25/06/2025

LYFE WEDNESDAY | JUNE 25, 2025

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BTS fans rally behind South Korean adoptees K -POP boy band BTS is back from military service and its international fandom – long known for its BTS fan group behind the initiative, One In An Army. The fans are supporting KoRoot, a Seoul-based organisation that helps Korean adoptees search for their records and birth families and o Band supporters raise funds to help people learn about, reunite with birth families

John Lennon love letter to future wife to go on sale A 1962 love letter from John Lennon to his future wife Cynthia Powell, in which he complains about Paul McCartney’s snoring, will be sold at Christie’s next month, the London auction house said. The 21-year old Lennon wrote the letter over five nights in April 1962, during the Beatles’ residency at the Star-Club in Hamburg. “I love love love you and I am missing you like mad,” wrote the songwriter, before adding a lewd suggestion. The letter is expected to fetch up to £40,000 (RM230,029) when it is sold on July 9. In it, Lennon mentions close friend and original Beatles’ bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, who had died days before, saying he had considered visiting his fiancee Astrid “but I would be so awkward”. He opposed Cynthia’s plans to share a house with McCartney’s then girlfriend Dot Rhone in Liverpool, saying: “We would never be alone really ... imagine having her there all the time when we were in bed – and imagine Paul coming all the time.” He complained about his bandmate’s bedtime habits, writing “Paul’s leaping about on my head (he is in a bunk on top of me and he is snoring) ... Shurrup M carntey (sic)!...” Lennon signed off the letter: “I love you I love you please wait for me and do not be sad and work hard be a clever little Cyn Powell.” Cynthia dated Lennon from 1958 and they married in August 1962, giving birth to their son Julian in April 1963. They divorced in 1968, and a year later, Lennon married Yoko Ono. – AFP Lennon’s 1962 letter to Powell will be up for auction next month. – PIC COURTESY OF CHRISTIE’S

progressive activism – is celebrating by rallying behind a cause: adoptees from South Korea. Now Asia’s

which played a key role in pushing for the government to recognise adoption-related abuses. Peter Moller, K o R o o t ’ s co-representative, said it was “very touching” that the BTS fans had taken up the cause, even though “they are not even adoptees themselves”. For many adoptees, seeing Korean stars in

fourth-largest economy and a global cultural powerhouse, the idols’ native South Korea remains one of the biggest exporters of adopted babies in the

world, having sent more than 140,000 children overseas between 1955 and 1999. The country only recently acknowledged, after years of activism by adult adoptees, that the government was responsible for abuse in some such adoptions of local children, including record fabrication and inadequate consent from birth parents. The septet’s fandom, dubbed Army, is known for backing causes such as Black Lives Matter and Army4Palestine, and launched the #ReuniteWithBTS fundraising project last week to support Korean adoptees seeking to reconnect with or learn about their birth families, which can be a painful and legally tricky process. Almost all of BTS members have completed South Korea’s mandatory military service, required of all men due to the country’s military tensions with North Korea. “We are celebrating the reunion of BTS and Army, and BTS members being able to reunite with their own family and friends. “Helping international adoptees reunite with their birth country, culture, customs and families seemed like the perfect cause to support during this time,” stated the

Moller, KoRoot’s co-representative. – AFPPIC

BTS has seven members. – PIC FROM INSTAGRAM @BTS.BIGHITOFFICIAL

mainstream media has been a way for them to find “comfort, joy and a sense of pride” in the roots that they were cut off from, KoRoot’s leader Kim Do-hyun added. Soft power BTS, who have discussed anti-Asian hate crimes at the White House and spoken candidly about mental health, have long been considered one of the best examples of South Korea’s soft power reach. For years, Korean adoptees – many of whom were adopted by white families globally – have advocated for their rights and spoken out about encountering racism in their host countries. Some adoptees, such as the high-profile case of Adam Crapser, were later deported to South Korea as adults because their American parents never secured their US citizenship. Many international adoptees feel their immigration experience has been “fraught”, said Keung Yoon Bae, a Korean studies professor at Georgia Institute of Technology. Some adoptees have found that,

searching is very lonely, difficult and costly. Many adoptees do not even have the means to return to their birth country let alone fund a family search,” said Bos, 44. To have BTS fans rally around adoptees and provide help with this complex process is “a wonderful opportunity”, she said. For Malene Vestergaard, a 42 year-old Korean adoptee and BTS fan in Denmark, the group’s song Whalien 52 , which references a whale species whose calls go unheard by others, deeply resonated with her. “I personally sometimes feel like that whale. Being amongst my peers, but they will never be able to truly understand what my adoption has done to me. “For me, finding BTS at the same time I started looking for my birth family and the truth about my adoption and my falsified papers, was such a comfort,” she said. Vestergaard said the grief woven into her adoption would never go away, but that “BTS and their lyrics have made it easier to reconcile with that truth”. – AFP

like Crapser, their guardians failed to complete the necessary paperwork to make them legal, she said. This is becoming a particular problem under US President Donald Trump, who is pushing a sweeping crackdown on purported illegal immigrants. Bae said it was possible that “‘accidentally illegal’ adoptee immigrants may fall further through the cracks and their deeply unfortunate circumstances left unremedied”. Whale Reunions between Korean adoptees and their birth families can be emotionally complex, as Kara Bos – who grew up in the US – experienced firsthand when she met her biological father through a landmark paternity lawsuit. During their encounter in Seoul in 2020, he refused to remove his hat, sunglasses or mask, declined to look at her childhood photos and offered no information about her mother. He died around six months later. “The journey of birth family

Simple Plan unveils first look at documentary PUNK rockers come to the front of the moshpit because Simple Plan is back – well, not quite, but the outfit has unveiled the first look at its upcoming documentary Simple Plan: The Kids in the Crowd.

believe in themselves and inspire a new generation of passionate dreamers who follow the calling of their hearts – “maybe even start a band in their own garage or basement” just like Simple Plan did. The documentary also chronicles the creation of hits such as Welcome to My Life , I’d Do Anything and Perfect , which have shaped a generation of emo / punk rockers. Accompanying the documentary, there is an early demo of I’m Just a Kid from the band’s multi-platinum 2002 debut album No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls. The documentary will be available for streaming on Prime Video.

princess Avril Lavigne, The Offspring’s Dexter Holland and Noodles, and NOFX’s Fat Mike. “We are thrilled to share this first look at our documentary. The film captures our journey, struggles and most memorable moments together. Creating it has been deeply meaningful, and sharing our story is the perfect way to celebrate our 25th anniversary,” shared the band. “ The Kids in the Crowd is about dreaming big and perseverance – it is a story of friendship, brotherhood and music’s transformative power.” The band expressed hopes that the documentary will encourage people to

Thedocumentary, which is set to premiere on July 8, is an intimate look into the band’s 25-year journey, from basement shows in Montreal to global stardom, as the 90s emo / punk rock sensation. Fans are in for a treat as the documentary will feature never-before-seen archival footage, along with new interviews with band members and punk rock icons, including Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, punk

Simple Plan is currently on its Bigger Than You Think! headline tour across North America.