@Aku_700 This happened in Perth, Australia and the 'woman' was a 15 year old pacific girl. She was sentenced to 12 mths in detention after attacking a pregnant woman walking with her twin toddlers in 2022. The incident gained attention due to the mother's efforts to protect her children.
RE: BTS ARIRANG, Review
→ Open letter to Mano Sundaresan (@manobells), Head of Editorial Content at Pitchfork, and Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast
Pitchfork’s review of BTS’ “ARIRANG” by Joshua Minsoo Kim is not concerning because it is negative; it is concerning because the review itself is written in a tone that reads less like criticism and more like contempt. Beyond ARMY is intentionally not linking to the review or article because it does not deserve free promotion, free clicks or earned media.
A critic is allowed to dislike an album, but that is not the issue. The issue is that this review calls the album “generic pop music,” “vacuous” and ultimately “the sound of their collapse,” says its messages “ring hollow, like birthday emails from a mega corporation,” and reduces a work rooted in Korean history and identity to dismissive shorthand. That is not rigorous criticism; it is a hostile piece presented as analysis, and it is not aligned with the standards expected under the Condé Nast umbrella.
Kim also treated the review like discourse bait: teasing it in advance, joking about the score and baiting reactions after publication. He then publicly goaded @lenikacruz, former senior editor at The Atlantic, by dragging family displacement and the Korean War into a sarcastic reply to her positive reflection on BTS. Reframing it later does not change the point: using war, displacement and inherited trauma to score points against another writer is inappropriate and unprofessional.
The wider response to “ARIRANG” does not match the tone of this review. Other major outlets treated the album as serious, ambitious and culturally grounded rather than hollow. The New York Times called it “a raucous test of its creative mettle” and said it “doesn’t pander, and it doesn’t overwhelm.” The BBC called it “a genuine return to form.” TIME wrote that BTS is “firmly placing themselves within this centuries-old collective tradition.” NPR described the comeback as “a reassertion of [BTS’s] significance.” Even Genius’s review noted that some listeners may dislike the music, but “can’t ignore the substance.”
BTS themselves have also been clear about the album’s intent. In Bloomberg, RM said the group needed “a very clear reason” for this next step and “something that could bind the seven of us tightly.” He said “Arirang” was chosen because it captures emotions that “deeply resonate with Koreans,” and that taking “this local theme” global “really highlighted our originality” and made their voices “more powerful.” On Weverse Live on March 21, 2026, Taehyung said, “슬플 때도 부르고. 여러 감정들이 있을 때 아리랑을 되게 많이 부르잖아요.” (“[Korean people] sing it even when we’re sad. When there are various emotions, we sing Arirang a lot.”) He also said, “아리랑은... 진짜 막 웃고 싶을 때도 아리랑... 한국 사람들은...” (“Arirang [is something sung] even when you really want to laugh ... [for] Korean people ...”).
The review Kim wrote was framed with open contempt, treated the album in culturally careless terms, and was reinforced by his own public conduct; that is a lapse in judgment, a breakdown in standards, and something Pitchfork and Condé Nast should answer for. And Mano Sundaresan (@manobells) should answer for it too: as Pitchfork’s editorial lead, and as someone with an @NPR background who publicly speaks about criticism and standards, he knew better than to approve this.
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*Beyond ARMY’s social media co-admin is a creative director and industry peer who knows the difference between rigorous criticism, calculated provocation and editorial failure.
#BTS_SWIM #BTS_ARIRANG
@misterminsoo You can't ACTUALLY be serious??? This coming from the person who is rage baiting and feeding fan wars??? Get off your high and mighty horse dude, you're part of the problem!
For @pitchfork I wrote about ‘Arirang’, the first new BTS album in four years. I found it pointless and passionless. I think it is beautiful though that its most interesting, emotional, and important song is 98 seconds of near silence.
https://t.co/lj3retMcWk
@pitchfork how could you let someone review an album of an artist they have always talked shit about? There is OBVIOUS bias, you've just proven yourself as a publication with no integrity.