BTS Privacy: How can ARMY help protect it?

 Airport Mobbing     

 Imagine you are a K-pop idol. You are on a plane headed home from your tour and you feel awful. Your body hurts from all the intense dance routines. You want a massage. You have been on a strict diet for months in preparation for this tour for both stamina reasons and visual reasons (unrealistic beauty standards you are expected to meet). The plane food is lacking but you plan to have that massage and eat a big dinner then take a long nap once you get home. You take a deep breath and get ready for the part you hate the most about airports -the press and fans. The plane lands and you put on dark shades because the flashes from all of the cameras hurts your eyes. You took something for muscle aches and hope it kicks in soon. You pull a baseball cap over your messy hair and plaster on your best fake smile. You hope no one gets hurt. You think the fans swarming the airport is dangerous and you have addressed this with your fans. Nothing seems to change and they get more and more aggressive each trip. You trust your security team and leave it up to them because it's their job to make sure things go smoothly. 

     This is just my imagination of course but I feel like this must be what these celebrities go through at the airport. I feel bad that they have to put on a happy face and wave and pose to appease a bunch of entitled fans who shouldn't be there in the first place. No one should be at the airport unless they are staff (of the airport or stores or restaurants etc inside), travelers, people saying goodbye to travelers, or picking travelers up. 

It is in the guidelines to BTS ARMY fandom membership that fans are not to be at the airport. There are a lot of things in these official rules that are ignored by fans and when Twitter or Threads ARMY bring it up we always face opposition ("it's the culture"). I highly recommend all ARMY visit the ARMY etiquette linked in this post and in my post about resources. I've realized that a lot of what we talk about is already there in black and white reposted via Weverse from Big Hit. The link is for a US ARMY fan base but the rules apply to all ARMY no matter where you are. 

     When we ask ARMY not to go to the airport it's for safety and privacy reasons. BTS should be able to travel without feeling like they are putting fans in a position to potentially be harmed because people don't know how to act. Fans get too wild sometimes and push and shove each other and the ones there from fan sites that are there to take and sell pictures (obtained without consent) will push and shove to get that one shot they want. Fans swarm these artists and their bodyguards have to watch them and the fans in order to keep their clients safe. I've seen footage of an actress getting swarmed so that she could barely take two steps at a time without stopping because of the crowd around her. A sasaeng followed behind Jungkook with her suitcase when he stopped for a second to bow and security quickly pushed her out of the way. We often joke that security should be just yeeting people out of the way, but recently security teams for a K-pop boy group and an actor both were under fire for pushing greedy fans. My opinion on that is that security is doing their jobs and if these fans would stay away from the airport they wouldn't have to worry about getting manhandled by security. If security did nothing and an idol got hurt they would still be blamed so they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do you do your job and get in trouble for it or risk not doing it and still get in trouble for it?

     BTS ARMY started the Purple Ribbon Project at the airport where they would go and create a barrier between the fans and the artist. They would hand out purple ribbons and line up and link together to keep the crowd back. Namjoon mentioned in an interview that he liked that ARMY did this. ARMYs often ask if we should bring this back whenever there is another incident of BTS being mobbed at the airport. The original creators of the Purple Ribbon Project have said on Reddit that it would not be something that they would bring back now. The goal is to get fans to stay away from the airport and stop mobbing these artists whenever they travel. Having ARMYs bring back the project would be sending people to the airport to do damage control and it would be against the goal of not having extra people there. People would also try to get into the project as members or organizers just to get close to BTS and that would be counterproductive to have people that joined just to break the rules.

     BTS have all discussed not liking the drama at the airport. Taehyung thanked fans for giving them their privacy on a past trip to Hawaii. ARMYs pretended not to see them at the airport and kept things calm. Jin mentioned using a private exit for safety reasons when he got to Argentina (to perform with Coldplay before his enlistment) only to return to South Korea and be swarmed by fans at the airport. What can we do about the airport mobbing? We can encourage ARMYs to not go to the airport and to support the guys on their public schedules like meet and greets and concerts, not on their private schedules. We can stop engaging with unauthorized content from the airport. That means stop sharing fan site photos (you can tell them by watermarks and from the menu markings that often show up in their photos from the camera). If the people swarming the airport to get photos cannot sell those photos and don't get likes on their photos or videos when shared on social media then they may stop going. People go so they can get photos and videos to sell or post online which is against ARMY guidelines. Unfollow stalker accounts. Some are big fanbases that seem to have the scoop on everything so people follow for info not asking how they got it. 

Unauthorized Photographs

     Speaking of unauthorized photographs, all photographs taken on private schedules without permission are prohibited (see ARMY guidelines). That goes for the Yoongi photo that was going around last week and all of those military photos that people sneak and take without their permission. I'm still undecided about the ones the other soldiers take and post because it's likely that they know the photos are being taken but not necessarily that they will be on social media. I try not to engage with those as much if I am confused about them. Yoongi however, said as he was enlisting that he didn't want there to be any photos of him taken and posted. Fans who share those are clearly doing so against his wishes. We all miss him too but the rest of us are willing to wait for them to post the pictures they want out and allow them to have the privacy they deserve by not sharing something they don't want out. He was not on official business but out on a private schedule at a movie. Following them and taking video on private schedules is unacceptable behavior.

