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Amid the “Tank Day” controversy, singer JK Kim Dong-wook posted a message defending Starbucks.
On May 25, JK Kim Dong-wook shared a photo on social media with the caption, “I hardly ever go there—so why make me want to go? It’s annoying.”
The image showed the Starbucks logo with the overlaid text: “If you want to go, go. It’s your choice.”
The post drew attention because it coincided with an ongoing boycott movement targeting Starbucks.
Starbucks Korea ran a tumbler promotion from May 15 to 26, but phrases used during the campaign—such as “Tank Day” and the onomatopoeic slogan roughly translated as “thud on the desk”—sparked controversy.
Users on online forums argued the wording mocked the May 18 Democratic Uprising and the 1987 torture and death of activist Park Jong-chul.
As criticism intensified, Starbucks Korea suspended the promotion and issued an apology, but calls for a boycott continued to spread among some consumers.
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