KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — South Korean rapper and singer Bang Yongguk won the hearts of Malaysian concertgoers for his simple gesture in respecting the Muslim call to prayer.
The Up rapper who recently had a show at the Shantanand Auditorium in Brickfields, paused his Colors of Bang Yongguk show which started at 7pm, to make way for fans to perform their Maghrib prayers.
Accompanied by a translator, the singer told the audience that it was time for Maghrib prayers before announcing a 15-minute break.
Videos of him making the announcement had also been circulating across social media.
"To my overseas fans and from outside of Malaysia, I would like to ask and hope you can appreciate and understand why we are taking this break.
"So I will be back in 15 minutes and I’ll see you guys then,” Yongguk told his audience.
Bintang K-Pop dari Korea Selatan, Bang Yongguk menghormati kepelbagaian agama dan budaya semasa persembahannya di Malaysia dengan menyelitkan waktu rehat khusus buat peminat yang beragama Islam untuk melaksanakan solat Maghrib. Beliau turut menjelaskan terlebih dahulu kepada... pic.twitter.com/5iVl7odThc
Advertisement— Malaysian Kpop Fans (MKF) (@msiakpopfans) July 20, 2023
His fans can be heard loudly cheering and thanking Yongguk after the announcement, in a video which was shared by Twitter user Malaysian Kpop Fans.
Meanwhile, local social media users were also seen applauding the artist for respecting the country’s norms and culture.
Local fans also applauded the organiser for preparing prayer rooms for them as well.
Masukkan prayer break dalam schedule, sediakan bilik untuk solat, yongguk announced sendiri waktu solat and even explained about it to fans from other countries yang maybe tak faham kenapa and asked for their understanding. Bang Yongguk is the standard.https://t.co/9UDJLU2vgk https://t.co/qUiMM2ZdGV pic.twitter.com/sCmllVtMSQ
— 아린누나|PCD BANG YONGGUK IN KL| (@yoogoleen_) July 20, 2023
"Exhibit A: Kpop artists showing respect for the local cultures and norms,” Twitter user sicfallacy tweeted.
"This is how you do.it Respect the law, learn about the locals and try to understand them. Much respect to Yongguk,” Twitter user thefikrey tweeted.
"Bang Yongguk is so respectful towards the fans. He even asked (them) to go for maghrib prayer break. Not like that Matt Healy guy from The 1975 (who) demolished the chances for international acts to perform in Malaysia,” user zeawoguchi tweeted.
Malaysia was part of Bang Yongguk’s Asia and Europe tour and the rapper will be heading to Taipei as his next tour destination on July 23.