     Following family and friend accounts of BTS members is also a bit odd to me. It almost feels like using someone to get to their popular friend or family member. I trust BTS to post and share with us what they want us to see and we need to stay in our place as fans. I don't follow any of their family members or friends unless those friends are also in the industry and they have collaborated with them (which is not the same thing). Their friends and family have their own lives and businesses to run and often have pages set up for that purpose. Jungkook's brother has a clothing line and so does JHope's sister. They have their own brands to represent that have nothing to do with their BTS siblings. Jimin's dad runs a restaurant and apparently often posts about Jimin. I wouldn't know because I don't follow him. I just see things when people who follow his page post. I always think of things from a protective standpoint. If I was a celebrity would I find it weird if people followed my father's Instagram looking for insider info on me? Yeah I would. I would want to keep my friends and family safe from fans should they decide to get rude.

     And getting rude and stalking friends and family certainly happens. JHope's sister was getting spam on her live streams by people who thought it was fun to post "Yoongi marry me" in her comments. That was just rude and embarrassing to ARMY because she's an influencer and a business woman who was talking about products at the time I believe and a played out joke that was wearing out its welcome with ARMY showing on her feed makes us look bad. RM has had a friend he posted pictures hanging out with (a friend who is also in the industry) get hate spam on Instagram to the point where he locked down his page. I think the haters were speculating that they were in a relationship (not their business anyway) and they sent hate messages to this man. These things reflect poorly on ARMY and are just hateful and juvenile. Some ARMY follow Jungkook's brother and end up sharing pictures from his account. I feel like if they were supposed to be out then Jungkook would share them on Weverse or on his Bam IG. If you follow them for your own reasons and don't share what they post, that's better in my opinion than following them to get info on the members then reposting it. 

Stalking and Private Information Leaks

     I was scrolling Threads a few weeks ago and I came across a post that was a picture of a house with the caption "Jungkook's new home." I immediately took screenshots to send to BigHit legal team and checked out the account to see if they had posted anything else about it. I didn't see anything else on their page but as I scrolled further on the main feed there was a TikTok that someone had shared with the same house saying it was Jungkook's new home under construction and there was a shot of a fence or something with a sign on it that looked official. I took a screenshot and got the link to that too. I don't think it is technically illegal to post someone's home online but what reason would anyone have to share that information other than seeking attention or to do something they shouldn't do. This could put him in a dangerous situation assuming it is his home. He has already expressed being upset with stalkers who have sent him food delivery, stood outside of his home, and even had a stalker join the same boxing gym as him after standing outside taking video of him through the window. She apparently took the footage for her Patreon account where she was stalking him then posting exclusive footage and charging for it. If this isn't his home and the posters were posting for internet likes and follows then think about the current or potential new tenants. They are going to be stalked by fans looking for Jungkook. That could put their family in danger. It would be such a nuisance to have random people hanging out around the outside of your home at all hours hoping to see someone who doesn't live there.  

     We don't share personal information about the members. This should be common sense and self-explanatory yet there are people working for airlines, train stations, and other places who leak information about the travel schedules of the guys. Sharing private information puts them in a vulnerable situation with stalkers and they have had some dangerous situations with them in the past. As you can see in this video from ARMY YouTuber Jose Ochoa, V had a stalker last year who followed him into the elevator of his building. She was obviously very disturbed because she thought she was going to marry him and even had a marriage certificate she tried to get him to sign. That ultimately was how she was caught because she put her real contact info down on the form and authorities were able to arrest her. How did this person even get his personal address information? People may think sharing this stuff is fun and cute because they get likes and follows out of it but you don't know if someone else is going to take what you share and do something harmful with it. You may think sharing a picture of a house that supposedly belongs to BTS is harmless but all it takes is a Google photo search to find the neighborhood and address or close enough to it for a stalker to figure out the rest. 

** Update 6.12. 2025 Jungkook just was released from the military on 6.11 and had a stalker trying to break into his home. The woman waited apparently hours and was arrested and let go. This needs to stop.

What Can ARMY Do To Protect BTS

    As a fandom the things we do reflect on the rest of the fandom and BTS. It’s our duty to follow fandom rules (and as I said before yes there are rules and they are linked in this post for anyone who wasn’t aware of that. I didn’t always know either.) . It’s our duty as citizens also to make sure we aren’t doing anything that endangers other people as well. So how can we protect BTS’s privacy and make sure they feel safe with ARMY?

1. DO NOT GO TO THE AIRPORT TO CHASE IDOLS! Unless you are picking someone up, work there in some capacity, are official press with a press pass (not a blogger or fan site), or are traveling you have no business at the airport. Crowds of fans are a safety hazard and can also cause problems for other travelers. You do not need to be there in the way. 

2. Stop consuming airport content. If the content is no longer popular then people going there to get video and pics of idols will have to figure out other content and less people will go to the airport to try to get pic and video for attention. 

3. Stop sharing unauthorized photos. These are any photos that were not shared by Hybe, the guys, any official sources like brands they have endorsements with or shows they have been on, and people also in the industry. Posting their locations while they are on private schedules can be dangerous. People with ill intentions will know where to find them on their private time.

4. Never share any address, phone number, or travel information for the members. If you see anyone sharing it take screenshots with their info and get links to the page where the info is and send to BigHit legal New Hybe Report Link

     If we work together we can see to it that they are a bit safer every day. At the core of all of this is that real ARMY treats BTS like the human beings they are and respects them and they respect ARMY. 

