The end of the year is traditionally known as awards season — a time to review and recognize the achievements and contributions of individuals and organizations over the past twelve months. For K-pop fans, this comes as no surprise. This year, major events such as the Mnet Asian Music Awards, the кσяєα Grand Music Awards and the Asia Music Awards have just wrapped up, with a long list of honors handed out to deserving artists.
However, for the past three years, BTS have largely been absent from these ceremonies as a group due to their military enlistment. As a result, ARMYs seemed to pay less attention to кσяєα’s major award shows in recent years. That does not mean, however, that BTS are short of accolades — or that ARMYs cannot celebrate just like the majority of K-pop fans during this time of the year.
On the contrary, ARMYs worldwide are expressing immense pride as BTS were recently recognized by none other than South кσяєα’s President Lee Jae-myung.
On December 8, South кσяєα’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that at the 5th “кσяєα Good Donation Awards,” held the same day at the кσяєα Advertising Culture Hall in Seoul, a total of 20 awards were presented, including commendations from the President, the Prime Minister and the Ministry. BTS were revealed as one of this year’s honorees.
The “кσяєα Good Donation Awards” highlight corporations, organizations and individuals who promote a culture of sharing and compαѕѕion within local communities, thereby encouraging the development of philanthropy nationwide. This year’s recipients represent figures from various sectors who have contributed consistently and systematically to charitable engagement on both local and national levels. Among them were seven individuals and 13 corporations or organizations.
BTS were among the most distinguished honorees, receiving a Presidential Citation. The citation recognizes BTS for their global “Love Myself” donation campaign, which has helped spread a culture of sharing on the international stage. Since 2017, BTS have partnered with the United Nations in initiatives aimed at raising awareness of νισℓєи¢є against children, improving mental health literacy and supporting welfare and counseling services for child victims of νισℓєи¢є in 155 countries.
Beyond that, BTS have consistently donated substantial sums every year to numerous domestic organizations across various fields, including education, healthcare, culture and even military-related causes. Several BTS members are long-time members of major charity networks such as UNICEF кσяєα Honors Club and the Green Noble Club, among others. Notably, their philanthropic efforts have also inspired fans, driving wider public participation in charitable activities.
This year, BTS were honored alongside prominent figures in philanthropy, including veteran actress Go Doo-shim, business leader Yoon Young-soo, as well as companies such as Samsung Electronics, Sunjin Entech, Dong-A Pharmaceutical and SCK Company, among others.
Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung stated, “Your warm-hearted generosity has become a driving force that strengthens our society as a healthier community. The government will continue working to build a positive cycle in which charitable giving becomes a daily culture and contributes to the overall happiness of society.”
Following the news, social media was flooded with messages of pride from fans, celebrating BTS not only as K-pop superstars but as global figures known for their compαѕѕion and meaningful social influence:
- This is amazing! So incredibly proud of them for using their platform to do so much good in the world. Well deserved!
- There is always a rainbow after the rain. Such a good day in armytwt. Congrats our boys
- in the midst of all the drama too oh godtan sonyeondan i get why they're targeting you
- BTS will never be the bad guys f*ckαѕѕ kpop stans want them to be. No amount of hate on social media will change the fact that absolutely nobody is actually cancelling them in real life.
- so fkn proud to love and be loved by seven inspirational, kind human beings
- Hate campaigns got nothing on BTS outside of social media cuz they're genuinely good people with good morals and intentions. They will always be known as good people that have always worked towards a cause to help everyone. I'm so proud to put my support behind a group like BTS
- no matter how many hate trains they make against bts, the purple boys will always win in the end
- You can say whatever you want about them but they will always shine as the beautiful human beings they are. So proud of our boys
- When you’re being canceled but receiving a presidential commendation. Our kings
- Omg. Well deserved congratulations to bangtan. This heals us so much these days
