ARMY is organized through and through as a fandom. We have our own sources for a lot of things: fundraisers for charity, streaming, donating to other organizations under BTS’ name, et cetera. ARMY’s passion for BTS is strong, everyone knows that. That is partly why many ARMYs come together to create online information platforms for our fandom and for people who want to know more about BTS.
There are quite a few of these magazines, including Borasaek Vision. Our goal is to produce “high-quality, insightful content about Korean pop group BTS and their fans, ARMY,” says our website homepage.
But why do ARMY create their own online magazines?
ARMY Has Got Its Own Lens
The first, very obvious answer to this question is that ARMY loves BTS and wants to provide correct, fulfilling, and detailed information about the members or anything that revolves around them, including topics that might be difficult to talk about, and encourage self-reflection within the fandom. ARMY wants to show their admiration for the people they are and the good things they do, and it is a way for us to pay BTS back for their hard work.
But unfortunately, ARMY often deals with official magazine articles whose fact-checking skills, professionality, and goals aren’t always in BTS’ (or ARMY’s) favor. In the past, there have been episodes like this in which ARMYs have had to debunk accusations that were very clearly false, and/or expose some writers for their bad job at being professional and sticking to facts, as they were hiding cruelty between the lines instead. A way to do that is through our magazines.
Weverse Official Magazine
Back on Sep. 21, Weverse opened its official magazine that has published articles about “Dynamite” and BE comeback, and about the BTS’ nomination at the Grammy Awards, among others.
Image credit: ttps://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/iwu488/200921_weverse_magazine_out_now/
An ARMY’s thought-provoking comment on Reddit about the magazine and the article about Grammy Nomination reads: “I applaud them for actually dropping names and calling out the ugly people and experiences they've had.”
“They know what's being said about them in the US media. And they're clapping back. And if anyone still says the gatekeeping they've been subjected to isn't about racism and xenophobia...I don't know what else to say to you.” This ARMY has made a strong point, that comes from research and experiences outside of our fandom.
So, it comes naturally that unofficial ARMY journals worry that ARMYs won't want to read our writings because Big Hit now has an official magazine. Others believe we still have something distinct to offer in these spaces.
Therefore, what can ARMY-based magazines, like BVM, offer that differentiates us from what Big Hit might write about in their magazine?
ARMYs Response To the Question
While discussing this blog’s topic, the writing team’s manager “Mama Shelley” said:
“One difference that I can see is that they (Weverse Magazine) are writing blogs/articles on all of their artists, not just BTS, and the other groups may not have dedicated ARMY-written magazines just for them as we do.”
As said before, ARMY focuses entirely on BTS when it comes to most topics, and it comes with a big responsibility.
Another difference is that unofficial ARMY-based magazines also tackle topics that are not immediately related to BTS but that can still affect them in some ways, as One In An ARMY did about “the parallels drawn between stan culture and push for views, the attempt to posit bullying as a defining characteristic of the fandom, the over-emphasis on imposing one kind of political belief on the fandom that has time and again refused to define itself as a monolith, and several others,” after an article published in Bloomberg Businessweek that spread misinformation.
BVM has a whole section dedicated to these kinds of topics, which is the “Check Yourself: Facts” blog series.
Most importantly, and as said before, ARMY knows the media often misrepresents BTS, creates false narratives, and doesn’t show them in the best light. This is the top reason behind ARMY-based magazines and the reason why we strive to be as precise and accurate as possible.
On a brighter note, our BVM team also talks about the books BTS has read, their encouraging messages, the positive happenings inside our fandom, BTS’ journey through the years, and other topics that spread joy and serenity.
ARMY Will Keep Chronicling
Now that the differences behind Big Hit’s official magazine and ARMY-based ones have been established, it’s clear that we both have a common goal, which is to represent BTS accurately, defend the members and our fandom from misinformation, and express our love and appreciation for BTS in a way that official magazines can’t do, as they are not directed by ARMYs.
This is a mutual collaboration that can’t be weakened and that makes both parties happy.
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 Antonella
Edited by Mheer
Checked by Vera
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