Hate Campaigns Against BTS and What We Can Do About Them

photo credit: Shamia Casiano via Pexels

(Note: I was going to post this tomorrow morning because Monday is the day I decided to post new posts. Given the current situation with Tae now being targeted by fake activists and them dragging Namjoon into it through his IG I am so mad I figured I would add to this and post today. We have to band together as ARMY and fight for our artists.)

  Some of the most evil, disgusting, malicious lies I have ever seen anyone tell about another human being came from antis on Twitter and were directed towards BTS. Before I got into BTS which drew me into the K-pop world, I never knew that people sat around behind the computer and just made up lies about singers. Gossip rags, sure, but I didn't think regular people did things like that. Gossip writers do it to sell magazines and it's trash so people know not to take it seriously. I knew that this kind of thing existed in politics but the extent of fan wars in K-pop has got to be next level garbage.  

     In July 2015, BTS faced death threats online from antis during their Episode II: Red Bullet tour stop in New York. They performed for about two hours and the show was cancelled after staff noticed death threats on social media being made against RM. One of the tweets was a hand holding a gun with the caption saying something like they were on their way and RIP RM. There was a fan meet scheduled that was also cancelled. It's one thing to say you don't like a group's music or you don't like their style but threatening to murder someone is on a whole other level of crazy. It takes a special kind of psycho to do some of these things.

         A year later they faced the Break Wings project. This coordinated hate campaign was started by several other fandoms when BTS's album "Wings" was released in 2016.  I'm not naming fandoms here because I don't want to get into fan wars but if you follow the links or look into it on your own there's plenty of information on who was involved. This was the big incident where they were accused of inflating sales of their albums. This subject was revisited once again this year as a part of the whole Min Hee-Jin fiasco. They were investigated for sajaegi (boosting chart rankings through illegal means using artificially inflated album sales) twice and were cleared of any wrongdoing both times. Here is a link to a Pinterest account that kept receipts from that time including group chat conversations and tweet screenshots. These fans basically got jealous that their groups were being outdone by BTS who were only three years old at the time and escalated their jealous lies into a sajaegi investigation. 

     Break Wings failed miserably but it still left a mark on BTS and the fandom emotionally. I feel like finding out about this and other hate trains against them and how they have come through it strong and with integrity intact makes me love and respect them more. This is also why some ARMY don't feel the need to befriend other fandoms and that's perfectly fine because nothing says we have to be friends. We owe these other fandoms nothing. What I do feel though is that I will be civil and not engage in fan wars.  

      The malice aimed at RM (Kim Namjoon), the leader of BTS, has seemed to increase off and on whenever a member of BTS (whether it is him or not) releases an album or single. Jimin is the member with the latest release and last week I was hearing about a hate campaign antis started against Namjoon on Twitter. It reminded me of the cancel campaign that a certain fandom of a girl group started against Namjoon over a Frank Ocean song. They tried to paint him as Islamophobic because he shared the song (which is in no way anti-Muslim and neither is Namjoon). When it was pointed out that the group they stan also liked the 12 year old song, shared the same song on social media, and had even attended a Frank Ocean concert they ignored it. A Frank Ocean fan page came into the picture to drop the truth complete with notes on the interpretation of the song. A couple of TikTokers joined in and added their lies to the fire saying Namjoon wrote the song (he did not) and trying to connect him to unrelated social issues going on between religions in South Korea at the time. The next time Namjoon went live the comment section was full of harassing comments asking him to apologize to Muslim ARMYs for sharing the song. He said he wasn't apologizing as he had done nothing wrong. I was so proud of him at that moment for standing his ground because people like being loud and wrong and acting self-righteous when they jump on these hate trains. They were wrong and were explained in detail why they were wrong and they decided to be willfully ignorant because hate and anger to these kinds of people (antis) is a way for them to project their personal issues onto others. 

     BTS have faced so much malice and hate from the beginning and it continues. Not getting into politics but all those fake performative activism campaigns people have been spamming on Weverse began as hate campaigns from other fandoms too. These never were genuine calls to help and if they were, they would never have been all over our space for BTS. They would use larger platforms and do things like set up fundraisers for donations or start letter writing campaigns to political leaders and not spam our fan letters pages trying to make idols say something publicly that they want them to say. They are using politics and religion to distract us from voting, streaming, and buying merchandise (particularly streaming). Before you engage  any activity that is aimed at hurting the boys, ask yourself what the motivation is. I have seen the tweets and group chats planning this too and they have long since been copied and sent to Hybe. Here is an article that explains why all of this performative activism aimed at forcing celebrities to talk is useless. This says it better than I ever could. Thanks to the ARMY who sent me this article.

     As I am editing this now, there is a hate train going against Taehyung on Weverse. Tae posted some old photos of him on vacation and in one of the pictures he is holding a McDonald's french fry package that is used in children's Happy Meals. The comparison to how large his hand is and how small the package is is so cute. Of course our usual suspects the ever annoying pain in the ass performative activists have made their way back to Weverse to protest Tae and his McDonald's package that's from 2022! So I guess they are going to go back and attack every single post of anyone that shares MCD or Starbucks from the dawn of time. Be serious. This is all so out of hand. ARMY's are on it reporting to Hybe BigHit but these people are so absurd. They come in with these gas lighting comments that abusers use against their victims saying "we love you but..." and "I support you but..." --no one cares! Weverse is not the place for their fake activism and our guys do not deserve this. 

