K-pop stans are keeping ‘tuk-tuk’ drivers afloat in Thailand
BTS stans or ARMYs in the country had their own means of helping out a food delivery rider. Meanwhile, K-pop fans in Thailand also had their way of supporting their local tuk-tuk taxi drivers.
The “politically disaffected” K-pop obsessed youth of Thailand helped tuk-tuk drivers and street food vendors through their ad money. These funds were initially spent on ads to celebrate their idols’ birthdays and album launches, as per Reuters.
‘The extra income may not be a lot for most people but it is for us,’ said tuk-tuk driver Samran Thammasa. He wasn’t familiar with K-pop star Jessica Jung, whose poster was placed on his three-wheeled motorcycle rickshaw.
Thamassa used to earn 1,500 baht (2,285 pesos) a day by driving tourists, but it all disappeared as travelers fell by 85% in 2020. At present, he earns 600 baht (914 pesos) monthly due to the K-pop ad on his vehicle.
The young fans have been placing banners of their fave K-pop idols on the vehicles to provide the drivers a new source of income. Thamassa and other operators now mobilize their empty tuk-tuks with a K-pop star’s banner that would attract Thai fans’ attention as they take pictures and use their service.
Bangkok’s tuk-tuk drivers are among those immensely affected by the pandemic’s devastation on Thailand’s tourism industry.
The youth’s initiative benefited over 9,000 tuk-tuks in Bangkok. It also stemmed from their anti-government protests last year when students rallied for their prime minister to step down. Several K-pop fans were protesters themselves.
‘It’s a political expression that we don’t support capitalists. This marked a change from us competing to book skytrain and subway billboards, but now it’s tuk-tuks,’ said Pichaya Prachathomrong.
Banner: REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
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Source: we the pvblic
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