied to the President’s tweet, thanking him for congratulating them.
“Isn’t it worth having confidence and pride now?” says South Korean President congratulating BTS
The K-pop septet BTS bagged three wins at AMAs 2021 with Favorite Pop Song for Butter, Favorite Pop Duo/Group, and a historic victory for Artist of the Year. For spreading the Hallyu wave and creating history once again, President Moon Jae In took to Twitter to congratulate the men.
In the message, President Moon Jae In talked about a conference held by Strategic International Research Institute in the U.S discussing Korea’s Soft Power.
He shared that Joseph Nye, the founder of the concept of Soft Power, “praised Korea for proving the world’s most soft dynamic soft power,” adding that the culture is now dominating the world. Furthermore, he commented that BTS’ AMAs win proves his point.
The President shared a quote from Joseph Nye - a comment on Korean culture - and asked BTS for their thoughts. As per Twitter user @btsbaragi_jk’s translation:
“He (Joseph Nye) said, ‘In the past 60 years, even though there aren’t any countries that has been more successful than South Korea, a great number of Koreans think that they are weak and falling behind. That influences/impacts their optimism and creativity.” How is it/what do you think, everyone? Don’t you think it’s worth having confidence and pride now?”
A few hours later, BTS replied to Blue House’s quote-retweet of the President’s tweet. They remarked about feeling the utmost pride in spreading Korean music culture in the mainstream market. They even shared their hopes that future artists from various fields will attract a global audience too.
“Mr. President, thank you for congratulating us on winning the AMA. We are also proud of the fact that Korean popular music has made meaningful achievements in the global mainstream music market. In the future, we expect that our culture and artists in more diverse fields will capture the hearts of people all over the world!”
In recent news, BTS was appointed as the Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture in September. They are the youngest in South Korea’s history to receive the title.