A file photo of Stanford University.

Amid a blockbuster run of shows at Stanford Stadium, one of the members of BTS is going viral for replicating an iconic scene in K-pop history on the Bay Area college’s campus.

The spot, near Stanford Graduate School of Education, became known as the “Crying Tree” after Cardinal alum Daniel Lee, better known by his stage name Tablo, wept there during a scandal that nearly ended his career. 

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Tablo was born in South Korea and raised in Canada; a writing genius, he was admitted to Stanford in 1998 and simultaneously finished a bachelor’s in English literature and master’s in creative writing in just four years. After completing his education, he moved back to Korea and and began making hits with his friends DJ Tukutz and Mithra Jin in the group Epik High. The trio became superstars, setting records as a groundbreaking Korean act before BTS even debuted. Then, it all came crashing down.

A controversy over a rapper’s college degree is almost impossible to imagine in the U.S., but the witch hunt nearly destroyed Tablo. In 2010, he was riding high, personally and professionally. He was one of Korea’s most successful musicians, and he had just married Kang Hye-jung, an actor who was world famous for her role in “Oldboy.” But that year, a website called “We Demand the Truth from Tablo” appeared online. The site claimed Tablo never graduated from Stanford, as it was impossible to be awarded a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in four years. Soon, the site had 200,000 members.

At first, it just struck Tablo as ridiculous. But as the fervor grew, his family became targets. The online mob accused his mother and brother of also faking their career........

© SFGate