‘There will be no K-pop on a lifeless planet,’ said one activist.
K-pop fans continue to show themselves as some of the most active advocates, with over 10,000 of them from 83 different countries urging Korean music companies to help combat climate change.
Fans of K-pop are notorious for purchasing multiple copies of albums in the hopes of obtaining a “fan signs” or autograph session with their favorite musicians. It helps increase physical album sales, but it can also result in more environmental harm. Ditto for all of the plastic goods produced for concerts. These methods are prompting some K-pop fans to question if there is a better way to show their enthusiasm.
Fans are calling on the entertainment businesses to be more environmentally friendly and to avoid using plastic on albums and memorabilia, according to The Korea Times. On Monday, the “Sustainable K-Entertainment” conference was held at the National Assembly in Seoul, reports The Korea Times.
“There are more than 100 million K-pop fans on the planet right now, and K-pop’s cultural influence is growing by the day,” said Lee Da-yeon, a K-pop environmental activist.
“Considering its significant power, K-pop should be more concerned with global concerns like climate change, and the record labels such as HYBE, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment should listen to fans’ demands that they join the environmental movement for future generations,” Lee said. “There will be no K-pop on a lifeless planet.”
All notes are well-made.
The performance of K-pop artists has a large carbon footprint, as they travel across the world to perform and meet fans. Lee, who is part of the climate change activist group Kpop4Planet, listed a number of measures during her speech. “When it comes to albums and goods production, the businesses may reduce their use of plastic first,” she stated. “They may also limit their carbon impact at concerts in a variety of ways. Singers can release songs about how important it is to go climate positive or participate in environmental initiatives.”
During the conference, Professor Cedarbough Saeji of Pusan National University proposed that eliminating plastic glow sticks would make concerts more environmentally friendly, as well as improving older facilities to cut heating and cooling costs. Another option is to prohibit single-use plastic bottles.
There have already been some early attempts to make K-pop more environmentally friendly. In February, singer Chungha released a physical version of her album Querencia that is ecological in nature. “It’s a hot issue these days, so we wanted to make the record using environmentally friendly papers,” Chungha (via SCMP) added. “We also tried to reduce lamination and other non-essential plastics use, except for photo cards, which are extremely important to our fans.” The record wasn’t put in a plastic jewel case, and the box and booklet weren’t laminated to save on plastics.
Other celebrities have gotten on the action as well: Red Velvet were designated South Korea’s public relations ambassadors for the National Climate Council, and Blackpink addressed the dangers of climate change at the United Nations climate change conference COP26.
“Holding a carbon-neutral concert appears to be the key to the problem,” said Cho Han-kyu, vice president of Kakao M Entertainment. “To figure out how we can achieve such a goal, I think we’ll need more in-depth discussions with our company officials and artists.”
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