   When I found out what happened to Tablo of Epik High (a close friend of BTS who collabs on "All Day" with RM and was in an episode of Suchwita with Yoongi), it made me really sad and angry, but I have so much respect for him and how he persevered through having netizens try to destroy him. Someone started the whole hate campaign against him in a chat room all because they were jealous of him going to an Ivy League school and getting two degrees. Jealousy over a brilliant rapper who is a genius who tells it like it is but at the same time is a kind sweet guy just living his life. Sounds like someone else we know and love (Namjoon).  

     So who are these people and why to they do some of the evil things they do? We use the terms "antis" and "sasaengs" to describe haters. They come from every walk of life just like proper fans do. They often "token stan" a group or artist to hide their hate behind liking another artist. Say a hater decides they don't like "A" and want to make hating on "A" their whole personality. Instead of hating on "A" outright they decide to stan "B" so they just look like a passionate fan. They may not even pay attention to "B"'s music or content. They just pretend to stan them so they can justify their hate towards "A" and find others who will agree with them because as they say, misery loves company. 

      BTS was not with a company that was one of the Big 3 at the time they debuted (top 3 rich successful Kpop agencies/labels) and Big Hit was close to bankruptcy. They pulled themselves out of that through hard work and dedication. The main groups that were big 3 that had been on top at the time took offense to that. 

I say groups here because some of these groups actively participated in the accusations hurled at BTS. They were treated by their seniors (older artists in the same field) like the younger step siblings that were never supposed to have nice things and when they earned those things (strong organic sales, loving dedicated fans, national and international recognition) the ones used to getting praised got jealous of the new kids and their fandoms ganged up to attack. 

     What confuses me and always will about the whole thing is that coming from nowhere and working hard to be successful and succeeding is supposed to be ideal. From what I know of Korean culture, how Koreans fought to reclaim their land after the Japanese occupation, and how the economy was able to boom in a short time to become a force on the world stage, BTS's success should be seen as a thing of pride and basically how people should be living. Hard work and dedication and a love of what you do for a living. It baffles me that there have been tons of netizens and media ready to take them down for doing what every one tells their kids to do - work hard and you can achieve your dreams. I guess ultimately it boils down to jealousy and the people who are not where they want to be just decide to use their frustration at their own failures or perceived failures as a reason to dump their negativity onto other people. Celebrities become a target because no one expects them to fight back. If they do, especially in Kpop culture, they may be seen as rude or disrespectful to fans.

     There is a K-drama on Netflix called "Celebrity" and in it there is a group of women who are rich influencers competing with each other for social media dominance. There is an outside person pulling the strings and controlling who gets to be on top of the social circle of these women. The last few episodes really made me think about Kpop fan wars and how you never really know who is behind the keyboard. The lifestyle and psychological profile of the anonymous person seems dead on what I think antis are like in real life. 

     It's hard not to jump in and argue back with haters and defend BTS openly when they receive hate. All that does though is give the trolls what they want and that's an audience and engagement. Some "shooters" (people who fight trolls back on the internet on the behalf of their fandom) will say that they are just "returning the same energy." I used to agree with that though I never used to participate. What I noticed is that it's useless. They don't want to learn from their mistakes so calmly correcting them does nothing and as the saying from Lemony Snicket goes, " If everyone fought fire with fire, the whole world would go up in smoke." I've seen antis take a small comment back to them and escalate that to death threats and threatening to expose user information. It's not worth all of that drama in my opinion. I would much rather see these people get sued by Big Hit/ Hybe and have their accounts suspended or banned permanently from the platforms they spread hate on.

     Whenever you see malicious comments, photos, plans to attack or disrupt Weverse or any space frequented by BTS and ARMY you can report these things to Big Hit/ Hybe's legal team and they will review it and seek legal action. They update us periodically about cases in the works and cases that are finished. This is why you will see ARMY getting excited about certain "This is Big Hit" notifications and talking about karma being an ARMY along with those announcements. People think that free speech means saying what you want to without consequences and that's wrong. You can certainly say whatever you want but you are never exempt from the consequences whatever they may be.

     Here's how I send Big Hit reports:

1. Take screenshots of all the evidence that antis are talking negatively about BTS (don't bother with small scale stuff like "flopping" and "they suck" because that's not what we mean). Anything threatening their sales or streams (boycotts), threats against their lives or families lives, saying they inflate sales illegally, any accusations of criminal activity, allegations of plagiarism, and anything else that defames their character including political posts harrassing them to speak on this or that. It's still harrassment 
2. Keep a list of links for every screenshot you have. These antis like to run their mouths then go private or lock their accounts, some even temporarily deactivate to try to avoid the consequences. This is why we get screenshots first for proof then links because links may disappear later.
3. Keep it off of the timeline. Posting on your page to rant about it or share to others to block the person or report only spreads it. Unfortunately this is how things work. You'll get people commenting under your post asking what happened. Keep the conversation to DMs or group chats only. Being curious is natural but giving in and talking about it in your comments makes others aware of it and is one other post about to added to the lot. 
4.  Send info to Hybe/Big Hit via this new portal to report info Hybe Reporting Portal (updated 09/2024) Fill out the form as much as you can. In Chrome browser you can easily automatically translate the page to English or other languages. 

     I think there will always be antis because there will always be a jealous hater somewhere. The more successful and the nicer you are the more they seem to pop up. The way we handle them by collecting info to send to Big Hit, reporting, and blocking rather than engaging with them is better than wasting time arguing with some brainless troll on the internet. We get the satisfaction eventually of the Big Hit legal emails reassuring us that they are taking legal action against these offenders. Maybe one day they will learn if they can't be nice to say nothing at all.

