The South Korean K-Pop group BTS
may have undoubtedly reached the insane levels of international super-stardom
that their fellow countryman PSY never even achieved during his own heyday in
the early 2010s. Most western music fans of this generation could identify them
and even profess their fandom of the boys. They have nominations for Grammy and
Brit Awards, and won multiple AMAs, Billboards and Golden Disks. But they have
influence beyond music as well, having had the honor to address the United
Nations on behalf of UNICEF. It is in the latter facet of their prominence that
this gift from their national government falls under.
According to Inquirer.net, the seven young men of BTS received from South Korean
President Moon Jae-in the documentation that fully complements their role as
Special Presidential Envoys for Future Generations and Culture. Those documentations
are diplomatic passports issued to BTS by President Moon himself at the Blue
House Presidential residence this past Tuesday, September 14. The official BTS
social media pages showed photos of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, V, Jimin, Jungkook and
RM flashing their new diplomatic passports at Blue House. Moon had already
named them Presidential Envoys back in July.
[#오늘의방탄] 둘! 셋! 안녕하세요 #문화특사소년단 입니다 👏🏻 #BTS #방탄소년단 #대통령특별사절 #BTSARMY #Got_ARMY_Behind_Us #마음속은아미와도함께 pic.twitter.com/z0vkB9V1zC
— BTS_official (@bts_bighit) September 14, 2021
What does a diplomatic passport
do? It indicates their holders as having diplomatic functions for the country
that issued them. Therefore, diplomatic passport holders are accorded VIP
treatment by authorities at airports they arrive in, and their baggage may be
exempt from inspection. In South Korean law, diplomatic passports are given to
the country’s (present and former) Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Affairs
and Trade Ministers, ambassadors, International Olympic Committee members,
public officials serving other diplomatic missions abroad, their spouses and (young,
unmarried) children, and special envoys declared by the government like BTS
have recently been.
The only limitation of these
diplomatic passports is that they must be used solely on official (South
Korean) government business. That means BTS cannot travel for overseas concert
tours using them. They can however use their passports to for example,
accompany President Moon to the UN General Assembly on September 20 for
Sustainable Development Goals Moment. Other than that, should the K-Pop juggernaut
be called on to speak internationally on South Korean interests in global
agendas, they could use these passports as diplomatic envoys. Their nice Presidential
gifts also included fountain pens for each member.
Since their debut in 2013, BTS
has been on a meteoric rise to global celebrity with their infectious,
memorable self-composed music. This has intensified further since they began
releasing English-language songs since last year with “Dynamite,” followed by
this year’s “Butter” and “Permission to Dance.”
Image from Manila Bulletin
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