Okay-pop band aespa and different South Korean pop stars have introduced a flurry of donations to help victims of an condo hearth in Hong Kong that killed a minimum of 128 individuals in one of many metropolis’s deadliest blazes.
Girl group aespa mentioned they’ll donate 500,000 Hong Kong {dollars} ($64,000) to the Hong Kong Red Cross, in accordance with a put up on their official Weibo account. “We express our deepest sorrow regarding this heartbreaking news,” the band mentioned.
Stray Kids pledged 1 million Hong Kong {dollars} ($129,000) by means of World Vision Hong Kong for non permanent housing and different help for affected youngsters and residents. “We were all very heavy-hearted upon hearing the unfortunate news from Hong Kong,” the group mentioned.
SM and JYP Entertainment, two of South Korea’s largest leisure firms, donated a mixed 3 million Hong Kong {dollars} ($385,000) for emergency aid and catastrophe restoration.
Other Okay-pop teams that additionally pledged donations included boy bands Riize, EXO-CBX and KickFlip contributed 100,000 Hong Kong {dollars} ($12,900) by means of World Vision Hong Kong.
Organizers of the MAMA AWARDS, an annual two-day Okay-pop awards ceremony scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Hong Kong, confronted on-line criticism in South Korea for not canceling the occasion in gentle of the fireplace tragedy.
South Korean leisure firm CJ E&M canceled each days’ purple carpet occasions however mentioned the primary ceremony would proceed.
“We express our deepest condolences to those who lost their lives in the fire in Hong Kong,” CJ E&M mentioned in a press release. The firm mentioned the awards would add a “Support Hong Kong” message and embody time for mourning. Organizers additionally pledged to donate 20 million Hong Kong {dollars} ($2.6 million) to the help fund established by the Hong Kong authorities.
“We believe in the healing and solidarity power of music,” the assertion mentioned.
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