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On April 2, 2025, BigHit Music asked Chuncheon City to remove BTS member V’s photo from its promotional materials. The request comes after Taehyung posted a series of pictures on his Instagram on February 23, 2025. One of the pictures showed him posing at Chuncheon Pungmul Market.
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Then, on March 7, 2025, Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han posted the photo of V on his social media. The post also included a separate image of the mayor himself mimicking V’s pose at the same location. His caption read:
“Except for the place, it contrasts in many ways. I’m sorry.”
After the mayor’s post, Chuncheon City also issued a press release about its engagement, noting over 1,700 reactions. The city also planned to use the Bangtan Boy's visit to promote the market’s revitalization project.
However, after the South Korean conglomerate raised concerns, city officials asked for V’s image to be removed from their marketing materials.
"We asked the local government to delete the photo because it used a portrait of an artist who has not been approved by the agency,” BigHit Music said (as reported by Segye Ilbo on April 2).
Fans reacted to BigHit's request, with one X user saying:
"They really wanna downplay taehyung's influence so bad."
Many fans accuse the company of allegedly gatekeeping his success, while others feel HYBE limits his exposure.
"Hybe can't stop Tae being one of the gp faves so they are buIIying, even a city tourism. How arrogant is this company? How far are they going to do this against Tae? This keeping-blind to the fandom will backfire. 2 months from now, this fandom will suffer more," one fan said.
"So quick 😏 u didn't move when he didn't get SMA nomination when he qualifies the criteria. Never moved to protect him from hate train, never moved to correct the messed up music platforms or shipping issues, but sure, they'll speak here, bcz they want 💰& no exposure for him," another X user said.
"LoL bighit gatekeeping Taehyung but sucks at promote him properly. This company is such a clown," another netizen mentioned.
More such fan comments.
"Me being confused by that co. They always ignored th projects, be it his music or achievements, but suddenly they're obsessed with him when taehyung was acknowledged by locals, especially a person in a political position," another fan said.
"Bigs!t really went after the Mayor of Chuncheon just because he took pics at the same spot as Taehyung? The entitlement is unreal. How insecure and petty can they get? They’re so obsessed with policing everything related to him—it's beyond toxic and downright controlling," another person shared.
"That disgusting company never failing to act like a bitter and jealous ex. It’s a photo taken by military soldier Kim Taehyung and posted on his personal IG account. Just announce that he didn’t sign his solo contract already!," another fan added.
Why did Chuncheon City remove BTS V's photo from its promotional material?
A Chuncheon City official said they removed the photo of BTS' V as a preventive measure. The city official clarified to Segye Ilbo that BigHit Music was more concerned about large-scale promotions using V’s image. This included plans like a ‘V photo zone’ rather than just the SNS post.
“Rather than requesting the deletion of V’s photo outright, the company issued a press release in order to respond preemptively before any controversy could arise,” the city official stated.
Chuncheon City had set aside 1 billion won for a cultural tourism project, including a ‘V photo zone’ at Pungmul Market. This was part of a larger trend where local governments used BTS-related spots to boost tourism.
"It seems that the agnury were concerned about installing photo zones using V rather than photos. Local governments all over the country are using the places visited by BTS to promote the region, but there were many cases where copyright was a problem in this process," the city official continued.
As reported by Segye Ilbo, BigHit Music has also previously stopped the unauthorized use of BTS members’ images. The agency regularly takes action against unapproved usage.
BigHit Music has previously opposed unauthorized BTS-related installations by local governments. According to Segye Ilbo, the agency requested the removal of Samcheok City’s 'BTS Photo Zone' last year.
The city set it up in July 2021, replicating a sculpture from BTS’s Butter album photoshoot at a local beach. Gangneung City also removed the restored ‘BTS Bus Stop’ in Jumunjin. It's the filming site for You Never Walk Alone (2017).
