Letters To Bangtan!

Why we choose to write letters to BTS is a complicated question. Or, at the very least, it is a question with multiple different answers. Letter writing in and of itself is sort of a dying art. Speaking in a general sense, handwritten letters - or letters of any type - are incredibly rare and have a “novelty” feeling about them when received. 

The answer to the question of why ARMY writes to Bangtan will change depending on which ARMY you ask. Perhaps the most basic reason is that we have something to say and this is the best way to do so. What we wish to say may have varying levels of complexity, but we all have the same level of sincerity. No story is unworthy of being told and shared.

BTS, proving themselves to be one of the world’s most versatile artists in this digital age, will go the extra mile to share personal (hand-written) messages or letters of thanks and appreciation with ARMY and each other.

When Jin celebrated his 26th birthday last year (December 4th ), he gave ARMY his own present in the form of a hand-written letter. In Korean, he thanked ARMY for helping BTS to win the Popularity Award and told us,

“ARMYs’ happiness is my biggest happiness.”

Not forgetting I-Lovelies (international ARMY), he included this small gem in English:

‘Sorry to my international ARMY that I am not good at English. But I love you.’

ARMY TIME

진심, or sincerity, is one of the qualities that we love about our BTS members, and when they put pen to paper, their sincerity always shines through. With millions of fans all over the globe communicating with BTS 24/7, ARMYs know that the chances of receiving a personal reply from BTS are very slim. Yet we continue to cheer BTS on, in the hopes that our words bring them comfort and strength; to be healthy, to be happy, to be well.

In keeping with the notion of sincerity, we asked our staff if anyone had written to BTS and would be willing to share their experience. This is what Anna shared with us.

It would be foolish to try to enumerate every possible reason that ARMY might write to Bangtan, so I won’t attempt to do so. I can only explain why I wrote.

I wrote because I had to.

Technically speaking, I did not have to. There was no requirement in a contract demanding that I did so. Rather, this feeling of obligation is due to my own personal beliefs. I grew up in a small town, raised by straightforward parents who taught me the basics: when someone does something nice for you, big or small, you thank them.

Without going into great detail, I will say that this part of the article would be very different if I had not found BTS when I did. It would be different in tone, sentence structure, and vocabulary choice. In fact, everything would be different, because it would be an entirely different individual writing it.

The nice thing that BTS did for me was to give me hope. They helped me find a reason to move forward when I was unable to find reasons to do so. They helped me find my courage when I thought I had none. They helped me save myself, and this is arguably the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me. There was no more appropriate reason to say “thank you” than that.

There was one song in particular which provided the last-minute, eleventh-hour inspiration and motivated me to keep putting one metaphorical foot in front of the other. It was one of the solo songs, so it seemed only appropriate that I start my journey of writing letters to Bangtan by addressing the first of seven to him, commemorating my new beginning by beginning with him.

My only regret is that I am not fluent in Korean - I’ve only just begun learning recently (I’m only an ARMY of a little over a year), so I unfortunately wasn’t able to write to him in his own language as I would have liked to do. As anyone who has ever had to translate a BTS tweet can attest, translation services have some issues, so I didn’t trust one to translate an entire letter for me.

Despite all this, I still felt compelled to write the letter. The question was when: when would I be ready to write it, and when was a good time to send it?

My one-year anniversary as an ARMY seemed like a smart choice, but the timing wasn’t right. The anniversary came and went. I struggled to write something that I was proud enough to be willing to send. In fact, I tried twice to write my letter. I lacked purpose, though I had a reason.

Then it occurred to me that there was a perfect time to write a letter, a time that meant even more to me than my anniversary as an ARMY: the day that they saved me. The anniversary of my “almost,” when I made the conscious choice to keep moving forward instead of stopping for good.

What better time than then?

With renewed enthusiasm, I set aside a few days and wrote my letter. I had tried twice before, but this time I didn’t struggle. I suddenly knew what I wanted to say to him. I didn’t spend hours looking at a blinking cursor, waiting for inspiration. This time, the letter wrote itself.

All I had ever wanted to say was “thank you.” It didn’t have to be complicated or overly poetic. It didn’t have to be dramatic or fantastical. It had to say “thank you.”

Though my specific reason for writing is deeply personal, the theme is something to which many ARMY will relate. As Namjoon has said, you find BTS when you need them most. This much was true for me. I found them precisely when I needed to. When I needed a light in the darkness to show me the way, they clicked on an ARMY bomb, and that sphere of purple led me home. 

TO BTS WITH LUV

Fan mail might seem ‘out-dated’ in this digital age, but our ‘ARMY TIME’ story has shown us that writing a personal letter is a perfect way to say “thank you”. Now all you have to do is write.

To help, here are some GUIDELINES to make sure your letter arrives safely to Big Hit Entertainment and BTS:

• Only standard sized envelopes, made out of paper, can be delivered

• Both mail / registered mail can be delivered

• Mailing address is shown above

• Replace ㅇㅇㅇwith the member(s) name: RM (김남준) / JIN (김석진) / SUGA (민윤기) / J-HOPE (정호석) / JIMIN (박지민) / V (김태형) / JUNGKOOK (전정국)

Letters can be written in ANY language, but be mindful that unless Big Hit have translators on staff, Korean is still BTS’ main language of communication. Just like Jin though, you may want to include some Korean words or phrases in your letter.

If so, here are a few suggestions of what you could say – the more formal versions have been used: e.g. 보라해요 instead of 보라해

If you want to use more Korean in your letter, there are many online resources available to help you. One of my favorite YouTube tutorials can be found here: How to write a fan letter in Korean! BUT don’t feel pressured!

💜💜💜 Being sincere in what you say and do is MOST important. 💜💜💜

“ARMY TIME”

Do you have a ‘letter writing’ experience to share? Has this blog inspired you to write?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

#BVLettersToBangtan

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DISCLAIMER: I 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: Mama Shelly ft. Anna Moon

Edit By: Caitlin