BTS fans flock to donate for Coronavirus fight

BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)

SEOUL — Coronavious donations by BTS fans, widely called BTS ARMY, have exceeded 400 million won ($333,000) over the weekend, according to Korea Disaster Relief Association on Monday.

As of 10 a.m. on the day, a total of 9,230 donations worth 425.3 million won have been given to the organization under the names of “Bulletproof Boy Scouts,” “BTS,” “ARMY” and such.

“The actual amount is likely much higher than the official count,” an official of the charity told The Korea Herald. “Donations made under individual members’ names without any mention of BTS were not counted in the statistics because it’s difficult for us to figure out whether the names are attributed to BTS members or the donors’ real names.”

The flock of donations by the fandom began rolling in last month when member Suga whose hometown is Daegu, the most affected area by the coronavious outbreak here, gave 100 million won to the organization to support the city’s relief efforts. Since then, BTS fans worldwide have donated to the organization as a tribute.

The donations, especially, surged over the weekend when Big Hit Entertainment, the BTS label, announced Friday that it cancelled the Seoul leg of the act’s “Map of the Soul” world tour scheduled to be held in April at Olympic Stadium due to rising health concerns.

Some fans expressed disappointment over the decision at first but a growing number of fans who were promised a full refund started transferring money to the association.

“Our website went down for about 10 minutes amid a flurry of donations Friday,” the official said.

“We feel grateful about their donations and believe their contribution will bring a positive ripple effect across the globe.”

The organization plans to use the donated funds to provide a relief kit, consisting face masks and other essential goods, to low-income communities, medical staff, volunteer workers and quarantined individuals.