Filipino BTS fans adopt 8 humpback whales for group's anniversary

Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/11/09/bts.jpg"/><figcaption>BTS accept the win for Best Group at the MTV EMA&#x27;s 2020, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. in this screengrab image released on November 8, 2020. <em>Courtesy of MTV via Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Filipino fans of K-pop sensation BTS have adopted 8 humpback whales in the country&#x27;s northern waters through a non-profit organization involved in the research and conservation of the animal.</p><p>Members of the Filipino ARMY gave P20,000 to Balyena.org, which would help the organization continue its study of whales and dolphins in the country.</p><p>In exchange, 8 humpback whales from the Babuyan Marine Corridor in Cagayan province were named after the boy band&#x27;s members — Kim Namjoon (RM), Kim Seojin (Jin), Min Yoongi (Suga), Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung (V), and Jeon Jungkook — as well as the fandom BTS ARMY.</p><p>The whale adoption is among several projects of the ARMY in celebration of the group&#x27;s 8th debut anniversary this month, said Fritzie Alojepan, an administrator of BTS PH - Bangtan Boys Philippines, one of the longest-running BTS fan clubs in the country.</p><p>Alojepan said BTS PH led the initiative with ARMY Cavite Fanbase and TaehgersPh, a fan club dedicated to member V, but around 14 other groups chipped in for the project.</p><p>It was the ARMY Cavite Fanbase that came up with the idea of adopting whales, an animal featured in BTS&#x27; song &quot;Whalien 52,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Since it&#x27;s a significant symbol (whale) nga, we decided to do something na related dito and that&#x27;s where we decided na mag-team up sa Balyena.org,&quot; Alojepan told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>(Since the whale is a significant symbol, we decided to do something related to it and that&#x27;s where we decided to team up with Balyena.org.)</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/life/06/01/20210601-bts-whale.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>BTS fans adopted 8 humpback whales through non-profit organization Balyena.org. <em>Twitter/@bangtanboysph</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;Whalien 52,&quot; released in 2015 as part of the album &quot;The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2,&quot; talks about feelings of loneliness and alienation.</p><p>The song is based on the 52-hertz whale, dubbed as &quot;the world&#x27;s loneliest whale,&quot; which calls at a higher frequency than other whale species.</p><p>&quot;It is true, &#x27;no, na mayroong na-record... pero whether it&#x27;s lonely or not, &#x27;yon &#x27;yong medyo debatable and whether it&#x27;s one of its kind,&quot; Balyena.org founder Jo Marie Acebes, an expert on marine mammals, said of the whale that inspired the song.</p><p>(It&#x27;s true, there was a record of such whale... but whether it&#x27;s lonely or not, that&#x27;s a bit debtable and whether it&#x27;s one of its kind.)</p><p>Under Balyena.org&#x27;s whale adoption program, a whale can be adopted and named for a year for P2,500. </p><p>Those adopting whales will also receive a kit which includes a certificate, a photo of the adopted animal&#x27;s tail, and a plushie, among others, Acebes said.</p><p>&quot;We selected male whales para mas (so it&#x27;s more) appropriate kasi (because) we do know the sex of some of the whales we have up for adoption,&quot; she said.</p><p>Acebes said she was amazed that fan clubs, particularly BTS&#x27; ARMY, are helping advocacy groups such as Balyena.org.</p><p>&quot;It wasn&#x27;t like this during my time, I would say that. &#x27;Pag fan ka (when you&#x27;re a fan), for example, of a certain band, group or singer, you don&#x27;t normally engage in things like this,&quot; Acebes said.</p><p>&quot;They are quite more aware of what&#x27;s going on and they really want to make a difference by using their own influence as a group. They have a huge following, obviously,&quot; she said.</p><p>Aside from whale adoption, BTS fans are also donating to residents of the Bicol region to help rebuild their houses that were destroyed by typhoons last year, said Alojepan.</p><p>Alojepan, who is 24, said she is proud that fans have been taking part of social causes, often in the name of the celebrities they support.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1697434" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>&quot;Nakaka-proud lang kasi as a fan of K-pop and of course, BTS, hindi lang kami puro fangirl. Kahit papano we try to do something din for our community,&quot; she said.</p><p>(I&#x27;m proud because as a fan of K-pop and of course, BTS, we just don&#x27;t fangirl. We at least try to do something for our community.)</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/03/12/21/is-k-pop-bad-for-the-planet-fans-artists-push-sustainability-but-there-is-long-way-to-go">Is K-pop bad for the planet? Fans, artists push sustainability, but there is long way to go</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Kami, with BTS, they&#x27;ve been supporting some charitable causes so doon kami na-inspire talaga. That&#x27;s why we started also giving back,&quot; she added.</p><p>(For us, with BTS, they&#x27;ve been supporting some charitable causes so we feel really inspired. That&#x27;s why we started also giving back.)</p><p>Several K-pop fan clubs earlier this year joined the community pantry movement, setting up the food aid initiative in their areas.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/20/21/filipino-k-pop-fans-set-up-community-pantries">Filipino K-pop fans set up community pantries</a></li></ul><p>BTS debuted on June 13, 2013 under BigHit Entertainment, which was recently renamed to HYBE Corporation, with the mini album &quot;2 Cool 4 Skool,&quot; which spawned the singles &quot;No More Dream&quot; and &quot;&quot;We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2.&quot;</p><p>Over the years, the group, noted for its songs which deal with youth issues and contain positive messages, worked its way up to become a globally recognized musical act with legions of fans.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/04/22/21/bts-wants-to-visit-the-philippines-again">BTS wants to visit the Philippines again</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1691326" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Filipino fans of K-pop sensation BTS have adopted 8 humpback whales in the country's northern waters through a non-profit organization involved in the research and conservation of the animal.</p>

Filipino fans of K-pop sensation BTS have adopted 8 humpback whales in the country's northern waters through a non-profit organization involved in the research and conservation of the animal.

Filipino BTS fans adopt 8 humpback whales for group's anniversary | ABS-CBN

Entertainment

News

Metro.Style

Sports

More

Lifestyle

Filipino BTS fans adopt 8 humpback whales for group's anniversary

Filipino BTS fans adopt 8 humpback whales for group's anniversary

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 01, 2021 06:40 PM PHT

|

Updated Jun 01, 2021 07:55 PM PHT

Read More:

K-pop

BTS

BTS ARMY

ARMY

Filipino ARMYs

Balyena

whale adoption

humpback whales

BTS anniversary

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2024 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Advertise with Us

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

© 2024 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.