BIGBANG
Reuters

South Korean boy band BIGBANG's G-Dragon has more than a million fans on his Instagram. This social media space is often used to share art, music and food that the K-pop artist has a particular liking for. But little did G-Dragon aka Kwon Ji-yong know that one Instagram post would get him into trouble with his fans.

The problem began when the "Bae Bae" singer posted a picture of the South Korean flag on Monday, Aug. 15. GD captioned the picture, "815," in honour of the country's National Liberation Day, which marks its independence from Japan's colonial rule.

However, many of his Japanese fans took umbrage at his post and accused the 27-year-old singer of being unsympathetic to their country. The picture incited a war of words between many of his followers. While some defended G-Dragon's patriotism, others remained angry and claimed they would no longer welcome him into their country.

BIGBANG has a huge fan following in Japan. The band was one of the first few K-pop groups to have a massive concert in the country, according to Soompi. Recently, the YG Entertainment managed boy group held its 10th anniversary concert, which was attended by over 100,000 people.

To be sure, G-Dragon's Instagram post is one among the many social media posts which has spurred a regional war of sorts. Earlier, Girls' Generation member Tiffany was targeted for uploading a picture of Japan's flag on Korea's National Liberation Day.

The "Lion Heart" singer posted a picture about her upcoming gig in Tokyo and included the country's flag as an emoji in her caption. Nevertheless, fans felt betrayed by the singer and even asked her to leave the reality show, "Sister's Slam Dunk." In response, Tiffany posted a handwritten apology and deleted the Japanese flag from her picture.