K-pop fandom-led 'Dokdo challenge' goes viral online

These screenshot images from X posts show fan-made videos of K-pop artists dancing to a Dokdo-themed song. Screenshots from X

K-pop fans are leading the so-called “Dokdo challenge” online by uploading videos of K-pop artists synched with Dokdo-themed song to campaign for Korea's easternmost islets amid Japan's continued territorial claims.

The online movement was triggered by some users of X, formerly known as Twitter, on Dokdo Day, which falls annually on Oct. 25, who expressed concerns over Korea’s flagging efforts in the territorial dispute. They cited that the government cut its budget for territorial disputes with the neighboring country.

As of Friday, “Dokdo challenge” is trending in Korean on X, with over 22,000 related posts.

Under the trending phrase, K-pop fans and online users shared choreography video clips of their favorite artists that they edited to sync up with the song “Dokdo is Our Land.”

The military hymn-sounding rhythmical song, which starts with lyrics that read, “78 kilometers away along the southeastern waterway from Ulleungdo,” is a pseudo-nationalist anthem for Koreans regarding the ongoing territorial dispute between Korean and Japan.

Composed and written by Park In-ho and released in 1982, the song has been published in elementary school textbooks since 1996 and has been performed and remade by popular Korean artists such as D.J. DOC.

Featuring BTS, NCT, Riize, G-Dragon, IU, Seventeen and trot singer Lim Young-woong and more, these posts read the artists “participate in Dokdo challenge,” as if the fan-made posts are uploaded by the artists themselves, promoting public awareness of the territorial dispute.

The fans mentioned how Korea made drastic budget cuts regarding its claims to Dokdo and canceled some major celebrations for the island’s national day, comparing it to Japan’s increased budget for handling international territorial disputes.

“There is no other way but to start a Dokdo challenge of our own,” wrote one user, which triggered several others to post self-made campaign videos using K-pop.

Korea decided to cut its budget on Dokdo for next year as part of its belt-tightening fiscal policy.

According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ budget plan for next year, acquired by Rep. Shin Jeong-hoon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the government’s budget for academic promotion of Dokdo will be reduced to 868 million won ($657,000) from this year’s 1 billion won.

Also, the budget allocated for the Northeast Asian History Foundation, a research body under the Ministry of Education, to counter historical distortions on Dokdo was dramatically curtailed from this year's 2 billion won to 500 million won for next year, while the budget regarding sovereignty over Dokdo was cut from 520 million won to 390 million won.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government drew up around 300 million yen ($1.98 million) for promoting its territorial disputes against other countries for next year.