Let Women Enjoy Kpop: Fandom Life in a Sexist World

      Sexism is defined as, "prejudice or discrimination based on sex, especially discrimination against women." Also "behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex." As I have mentioned in a prior post, ageism and sexism often go together or are intersectional when they are used to intimidate women. For example, I have never seen anyone tell a man in his 50's that he should give up his love of football and that he is too old to be a fan of his favorite player or team. I have seen women as young as 20 being told they are too old to be K-pop fans. Women expressing an interest in nearly anything have been taking to the internet to express disappointment at being harassed for the things they enjoy. Whether the hobbies they enjoy include cosplay, K-pop, gaming, being in a band, or even doll collecting, I have seen posts from women of many different ages and walks of life discussing being bullied for their interests. For the purpose of this post I want to look at sexism as it relates to (K-pop) ARMY and how ARMY is viewed as "crazy fans" sometimes vs how men are as sports fans in actuality.

     Whenever women take pleasure in anything, men often find a way to belittle that. It's almost as if women are not supposed to enjoy anything outside of taking care of home and family. Men are allowed to go and drink with the guys and tear up whole towns if they choose with minimal punishments given for such hooligan behavior while women are frowned upon for collecting K-pop photocards and cheering on their faves at concerts. I recently read a thread where a man was excited having attended a K-pop concert with his wife. He sounded like he had a great time and mentioned becoming a fan of the group afterward. Lots of women fawned over his comments because he's a man basically approving of something we enjoy and we see so much of the opposite of from men I guess they wanted to praise him for his reaction. It reminded me of when fathers do the same things mothers do but men get that swooning reaction from women for doing the bare minimum. I couldn't help noticing that every time the man posting got the chance he mentioned seeing "grown women and girls screaming." He uses this phrase several times throughout his thread and the more I saw it the more it rubbed me the wrong way. Grown men and boys scream at sporting events and cheer. Why is it surprising that "grown women and girls" would cheer for what we like as well? Who wants to sit at a quiet concert? I mean it has happened (BTS Seoul Permission To Dance concert 2022 but that was due to health restrictions during the pandemic, not because they didn't want to). Cheering shows support for the act and should not be frowned upon. Artists feed off of that positivity for energy. Several of them have mentioned how the crowd gets them pumped and gives them energy to continue when they are tired or not feeling well. Don't let people make you feel like a crazy fan for screaming for your favorites.

       One thing that happens in the U.S. sometimes when there are major sporting events is rioting. The media hesitates to call it that and often uses softer words for it like reveling and the offenders are called revelers or sports fans not usually rioters or the hooligans that they are. Once such riot happened in 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after the Philadelphia Eagles won the Superbowl. There was violence, property damage, and fires as thousands of fans took to the streets in celebration of a win. If they do this when they win, what happens when they lose? The same thing. Out of a couple thousand fans rioting and wreaking havoc on the city there were only about six arrests. This sort of thing happens when college teams play championships and during other sporting events as well. But men make fun of women for screaming at concerts.

     What happens after these big concerts and events where the biggest boy band in the world performs? Surely these women fans often labeled by the press as "crazy" or rabid get up to some crazy rabid fan behavior. Not surprisingly, that's not the case. BTS ARMY has been praised for keeping things clean and orderly when they go to concerts. Organizing lines in a way to make things smoother for fans and staff at entry when attending concerts, helping each other find lost belongings using social media, and cleaning up so well that one crew paid to clean had nothing left to do when they arrived to clean are things ARMY are known for doing. Last year at the Festa celebration for BTS's 10th Anniversary, between 300,000 and 750,000 people were in attendance at Hangang Park. BTS ARMY cleaned the entire venue after the event. Cleaning staff stated they arrived to work and the place was already cleaned. ARMY was also praised during Lollapalooza for being kind to staff at restaurants they visited and cleaning up their tables before leaving restaurants. They were not endangering people's lives or damaging property but keeping things clean, orderly, and respectful. Sounds like male sports fans could learn a lot from BTS ARMY instead of being so misogynistic and hyper critical. 

     Where have we seen these sports fans get critical of ARMY in particular? When Suga became the ambassador for the NBA, ARMY sent love and well wishes to Suga on the official social media pages for the NBA. It's best to comment on official social media accounts when brands announce ambassadors and endorsements as well as sharing because it draws attention to the brand. Liking and leaving positive comments on official brand pages increases reach and popularity of the post and the campaign. ARMY's comments praising Suga were met with "he looks like a girl," homophobic comments I won't repeat, and the ever creative "who?" They comment "who" to minimize a person's impact and belittle the artist.  More patient ARMYs turned some commenters into listeners by recommending songs and explaining details about Suga/Agust D. Some commenters attacked ARMY directly by making personal comments about ARMY directly. I just ignored the negative comments and left positive ones. The same thing happened in comment sections of FIFA during the World Cup when JungKook performed. Same scenario, ARMY leaving positive comments and soccer fans leaving mean comments just to get at ARMY. 

