Minnie aka Nicha Yontararak, Miyeon aka Mi-Yeon, Soyeon, Yuqi and Yeh Shuhua aka Susan Yeh of girl group i-dle are seen at the 20th W Magazine Korea Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign “Love Your W” photo call at Four Seasons Hotel on October 15, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/WireImage)
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As Hong Kong mourns one of its deadliest residential fires ever with an apartment-complex blaze that has claimed at least 94 lives and left more than 200 missing, K-pop’s biggest artists, labels and fan communities have mobilized rapidly. Millions of Hong Kong dollars have already been raised for emergency response and recovery efforts, as dozens of Korean acts are in Hong Kong for the 2025 MAMA Awards. The industry’s presence in Hong Kong for one of Asia’s biggest nights for music has sharpened a collective responsibility to support local relief efforts.
The fire, which engulfed seven buildings of the Wing Fok Court in the Tai Po district, sparked a massive deployment of more than 1,250 firefighters, with one first responder killed during the rescue. The complex, built in the 1980s, had been undergoing major renovations that authorities believe contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, due to flammable construction materials such as bamboo and styrofoam. Hong Kong police have opened a formal investigation, with three people arrested so far.
In response, Korea’s largest entertainment companies and artists quickly acted.
Representing the label homes for artists like BTS, ZICO, SEVENTEEN, ENHYPEN, LE SSERAFIM and NewJeans, HYBE Music Labels APAC donated 2,654,216 Hong Kong dollars (approximately $341,000), the largest single contribution from a label at press time. The donation will go to Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief, where funds will be routed to local nonprofits to aid affected families.
Meanwhile, the label home to TWICE and Stray Kids, JYP Entertainment, contributed 2 million HKD ($256,964) to Hong Kong World Vision, while SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and WAKEONE Entertainment each committed 1 million HKD ($141,235), the former in support of the Red Cross Hong Kong. While still relatively new compared to the aforementioned entertainment giants, THEBLACKLABEL also donated 500,000 HKD (approximately $64,241) in aid. All the companies issued statements of condolence and calls for solidarity.
GOT7 member and Hong Kong native Jackson Wang donated 1 one million HKD alongside his Team Wang brand to the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals’ Emergency Assistance Fund, while also sharing additional information about shelter and aid access for those affected.
Artists already in Hong Kong for MAMA also made substantial personal and group contributions, with China’s Fosun Foundation sharing that i-dle donated 1 million Chinese Yuan (which is nearly 1.1 million HKD or $141,235) to support displaced residents, and member Yuqi shared a supportive and hopeful message through social media.
Before their special performances at the 2025 MAMA Awards, major groups Super Junior and Stray Kids both donated 1 million HKD, while the top-nominated group aespa donated 500,000 HKD ($64,241), as did the top-nominated boy group, BOYNEXTDOOR, and their HYBE label mate TWS, who are respectively up for eight and three awards at the 2025 MAMAs.
Singer, Squid Game actor and 2025 MAMA presenter Yim Siwan donated 200,000 HKD (about $25,693) to the Hong Kong Red Cross. Plus, male groups WayV, PLAVE, and RIIZE each donated 250,000 HKD. K-pop trio EXO-CBX (consisting of EXO members Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin), as well as the recently debuted boy band KickFlip, both made 100,000 HKD donations ($12,846).
Chinese singer and EXO member Lay Zhang also donated 1 million Chinese Yuan. Zhang Hao of ZEROBASEONE also made a private donation of an undisclosed amount via the Fosun Foundation.
Often a driving force in K-pop philanthropy, several fan communities made their own contributions to support Hong Kong during its time of need in honor of their favorite idols.
Jackson Wang wears pink-tinted sunglasses and a striped ensemble featuring a high-collared jacket and matching trousers. The fabric displays a pattern of vertical black and white stripes with red floral motifs. The jacket is fastened with white buttons. Hair is styled in a neat, swept-back manner, outside Louis Vuitton, during Paris Fashion Week – Menswear Spring/Summer 2026, on June 24, 2025 in Paris, France (Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
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Fan bases in China and around the world for stars like BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu, SEVENTEEN’s Wonwoo, aespa’s Karina, ENHYPEN’s Jungwon, ENHYPEN’s Jake, ENHYPEN’s Ni-ki, RIIZE’s Eunseok, RIIZE’s Anton, izna’s Jeemin, Hearts2Hearts’ Juun, fan groups for multiple CORTIS members, and many more contributed smaller but undoubtedly meaningful amounts too. Organizations like Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong and local hospitals will benefit from the fan-led support.
Beyond K-pop, much of the larger Asian entertainment sector is stepping up with the likes of MIRROR, G.E.M., Esther Kwan, Yang Zi, Miriam Yeung, Charlene Choi, Jessica Hsuan, Charmaine Sheh and more making significant donations.
With the tragedy coinciding with the 2025 MAMA Awards at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium, organizer CJ ENM canceled the red carpet where young groups TWS, izna, KickFlip and Hearts2Hearts were set to perform. The ceremony also modified several staging and programming plans — removing fireworks and high-impact visuals in particular — out of respect for Hong Kong’s mourning period.
“We express our deepest condolences to those who lost their lives in the fire accident in Hong Kong,” CJ ENM shared in an official statement on November 27. “We extend our heartfelt sympathy to all those, including the bereaved families, who are experiencing hardship through great loss and anxiety. The 2025 MAMA Awards will add a ‘Support Hong Kong’ message to create a time to share in the sorrow and commemorate, and we intend to contribute our efforts through donations to support the victims. The 2025 MAMA Awards believes in the power of music to heal and unite. We are carefully preparing the overall stage composition and proceedings to ensure that it becomes a ceremony that conveys comfort and hope, rather than just dazzling productions. We hope that music can bring even a small amount of comfort and courage to everyone’s hearts. The 2025 MAMA Awards promises to be a responsible event that does its utmost until the very end.”
As more labels, artists and fandoms will likely contribute forthcoming donations, K-pop’s global community is once again demonstrating its ability to mobilize quickly and at scale when crisis strikes.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbenjamin/2025/11/28/k-pop-stars-labels–fan-bases-raise-thousands-for-hong-kong-fire-aid/
