BTS is Bangtan Sonyeondan (방탄소년단), a K-pop boy group from South Korea under HYBE, an entertainment company, debuting on June 13, 2013, with the album ‘2 Cool 4 Skool’. The group is split into three rappers and four vocalists, the band consists of RM (Kim Namjoon), Jin (Kim Seokjin), Suga (Min Yoongi), J-Hope (Jung Hoseok), Jimin, (Park Jimin), V (Kim Taehyung), and Jungkook (Jeon Jungkook). RM, J-Hope, and Suga are the rappers/producers of the group and Jin, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are the vocalists.
BTS has won numerous awards, they are one of the top five most awarded artists of all time with more than 1,400 physical awards within the span of 12 years of their career. They have been nominated five times for the Grammy awards and have been some of the first Asian artists to break world records. Most, if not all, Korean songs that have hit #1 on Billboard are by BTS. BTS’ fanbase name is ARMY, Army’s are very passionate about BTS and are well known for defending BTS. Many people wonder why Army’s are so protective of their favorite idols; there are many reasons why.
- Unique Storytelling
BTS’ albums and songs are not just what you expect from your average K-pop group. Most of BTS’ discography has a story to it. In 2015, the group released the album ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1’ (Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa, aka HYYH). HYYH is one of the group’s biggest storylines as it explores the themes of youth and growing up and the bittersweet feeling of entering adolescence. Two more parts of the album released after Part 1. April 29th, 2025,was the album’s 10th anniversary. Many fans adore and cherish this album as it was a big turning point in BTS’ career, as it shifted from their usual Hip-Hop sound from 2013-2014 to a more deep storytelling era which grew their fanbase more internationally.
“Please use BTS to love yourself. Because you taught me how to love myself, everyday.” – RM
Another example of BTS’ powerful storytelling is the Love Yourself album trilogy. This series includes ‘Love Yourself: Her’, ‘Love Yourself: Tear’, and ‘Love Yourself: Answer’. The trilogy explores themes of loving yourself even if you’ve made mistakes and the whole idea of accepting and finding yourself for who you are. There is a hidden track on ‘Love Yourself: Her’ called Sea. RM, (Leader of BTS) says this song is a hidden track in the album because he believes it will find you when you most need it, almost like a guide he explains.
“Sea is a hidden track because, if anyone really needs this song in their life, fate will guide them to it at the perfect time.” – RM
BTS’ music also includes many genres of music- not just K-Pop. K-pop is an umbrella term and not a music genre. BTS has songs consisting of Hip-Hop and R&B and many other genres. When BTS first debuted, they were heavily shunned and denied by many K-Pop variety and music shows, they were only able to perform if another group cancelled. Due to this, they started their own variety shows and used social media more than other groups to share their content. This is how BTS started growing a larger fanbase in the west.
- Fan Engagement
There is a huge stigma around Armys being toxic with those who fail to understand the background of BTS. Most if not all Armys are quite fed up with this assumption- Army’s represent a fandom that pop culture has never seen before.
Army’s respect BTS’ privacy – Previously, the public has only seen fandoms that have tried to invade celebrities’ privacy and treat everything as facts and that you would have to know everything about their personal lives to be considered a fan. Most army’s dont know or don’t care to know much about BTS’ families or personal information, one of the only private information we care for is to celebrate their birthdays. Many say real Army’s should know BTS’ music and their story in the music industry.
Army’s care for BTS’ safety – when BTS first started getting recognition in 2017, it was difficult for them to get through airports even with several security guards due to the overwhelming number of fans. Army’s organized the purple ribbon project in which Army’s in the front row of the airport, form a barrier with purple ribbons to prevent the members of BTS from getting mobbed. Now many armys encourage other Army’s to not go to the airport or any other locations where BTS has private schedules. When Army’s see BTS in public, they pretend to not know them and respect their privacy and won’t say anything online until they are back safely in South Korea.
“BTS fans are good at keeping order more than people think, at the airport too. I see they follow their singers, since their singers are kind.” – Reporter at Jin’s military enlistment
- BTS Addressing World Issues
BTS are the first and only ever K-pop group to visit The White House. When President Joe Biden was in office, Biden invited the group over to discuss issues of anti-Asian hate crimes along with Asian representation and diversity. BTS have also spoken at the United Nations several times to promote many campaigns such as Generation Unlimited in 2018, Special Presidential Envoys in 2021, and the Love Myself Campaign (2017-present). They spoke about the importance of younger generations and how we can make changes such as climate change. It is much more powerful to see an influential and powerful group promote these things rather than watching your average politician speak on it.
“Find your name, find your voice by speaking yourself. I’m Kim Namjoon, RM of BTS.” – RM at UN in 2018
With many reasons as to why Army’s cherish BTS, many people fail to realize and understand why their fandom is so overly supportive and large. Non-Army’s seem to just assume instead of asking questions. Whenever people see a dancing boy-band with flashy outfits they just automatically assume it’s for pre-teen girls and that it’s “not their style.” There is also a big majority of them who have a burning hatred and prejudice against BTS and Army’s just because they’re popular. What they fail to realize is what BTS’ essential message is, they’re always blinded by “toxic fans” (aka those who defend BTS) because they are just not used to seeing such a powerful bond between an artist and their fans. BTS’ popularity is very much deserved and justified with their message they put out to fans about important issues, their uplifting music, and organic bond with Army.