     The press also needs to check the way they speak when it comes to BTS ARMY. James Corden found out the hard way not to mess with ARMY (though he still did things that were shady after this incident and he's no longer doing The Late Late Show so...karma). On an episode when discussing BTS visiting the UN he made the comment that BTS ARMY were "15 year old girls." Now, some ARMYs are teenagers and younger and there's nothing wrong with that. The issue is the generalization of all of us as minor girls which, to men, gives them the right to brush off opinions and belittle the interests of all ARMYs because they see themselves as superior to these "15 year old girls."  ARMY is made up of people of all ages, genders, races and nationalities so we can't be put into a box and generalized. RM handled James and when James apologized RM stated that he "appreciated" the apology and that choice of words was important because he didn't say he accepted it. Accepting it would be something only we could do really because it was directed to ARMY. Accepting it would also be like forgiving him. I love RM and how he handles these situations with such grace. He always has ARMY's back and there are several clips all over the internet of interviewers calling fans crazy or asking what the craziest thing BTS has experienced with ARMY and RM corrects them every time. "Crazy," "hysterical,"  and "rabid" are terms that have often been associated with women as fans of one thing or another but mostly as fans of musicians and it is demeaning. 

     Sexist bullying behavior should always be called out anytime it is seen. I understand seeing it and blocking and ignoring to protect your peace when online. If we see comments directed towards other women (or men who are fanboys being bullied for being a part of our fandom) we should report the comments, block the person commenting, then leave something kind for the person being picked on. Press and media personalities should be called out publicly on their social media accounts if they are using that platform to come for us in a negative way. The situation with Corden was handled well because ARMY tanked his show ratings, he got called out by RM on live TV for it, and an ARMY yelled at him in public and it was caught on camera. They'll learn one day. Basically we need to stick together and support each other because we are a force and no one can and no one will take that away from us. We will enjoy what we love and support our seven guys from Korea.

Dealing With Ageism As A Member of BTS ARMY

      According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ageism is defined as "prejudice or discrimination against a particular age group." Telling someone they are too old to do something is ageism. Whether that's someone telling another person they are too old to work a certain job, wear a particular outfit, or even stan a K-pop group. Conversations around ageism commonly revolve around worker discrimination or hiring practices but as of late I have seen a lot of conversations surrounding the topic on Threads as it relates to women who stan K-pop groups. It's certainly a conversation that needs to continue because it is getting out of hand.

     Women (mostly it seems) are being bullied online and some in real life, for stanning K-pop groups. This bullying based on age is actually happening in many different areas of fandoms, not just K-pop. I've seen cosplayers, fans of Sanrio characters, fashion influencers, and more posting that they were age shamed for what they enjoy collecting or participating in. For the sake of this post, I will only be talking about ageism and how it relates to BTS ARMY. 

   Usually it has been women who are over 30 years of age that I have seen mention being harassed with comments telling them they're too old to stan a K-pop boy band (mind you the "boys" in question are grown men but more on that later). Then there was the post someone made belittling anyone over 30 who has a K-pop fan page. Well I'm guilty as charged-what ya gonna do about it? Then there's a moot of mine who was told she was too old for K-pop and she's in her early 20's. Seriously? The person saying this must have been 13 because 20 is not old by any means. Only in a child's world would 20 seem old. 

     I'm 48 and I didn't even get into K-pop/BTS till I was 42. I never used to mention my age and I used to shy away from those posts asking, "How old will you be when BTS returns from enlistment?' It's only 22 months so it's not like a lot of monumental age changes will take place. I'll be 49 and I'll still be die-hard OT7 ARMY. Seeing the 20 and 30 somethings made me self-conscious of posting because I feared being judged for being older ARMY. As more older ARMY started to post their ages and talk about stanning BTS it made me feel like I wasn't alone being older ARMY. 

     So why are these people bullying over 30 K-pop fans? The offenders from what I see are usually other women in their 20's or younger. Not saying that men don't do a lot of the ageist bullying as well, but that's where ageism meets the intersection of sexism. I will cover that in another post. There's an element of internalized misogyny that shows up in these interactions where younger women age shame older women for being K-pop fans. It's often a reflection of what the younger female fans are seeing from men and projecting onto the older fans out of some sense of trying to seem better than them for being younger. It makes no sense because love of music, dancing, and artistry has no age limit. It often gives 'pic me' girl vibes where they think if men see them trashing other women, they get points with the red flag types of guys for being a different or edgy type. It's not cute at all. 

     Another issue related to ageism bullying as it relates to K-pop and BTS ARMY is a type of shaming of older ARMY for making sexual comments about BTS. Sex is something people have strong feelings about one way or the other. Negative feelings about sex and sexuality can come from strict religious beliefs, trauma, or the sexist idea that women should not be allowed to experience any kind of sexual pleasure and that sex is only for procreation. Wherever it comes from, it is that individual's issue and their beliefs should not be forced upon others. 

     I've seen people say that ARMY who are over 30 should not be "thirsting" over or making spicy sexual comments about BTS. Well, BTS is in their 30's. The youngest is Jung Kook and he is 26. Twenty-six is closer to 30 than it is to 20. Jin is the oldest and he is turning 32 this December. No one in this group is a minor. Sexual fantasies are not wrong and it's perfectly healthy to have them. Innocent schoolgirl (or school boy for that matter) crushes on celebrities are perfectly normal as well. Harmless delulu is fun. As they say, "delulu is the solulu." 

