After the record-breaking Love Yourself: Her Album from the K-pop group BTS, BTS announced last October 31, 2017, that they collaborated with UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) in an anti-violence campaign "Love Myself".
"Love Myself" made the BTS the first Korean artist to raise funds as a part of a global campaign.
According to the project's official website, BTS together with the K-pop group's label Big Hit Entertainment, they collaborated into a two-year partnership with the Korean Committee for UNICEF on November 1, 2017. They joined forces in sponsoring #ENDViolence, a UNICEF hashtag campaign based around making the world a safer place so the children and teenagers will be able to live happily and healthy, without the fear of living in violence.
Over the next two years, they pledge 500 million KRW (around $447,400 as of October 31 rates) to the UNICEF campaign. They will also donate 3% of the "Love Yourself" series physical album sales income. All the sales and official goods income related to Love Myself campaign and additional donations to UNICEF will also be put towards #ENDViolence.
The Love Myself #ENDViolence campaign also corresponds to BTS lyrics messages, together with a number of the band's songs as it addressed societal messages. BTS discography focuses on themes such as mental health issues, suicide, nihilism, and K-pop idol system, and also about female empowerment. In September 2017, their fifth EP album "Love Yourself: Her" features theme such as love, loss, friendship, and even death was released. BTS continued to promote social messages in its songs.
Before they unveil the website campaign, BTS members shared selcas (selfies) on their Official Twitter account (BTS_twt) using #LoveMyself as a hashtag, giving the ARMYs and the others a heads-up ahead of the announcement.
In January 2018, BTS introduced a donation platform, in partnership with KakaoTalk as well as official stickers for the campaign. Then in June 2018, BTS and Japan committee for UNICEF announced their partnership in the partnership agreement ceremony held in Tokyo, Japan. BTS delivered a speech about the "Love Myself" campaign in the United Nations General Assembly in September 2018, with RM spoke behalf of the group, with the other members, are behind him. It was reported January 17, 2018, global accumulated funds received for the campaign are 106 million KRW. Overall, around KR? 606 million was raised. In November 2018 it was announced that over KR? 1.6 billion had been raised by the organization, or $1.4 million USD As of June 30, 2019, the campaign's global accumulated funds total stands at KR? 2.4 billion.
The campaign is funded in the following ways:
KR? 500 million donated by Big Hit Entertainment and the seven members of BTS
3% of all income from physical album sales of the Love Yourself series, including Love Yourself: Her, Love Yourself: Tear, and Love Yourself: Answer
100% of all sales of official Love Myself campaign goods
Part of the income from the sales of official KakaoTalk Give-ticon and LINE stickers for the Love Myself campaign
Kakao's contribution platform "Together Value with Kakao"
Naver's online donation platform "Happy Bean" Donations received through donation desks installed by UNICEF
The proceeds will be used to support young victims of school violence, domestic violence and sexual assault around the world. It will also support education programs for local communities to aid violence prevention.
BTS (?????), also known as Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band that debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. They are originally a hip-hop group, which their music style evolved in a wide genre range. Their songs mainly focused on personal and social issues, with the theme of mental illness, health, social youth, loss, journey of loving yourself, and also being individual. The group also has several world tours and bagged awards which makes the group rose to fame. They are also the first Korean group to receive a certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for their single "Mic Drop". The group is also the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 with their studio album "Love Yourself: Tear" (2018) and hit the top of the US charts with their albums "Love Yourself: Answer" (2018) and "Map of the Soul: Persona" (2019), making the BTS the first group since the Beatles to earn three number one albums in less than a year. "Love Yourself: Answer" also set South Korea's Gaon Album Chart's all-time monthly record, previously set by "Love Yourself: Tear" and became the first Korean album certified Platinum in the United States.
Following their Love Myself anti-violence campaign in partnership with UNICEF, BTS participated in the United Nations 73rd General Assembly and became the youngest ever recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit from the President of South Korea due to their contributions in spreading Korean culture and language (Hallyu Wave).