We are loud and proud of it. We are loud with a purpose and a passion so unseen in the world of Western artists that we are invariably brought up whenever BTS is mentioned. Who are we? According to MTV News, we’re “the world’s most powerful fandom.” According to Billboard News, we are “famously organized.” According to BTS, we are their wings.
We are Adorable Representative MC Youths: ARMY. We chant in unison. We tweet predetermined hashtags in droves. We vote and stream tirelessly, moving and acting in a unified formation for our boys. International barriers have come to mean nothing in the grand scheme of us. Media has learned to be aware, often speaking directly to us or commenting that they have to be careful because ARMY is watching.
“BTS fans are young, and youthful adoration isn’t meant to be measured or sensible,” writes one reporter who, although bringing up valid points on the often overprotective nature of ARMY, does so while defending the few cases where such protectiveness was warranted (See the original article here). Unfortunately, these words echo what so many believe to be true about ARMY, and fandom in general.
There are always going to be people who wag their heads at the sight of ARMY, or any crowd of young people passionately participating in something they love that older generations might not understand. Assumptions are made and, to be fair, much of those assumptions may be reasonable. For example, the common stereotype that ARMY is often associated with is that of the rabid fangirl. We are seen as young girls enraptured by pretty faces.
For some of us, perhaps many of us, this may be true. However, I would like to put forward the opinion that a majority of ARMY don’t fall into this category and, even for those of us who do, one mustn’t discount their passion because of their age or gender.
In future posts, I’ll address more of the entirety of the issue. For right now, I want to focus on the first assumption: age.
ARMY Help Centre. One in an ARMY. ARMY Magazine. BTS: Bring The Stats. BTS Analytics. Borasaek Vision Magazine. BTS ARMY Stats. BTSxARMY Careers. Anpan ARMY. Jayelle_Kdiamond. Green Hope ARMY. ARMY Protection Squad. ARMY Academy. BTS Chart Data.
These are just a handful of the numerous BTS fanbases and “ARMY Generals” around the world, and from Twitter alone. These precious souls help translate, track data, encourage ARMYs, teach ARMYs, promote BTS, and even organize events such as acts of charity or act as content creators for the rest of ARMY. Much of these tasks require specialized training, and many of these ARMYs apply the knowledge they’ve gleaned from their day jobs as accountants, writers, designers, business people, and so much more. While I can’t speak for the fanbases I’m not a part of, Borasaek Vision alone contains a plethora of ages, cultures, and experience with around our current membership spanning five countries and multiple generations.
Even if you must ignore the young people who love BTS, how could you do the same to the adults, the professionals, the other artists who love this group? Yes, some of us are young. Yes, some of us are problematic. Yet, I don’t see why this gives anyone license to call the entirety of us toxic, or falsely display a minority of ARMY as a far larger fraction than is true. Such is this case in this Minnesota Daily article which “reports” on how many ARMYs were disapproving of the Halsey and BTS collaboration for Boy With Luv. As someone who is very much active as an ARMY and within ARMY culture, I would like to say that I’m yet to find more than a handful of ARMYs with that possessive mindset. The few that did act this way, were instantly sent digital eye rolls by the rest of the fandom.
To return back to the previously cited reporter’s opinion that our “adoration” is not “measured or sensible”, I would like to respectfully disagree. As much as ARMY might joke about sharing a brain cell, or being a hive mind, can anyone really believe that such an enormous number of people would all mindlessly follow these random young men from South Korea?
Our loudness, our “adoration” could not be more measured. As Zach Sang said on his show on the 21st of June while interviewing “Our Girl, Halsey”, “They are the main promotional vehicle of BTS…I’ve never seen anything like it.” Our efforts are done strategically, usually with very specific goals in mind. Everything, from purchasing an advertisement in Times Square to trending random hashtags on Twitter, are done with the intent to promote and support BTS.
Also, I would like to ask all of those people who so readily dismiss the passion of these young people: are you aware of the damage you could cause? Here is an army of people, many of them youths, who are passionate enough to stand up and do something, even if it’s something you see as silly or trivial. Here are young people who are being encouraged to be themselves, to love themselves.
And they are scoffed at.
“In an intro to one of our early albums, there’s a line that says, ‘My heart stopped when I was maybe nine or ten.’ Looking back, I think that’s when I began to worry about what other people thought of me and started seeing myself through their eyes. I stopped looking up at the night skies, the stars. I stopped daydreaming. Instead, I just tried to jam myself into the molds that other people made. Soon, I began to shut out my own voice, and started to listen to the voices of others. No one called out my name, and neither did I. My heart stopped, and my eyes closed shut. So, like this, I, we, all lost our names. We became like ghosts.”
~RM, UN Generation Unlimited Summit
This is a problem for the coming generations. “Gen Z” is the newest generation to be named, comprised of young people born between 1995 and 2015. There are around 74 Million of them in the US, alone. Gen Z are the largest generation yet, so is it any surprise that ARMY seems to be mostly made up of them? We’ve seen the mistakes made in our societies and the repercussions from them. We are born to countries that have never not been at war. Because of this, Gen Z, most of them teenagers or younger, are more than ready – more than willing – to stand up for what they believe in. ARMY has found a rallying point in BTS, in their message against apathy, such as in No More Dream, in their message of self-love, such as in the entire Love Yourself series. ARMYs, inspired by these young men, have started charities to help aid the suffering in other countries and even work to rebuild the earth that humanity has been slowly destroying year after year.
The general public sees us lining up days in advance for concerts and appearances. They hear us screaming, hear us chanting. They see us trending. They hear about us, sporadically, on the news or online. What they don’t see is the over 20 million strong community that BTS has built. They don’t see the ARMYs who funded water filters in Africa, or the reconstruction of a coral reef, or the replanting of forests. They don’t see the hard work that goes into tracking BTS’ album and steaming data. They don’t see the loving labor that goes into producing factually and grammatically correct, aesthetically pleasing magazines for no personal gain.
They only hear the screams.
And, to me, that’s as good a reason as any to keep screaming. Because, one day, maybe they’ll listen to more than just our noise. Maybe, one day, they’ll hear our message as well.
“So let’s take all one more step. We have learned to love ourselves, so now I urge you to speak yourself. I’d like to ask all of you, What is your name? What excites you and makes your heartbeat? Tell me your story. I want to hear your voice, and I want to hear your conviction. No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin color, your gender identity, just speak yourself. Find your name and find your voice by speaking yourself. I’m Kim Nam-Joon, and also RM of BTS. I am an idol, and I am an artist from a small town in Korea. Like most people, I’ve made many and plenty mistakes in my life. I have many faults, and I have many more fears, but I’m going to embrace myself as hard as I can, and I’m starting to love myself gradually, just little by little. What is your name? Speak yourself.”
~Kim Namjoon, 2018
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Written By: Aury
Edit By: Ash
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