     Don't want to see it? Then I suggest you keep scrolling without comment. Minding your own business is free and will save you a lot of stress later. They are grown men and most of them have songs with sexually charged lyrics now so if they can sing about it why shouldn't we talk about it? We've all heard "Seven" and "3D" from Jung Kook. I love how he handled that rude commenter on his livestream who said that sex was dirty. He challenged her to explain why and I think she went away. RM has always added some element of sexual expression in his songs. In "Nuts" he praises the prowess of a woman who is "pro ridah" and continues the verse in the male gender mentioning a male "pro ridah." He mentions having a certain automatic body part on "버려 (Throw It)" from his first mixtape "RM." Agust D introduced us to the Hong Kong euphemism for orgasms. Like I said, they are grown men and they are letting us know they aren't little boys anymore. 

     Are these younger fans shaming older fans out of jealousy? Possibly. If they are taking their delulu fantasies too far and they honestly think on some level that they are going to end up with a member of BTS as their husband or boyfriend, it is feasible that they see older fans as competition. Sounds twisted but all one has to do is spend enough time on Weverse and it makes sense in a sad way. There are girls over there that I call the "Dear Diary" girls. They make cringeworthy posts scolding the members for cheating whenever they do a project with a woman. They get so specific in calling them out for "cheating" that it's sad really. If they are that deep in fantasy land then that explains why some are so quick to get jealous and resort to name calling and bullying when an older ARMY makes a joke about one of the members being her boyfriend or spouse or when an older ARMY expresses that they are ARMY in general. It's pathetic in a way that they would go that far. Reality is going to hit them like a ton of bricks when the guys reveal relationships and/or get married and they realize they have been acting like ridiculous little brats this whole time. Older ARMY knows better. We are mature enough to know the difference between fact and fiction, fantasy and reality. Maturity is realizing that your "idol" is human and not some forever innocent virgin doll that belongs only to fans under a certain age. 

    What can we do about these ageist trolls?  When we see that a member of ARMY has experienced ageist bullying, we back each other up and get a discussion going about how ridiculous the behavior is. It's such a beautiful thing to see the positivity in the way we back each other up and express concern for each other over something that is happening too often to too many of us. We should keep doing this and blocking the trolls and encouraging others to block them as well so they get less visibility and less engagement. We don't need their negativity in the fandom. We have enough to deal with. If it happens in real life I encourage you to stand up for other ARMYs when you see it and speak up for yourself if you can and tell others it's not their business what you like. What brings you joy is harmless and life is too short not to enjoy what makes you happy while you are here. 

ARMY Resources and Info

      This post is one I hope to keep updated with links to resources that are important to ARMY for purposes of voting, streaming, and otherwise interesting or are important to ARMY. Most you will already have used or heard of some of these resources but since we have a lot of new ARMY all the time, I will add anything I can think of that will be of use. We were all new ARMY once and had to learn where things were and the importance of them and I still learn new things every day. Hope this helps and if anyone has anything to add let me know because I know there will be a LOT to add to this: 

Streaming

     Streaming is important because it counts towards charts (Billboard Hot 100, Hot 200, Global, etc). I'm in the U.S. so I can only include info that I understand from my perspective. Here in the U.S. BTS rarely if ever gets airplay on the radio. There are explanations for that regarding pay to play that other artists record companies use and BTS doesn't engage in. Part of it is racism but that's a whole other blog post I'd have to write to get into it here. Most U.S. radio stations are run by "conservative" media (read right-wing) and one company controls the majority of them (terrestrial radio not satellite radio). Streaming is where the consumer decides what to play and plays what they want to hear on demand so that is why streaming is so powerful. When the game changes, we have to use it to our advantage.

Streaming services to use

*check with your mobile service provider for potential discounts on services when you bundle them through the provider, some are offering streaming services like Apple as a service benefit at a discounted rate when combined with other offers

** Services that make streaming a little easier but are not streaming platforms themselves 

1. Spotify - the most popular one for us where BTS holds several records, you can get a free account and those streams DO count but with less weight than Premium streams. Premium is a paid account with no ads and you will need a Premium Spotify account to connect to Stationhead (more on Stationhead later), free trials are often available. 
2. Apple Music- we need to diversify our streaming platforms, growing on Apple would help us on the charts. All Apple streams are paid so they all carry more weight than free Spotify ones. If you are concerned about playlists there are ARMYs who share playlists for Apple Music on Threads and Twitter (I get mine from @narknon75  on Threads and JRJ-OT7)  Apple also has free trials and family plans available
3. YouTube (the platform)-  video streaming service that also includes audio streaming. You can connect it to Scener to have a video streaming party or join one (see 8); free and premium accounts are available but premium streams count more than free streams 
4. YouTube Music ( sep. app)- YouTube's music streaming app.   *YouTube may carry more weight in either of it's forms with Korean music shows like MNet because it is specifically mentioned in the points criteria - YouTube Shorts count for SNS points which we often lack because we need more YouTube Shorts that actually use BTS songs as audio, these forms of short video help chart placements as well 
   
