A Shinto shrine in Japan has been accused of infringing K-pop boy group BTS' copyright for profit.
Recently, one Japanese ARMY (BTS' fandom) shared photos of a 'BTS Shrine' located in Shizuoka, Japan online.
In one of the photos, standing banners of all seven BTS members and a purple torii (Shinto's gate) are seen in a cave.
Purple is the color that represents BTS and ARMY.
The seaside shrine even has a photo zone with BTS' official logo and an outdoor swing chair with the same logo on it.
If you want to make a visit and pray at the shrine, you have to pay 2,000 yen (approximately 18 dollars).
You can also book a special praying session with a shinshoku (Shinto priest) for 5,000 yen (approximately 44 dollars).
According to fans, you can easily find a video of the shinshoku doing a BTS dance challenge on social media.
As a Shinto shrine is where the souls of the deceased are 'enshrined', the BTS shrine faced a heavy criticism for posting the members' photos solely for their marketing purposes.
Moreover, Korean citizens' public sentiment over Shinto shrine is highly unfavorable, as some shrines―including the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan―deify war criminals.
BTS' management agency BIGHIT MUSIC is yet to make an official statement regarding the issue.
(Credit= Online Community)
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