BTS met with U.S. president Joe Biden on Tuesday – the last day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) heritage month – after facing reporters in the White House briefing room.
"It is a great honour to be invited to the White House today to discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion and diversity,” said RM, who later thanked Biden for the “important opportunity to speak about the important causes [and] remind ourselves of what we can do as artists.”
In Korean, Suga said: “It’s not wrong to be different, and equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.” V added: “Everyone has their own history. We hope today is one step forward to respecting and understanding each and everyone as a valuable person.”
The group’s members were in the briefing room for about six minutes and did not take questions from reporters.
Last September, BTS addressed a gathering at the United Nations as South Korean president Moon Jae-in’s “special envoy for future generations and culture.” They previously addressed leaders and diplomats at the UN in 2018 – and virtually in 2020 – on behalf of UNICEF.
The White House welcomed Olivia Rodrigo last year to speak about the importance of COVID-19 vaccines.