[Global Column] Atlanta Shooting Incident and BTS

As the COVID-19 pandemic has prolonged beyond a year, economic hardships and social conflicts have intensified worldwide. This has led to a rise in racially motivated hatred, particularly manifesting in violent forms within Western societies. Last weekend, news emerged of a Black man causing a violent disturbance at a Korean convenience store in North Carolina, USA, shouting, "Chinese people, go back to your country," while wielding a metal rod. An even more shocking incident occurred on March 16 in Atlanta, USA, where a white man carried out a series of shootings targeting Asian massage parlors, tragically killing eight people, including four Korean-American women.

Two days before the horrific hate crime against Asians in Atlanta, BTS performed a solo stage set against the night skyline of Seoul at the Grammy Awards, the most prestigious American popular music ceremony, although they did not win an award. Additionally, last year, director Bong Joon-ho's film Parasite won four awards at the American Academy Awards, including Best Picture. While global popular culture is moving away from Western centrism and embracing greater diversity, on the other hand, racism and nationalism are spreading and manifesting in the terrible form of hate crimes.

The current surge of hate crimes against Asians in Western societies such as the United States might be seen as a temporary issue caused by COVID-19. Certainly, the hate crimes occurring now are partly due to a distorted perception that blames China or Asian countries for the social and economic difficulties caused by COVID-19. However, it is more reasonable to view COVID-19 not as the cause but as an amplifier of racism and nationalism. Prior to COVID-19, phenomena such as Trumpism in the United States and Brexit in the United Kingdom arose from cultural backgrounds rooted in racism and nationalism.

Examining the simultaneous spread of diversity in global popular culture and racial hatred more fundamentally, this can be seen as the light and shadow of globalization. If BTS represents the light of globalization, the Atlanta shooting is its shadow. Thanks to globalization, we have been able to enjoy richer economic goods and services and a wider variety of cultures. However, on the other hand, there are many people whose economic stability has been undermined and social status diminished due to globalization. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely further jeopardized the economic stability and social status of these individuals.

For the "left behind"?those whose economic stability and social status have been threatened by globalization?globalization is not the dazzling melody of BTS but an external virus threatening their lives. Among them, the number of people relying on racism and nationalism to protect their lives from the threats of globalization is currently increasing. If the number of such left-behind individuals continues to grow, even after the end of COVID-19, the light of globalization will gradually fade. What obscures the light of globalization is not the COVID-19 pandemic but the shadow created by globalization itself. To continue enjoying the light of globalization, we must find ways to protect the lives of those whose economic stability and social status are threatened by globalization.

Jae-Hwan Jeong, Professor, Department of International Relations, University of Ulsan