The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released its list of 100 influential and inspiring women of 2023 on 21 November. 21-year-old climate activist Lee Dayeon is the only Korean who made it to the list for her trailblazing work. A campaigner with the online platform Kpop4Planet, she has played an instrumental role in inspiring global K-pop fans to address the climate crisis. 

Climate activist Lee Dayeon was named one of the influential women of 2023 by the BBC. (Photo: Lee Dayeon/authorized for use)

In an email interview conducted between November 24 to December 11, Lee expressed her thoughts on the feat. She said, “I never thought it was only for me. The nomination was for all the Kpop4Planet activists and K-pop fans who helped and supported us. So, this achievement means that K-pop activism had a huge impact and was recognized by the world.”

A Tokyo-based international student, Lee majors in International Studies, English, and Japanese at a Japanese university. A K-pop fan herself, who has shown interest in climate protection from a young age, she realised the environmental impact of waste generated by entertainment companies and the role of K-pop fans in bringing about a change. As a result, Lee, along with Nurul Sarifah, a K-pop fan and climate activist from Indonesia, launched Kpop4Planet in March 2021. 

Kpop4planet is an online platform that tackles climate change with the help of global K-pop fans. There are eight activists who work with K-pop fans to address their concerns and then plan campaigns to deliver the voices of the young generation to the concerned authorities. They also hold ambassador projects for K-pop fans who want to create content and promote Kpop4planet activities among their friends.

As a campaigner, Lee shoulders diverse responsibilities. “I plan and organize the campaigns, help create content, reach out to the concerned industries, and deliver the voices and messages of K-pop fans. I also engage with the global fans through social media and act as a spokesperson with media outlets,” she explained.

Lee’s first major project was the ‘No K-pop On A Dead Planet’, launched in July 2021, which urged entertainment companies to address the prevailing issue of discarded or surplus albums. “We talked about the issue that all K-pop fans have pointed out. Many people are familiar with the pictures of albums stacked up in the trash. Additionally, fans often buy the same album multiple times to get the merchandise inside. This issue is close to fans’ hearts, so we started the campaign based on it. Through the campaign, we asked entertainment companies to solve the problem and join the climate change action. We gathered more than 10,000 petitions from K-pop fans from over 90 countries and collected over 8,000 unused albums from fans in Korea to deliver them to the concerned companies along with messages from the fans,” Lee explained.

Lee’s efforts have resulted in major entertainment corporations adopting green practices. (Photo: Lee Dayeon/authorized for use)

The activists’ hard work bore results as major entertainment companies, such as HYBE Corporation, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment, joined the movement. While SM Entertainment joined the UN Global Compact and released eco-friendly albums, JYP Entertainment joined K-RE100, a global initiative to use 100% renewable energy, a first in the industry. Additionally, YG Entertainment released eco-friendly albums and measured the carbon emission in Blackpink’s concert, another first in the industry. BigHit Entertainment’s artist, BTS member J-Hope, released his solo album on a digital platform, which helped minimize the waste generated by physical albums. Moreover, all the major entertainment companies published the ESG report, disclosing the environmental, social, and governmental data.

While the entertainment industry has taken initiatives in the right direction, there’s a long way to go. “The main demand we delivered to the industry was the option of ‘green albums’, where the fans can choose the number of albums the fans want to receive even though they pay the same amount of money. If the companies care about the fans’ voices, they should put this option permanently,” Lee said.

“I am also a genuine K-pop fan, so I understand that there are fans who want to buy 1-2 albums and collect photocards. That’s why we asked the entertainment companies to make ‘green albums’ so that the fans can choose how many albums or what kind of components they wish to receive. Most fans hugely support our campaigns because we address the issue of wastage that many point out,” Lee elaborated on the importance of their suggestions.

While this movement is empowering and rewarding, it is equally challenging for Lee. “At times, when I start a campaign, I feel overwhelmed because the corporations we target are big and powerful, but K-pop fans have brought about actual changes and also changed how the K-pop entertainment companies and streaming platforms operate. For example, Melon, which is under Kakao Entertainment, promised to move to a data center that will use 100% renewable energy by 2030,” Lee added.

Glimpses from the ‘Save the Butter Beach’ campaign (above) and the ‘Hyundai, Drop Coal’ campaign (below) that urge the government and global corporation to contribute towards environment and climate protection. (Photo: Lee Dayeon/authorized for use)

Kpop4Planet has also expanded its campaigns to diverse areas. Its ‘Save the Butter Beach’ campaign asks the government to halt the construction of a new coal power plant in Samcheok and the ‘Hyundai, Drop Coal’ campaign asks Hyundai to drop the MOU with an Indonesian corporation and instead create sustainable vehicles with clean aluminium. 

Despite the challenges, Lee credits the K-pop fans for their endless support and their drive to contribute to the cause. “They support us a lot and some even send us messages saying that we are the only hope in the K-pop industry and they appreciate our work. These messages motivate and encourage me to keep campaigning for Kpop4Planet,” Lee said.

Lee believes that K-pop fans are an important force for change, especially now that K-pop is gaining immense popularity. She is aware of the stereotypes about fandoms prevalent in society. However, she said, “We are the ones who are changing the world. I want to break these stereotypes and prove that we are a mature fan community.”

Lee Dayeon (left) during the session on ‘Influence of Popular Culture Stars and Fandom’ at the ‘2023 Future Dialogue for Global Innovation’. She was joined by Professor Kim Juok (center) and culture critic Kim Youngdae (right). (Photo: Lee Dayeon/authorized for use)

This is also what she discussed at the ‘2023 Future Dialogue for Global Innovation’ organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on November 30, where she was invited as a presenter along with other leading scholars, government officials, global corporations, and creators.

Currently, Lee is pleased with the honor bestowed upon her by the BBC. “I did not know I was going to be nominated this year. So, I was surprised the first time. It is such a pleasure and honor to be on the list,” she said. 

Lee celebrated the achievement by sharing the announcement with her family, friends, and followers as a mark of appreciation for their support.

Sharing her plans for the future, Lee expressed her desire to continue campaigning with Kpop4Planet and contribute towards climate protection to ensure a better world for everyone. She also hopes that more K-pop fans will show interest in their movement and join them.

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.