BTS on March 30 released a statement in both Korean and English condemning racism and violence against Asians in the U.S. on its official Twitter account. (Big Hit Entertainment) 

By Joung Haseung

BTS on March 30 released a statement on its Twitter account urging an end to hate and violence against Asians in the U.S., while opening up about the group's own experiences with racism. 

The statement was uploaded in both Korean and English on the K-pop sensation's official Twitter account, saying, "We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. We feel grief and anger." 

The hashtags "StopAsianHate" and "StopAAPIHate" also appeared in the tweet. 

"We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians," BTS wrote. "We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English." 

"We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason," the group added. "Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem." 

"What is happening right now cannot be dissociated from our identity as Asians. It required considerable time for us to discuss this carefully and we contemplated deeply on how we should voice our message." 

The statement concluded by saying, "But what our voice must convey is clear. We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence." 

"You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together." 

As of 2 p.m. on March 31 Korean Standard Time, BTS' tweet attracted 1.93 million "likes" and 981,000 retweets. 

The tweet came two weeks after a mass shooting in Atlanta on March 16 that killed eight people. Four of the six Asian victims were confirmed as ethnic Koreans.  

Korean celebrities including Eric Nam, CL, Jay Park and Tablo have since spoken out against anti-Asian attacks and condemning racism against Asians. 

BTS on March 30 released a statement in Korean and English expressing its opposition to anti-Asian hate in the U.S. (Screenshot from BTS' official Twitter account)  

jhaseung@korea.kr