“Got ARMY right behind us when we say so”- RM (Butter)
As we slowly tread towards completing 8 years of living with a beautiful miracle called Bangtan Sonyeondan, our fandom gets bigger and stronger. From pulling off unimaginable numbers on streaming platforms and helping BTS beat records effortlessly, to fearlessly standing with them and standing up for them – ARMYs have become a fandom that every artist desires as well as fears.
We at Borasaek Vision started this series as an effort to keep such a magnificent fandom humane. We believe that every ARMY is unique and has their own story that is waiting to be heard. So, shall we look at some of the beautiful stories we picked for our readers this month?
Our first story is by Wendy Lopez from the Philippines, who has been one of the victims of Kim Taehyung’s immaculate charms and sincere acting in “Hwarang.” Here’s what she has to say about her ARMY journey.
“I am a big fan of K-dramas, so when I watched ‘Hwarang,’ I was smitten by Kim Taehyung. He looked so innocent and acted like a baby. Because I liked Tae, I looked him up and found out about BTS. Down the rabbit hole, I went. That ‘I just want to know their names’ was real! I noticed that I listened to their songs every day, starting with the WINGS album. You could say I fell in love with the short films. The next thing I knew, I was one of the millions waiting for the comeback.
What made me stay? One, the concepts – I studied English and literature, so discovering Demian and the story of Icarus were incorporated in ‘BS&T’ was a win for me. I am also interested in psychology, so watching them include Freudian and Jungian principles, theories, and everything in their MVs and lyrics excited me.
Two, the lyrics – I write poems myself, so I really pay attention to the lyrics.
Three, the comfort – I must've told this story about my mother passing away on my 28th birthday, and how the whole of mono and ‘Tonight’ helped me get through it. Listening to ‘Zero O'Clock,’ ‘2! 3!,’ and ‘Spring Day’ calmed me.
Last, the personalities – I watch ‘Run BTS!’ every Tuesday, which helped me learn about the members more. I felt jealous at times, thinking I could never find friends the way they did. But their closeness and positive vibes inspired me to surround myself with people I am comfortable with. They encouraged me to love myself more by surrounding myself with good people.
I could say more, but I'm afraid this is getting long.
Thank you for providing a space for ARMYs to share their stories.”
Next up, we have Rishika from India, a MOTS-era ARMY, who was enchanted by BTS’ impeccable discography and had something to share with us (with an important message at the end).
“I deep-dove into BTS in the more innocent time of march 2020. These were the early days of our new reality, and a pump-up song called ‘ON’; caught my attention through the YouTube trending page and my brother’s insistence. I was energized by the song, amazed by the dance, and deeply fascinated by the MV that would apparently be understood upon learning about ‘Bangtan Universe.’ So I did, and though I still don’t know totally what that MV means, I’ve found BTS as I embark on a very confusing period of life (my 20s, still figuring things out!).
I eventually decided to go through their full discography, looking at each concept photo, MV, lyrics, etc. (I recently listened to LY: Her and I am a solid ‘Outro: Her’ stan now). It’s been so wonderful, so comforting to know that the challenges of youth, of being a human, and the shadows you have aren’t just yours – they’re shared by people all over the world, thanks to 7 Korean men brave enough to express their thoughts. As someone on Twitter said, I thought initially that BTS, with their slick MVs and bright hair colors, would provide an escape from reality, but they actually made me more introspective and in touch with it.
In a year where I couldn’t see my friends, watching the 7 guys lose their belongings on trips like I have with friends, prank friends, and take care of each other as friends do, made me feel infinitely less alone. They’ve inspired me, made me laugh, and I don’t think there’s been a single week of this period where I haven’t listened to a song or seen ‘Run BTS!,’ ‘Bon Voyage,’ or an MV. I hope my journey continues, and I’m thankful beyond words. (PS.: Stream ‘Butter,’ out May 21st!)”
Now Deme will lead us through her life-changing experience from being a non-kpop listener to becoming an ARMY.
“In July 2020, I was preparing for the Student Study Service. After my work was done, I would always go to my friend’s house. She is an ARMY and always plays BTS songs. Disclaimer, I’m wasn’t a K-POP fan. I liked old songs from the 1960s more, like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and so on. But I always accepted other music genres, even if it was modern music. Sometimes I listened to hip-hop or rap songs and some K-POP music in my playlist.
My friend always told me about BTS songs, like background, theories, or their MVs, and it’s so beautiful, and I was really amazed. I got interested in it, but when she introduced me to Kim Namjoon, or RM, and showed me his first mixtape, I got more curious about him and his mixtape mono. And then I played RM’s mono mixtape with the lyrics in English and also the MV. I felt like I found something new that could encourage me. My mental health was in bad condition in early August 2020, and the mono mixtape always made my life better, even before I knew RM.
When I was in Student Study Service, I always came to my friend’s house and stayed until 6 or 7 PM, until my tasks were done. She showed me about BTS members. I only remembered Jimin, V, and J-Hope (I already knew Namjoon). But I couldn’t recognize Jin, Jungkook, and Suga. My friend said that Suga is like a cat, lol, and Jin has thick lips. She said that if I wanted to know them more, I could watch their channels, like ‘Run BTS!’ or Bangtan TV. And yeah, I always watch their ‘Run BTS!’ every single day, and they’re too funny for me, lol. My reason why I wanted to know BTS too is because I got to know that BTS’ songs are made by the members themselves.
I thought that BTS songs would be similar to Namjoon’s mixtape with beautiful lyrics, and we can learn from their songs, and it turned out to be really true. So I chose to be an ARMY to support them. After I knew BTS members, my love for them is the same even though my bias is still RM, but they have different characteristics and personalities. So I love them with the same feelings and the same percentage. Thank you, BTS, for always being around me, making my life more worthy, and always teaching me how to accept and love myself.”
ARMYs are part of this one big family, where every member has a different story to tell. And somehow, it always ends at “BTS really changed my life.” Borasaek Vision will continue to get your stories the spotlight they deserve.
If you think you are ready for the world to hear about your ARMY journey, you can fill the form here: https://forms.gle/XVfoAAdVo4WUT2fr7 .
DISCLAIMER: We do not own any audio & visual content in this video except for the editing. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS. No copyright infringement intended.
Written by: Ananya
Edited by: Mheer
Checked by: Vera