5. TikTok - short form video formats like TikTok and YouTube Shorts help with chart placements as well, using BTS songs as the audio gets the songs exposure and we should be focusing on creating videos with BTS songs in them especially during release tracking weeks. I am not saying not to use other artists at all in your TikToks and Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts but we have been losing on MNet and the area we have been missing points in lately is SNS which means we aren't creating, liking, sharing enough TikTok and YouTube Shorts with BTS songs as the audio; TikTok has their own chart on Billboard called the TikTok Billboard Top 50
6. Deezer- I don't know much about it but I have seen posts where BTS members have done promos for it when they have new releases. Jimin is the top artist on this platform world wide as of 7.19.24 
7. Tidal-  good platform for diversifying streams so we get out there other places, I don't know much about it 
8. Pandora- good for diversifying streams 
9. **Scener-  this is a Chrome extension used for streaming parties on YouTube for video. Here's the link to Scener ARMY page streaming. Once you set it up the videos are played by the host.   ARMY on the Scene Scener Link
10. **Stationhead- Stationhead is a free app that allows you to stream in a live streaming party with other users by connecting a Premium Spotify account or Apple Music account. When there are new BTS releases, Big Hit/Hybe will run streaming parties on Stationhead at least for a week. Before enlistment the members would be in the streaming party and talk to ARMYs so it was like them having an audio only livestream or podcast effect. Now that they are enlisted it seems admins run it for them as they cannot go live. They are doing a good job for the guys though. You can also chat in the streaming party and this is a good place on some stations to remind others of voting and streaming goals, You can also purchase digital copies of singles in the buying/streaming parties. 
11. Weverse Listening Parties -  Weverse added a feature very similar to Stationhead where you can stream with other listeners. You go to the party tab after you enter the BTS area and click on the listening party you want to join. Connect your streaming service and you're in. 
12. SoundCloud- BTS has a treasure trove of unreleased songs here including covers, RM's first mix tape called RM, Christmas songs, concert only mixes, Ddaeng (not bootlegged from Spotify podcast playlists where they get no credit for other people adding it and playing it) BTS Official Soundcloud

     I didn't add links to all of the apps because all of the apps should be available in the Play Store for Google and Apple app store. Premium streams count more than free streams but free streams are always always welcome. Check with funding accounts and fanbases from your country to find out if there are funders who donate to get streamers on premium accounts. Some have people they can connect you with who will pay for premium accounts for you. Also always be on the lookout for free trials of premium accounts.

ARMY Etiquette/Rules

     I almost made this a full post but then I found this link and decided they described everything better than I could. 

ARMY ETIQUETTE   -there are some important things here including info regarding protecting BTS's privacy which some people either conveniently forgot or are just ignoring. Most of the rules if not all come directly from Big Hit/Hybe and are usually posted when fan meetings or concerts are going on. 

Voting

     For voting there is a ton of info out there so I am going to leave this link to a great resource from BTS ARMY Voting Team because they have a great comprehensive link that includes voting guides. 

BTS ARMY Voting Team linktree

    Voting is important when it comes to the ones that give actual awards. Some are just for bragging rights (the handsomest man ones particularly), though some of those make donations in the winning artist's name. What I didn't know when I first became ARMY is that the voting on MNET Plus and Choeaedol are very important to end of the year daesangs (grand prize) and bonsang (main prize) awards. These awards are voted on by the fans and popularity throughout the year in votings plays a factor in the final nominees and awards given. 

     There are other votings I didn't mention because when they come up we post about it but the rules also state that the awards given are at the discretion of the committee. This means even if you get the majority of the votes and your artist doesn't perform live or isn't attending (or for any reason really) the committee could just choose another winner. Some award shows like VMA's have this in their rules.

Lyrics

     I don't watch the YouTube lyric videos that are color-coded because they are basically copyright infringement no matter if they are from other ARMYs or not. YouTube loopholes allow them to pass because the people who post them add other sounds in the background or at the end of the songs and that ends up being a loophole in the rules. These accounts end up making money off of BTS's lyrics and music. I don't use them and I don't support using them. I get my lyric translations from Doolset Lyrics. Doolset Lyrics is a site with translations of BTS lyrics into English with explanations of meanings as well. This is very helpful because you aren't just getting the words but the interpretation as well. Anyone who has been baffled by RM's deep layered lyrics knows that having translations explained is everything. Nuanced translation is the difference between knowing what was said and actually understanding the depth of what was said. 

Books

     As a fan of Namjoon's book recommendations who is always looking for a good book, BTS Book List is a great resource. You click on the member whose book recommendations you want and there are some for each member. Namjoon's book recommendations are most talked about but there are some good books under each member. Some of these are books they have read on In The Soop, mentioned on social media, or books that their video concepts have been based on. I love reading books that they have based concepts on like Demian by Hermann Hesse which "Blood, Sweat, and Tears" video was based on. 

Reporting

     As we use social media to connect with each other as a fandom, it becomes more and more evident that the platforms aren't going to get rid of bullying and misinformation. It's best to take screenshots, get links to accounts and posts that are malicious regarding BTS and report to Big Hit legal team. When you send a report, do not write anything fan letter like because this is never going to be seen by BTS only the lawyers. Be professional and explain why you are writing (ex :"ARMY has been seeing posts regarding...") and attach photos and links. The portal link is protect.hybecorp.com. Big Hit does read these and go after libelous internet users and people who do malicious things to them in real life so if you see posts on X or Threads or anywhere with misinformation, rumors, lies, or threats. Get proof and send that report. 

Interesting links

I found this on YouTube and it gives insight into BTS's history with MNet and the MAMA Awards. This is a good short documentary series in 3 episodes that shows why we are so passionate about our Mnet voting every week that BTS or individual members are nominated. These smaller weekly voting sessions count towards the larger end of the year awards. 

• BTS MAMA Awards Doc 1 
• BTS MAMA Awards Doc 2
• BTS MAMA Awards Doc 3

BTS Official Social Media Channels 

*** Last updated June 2026

Instagram 

rkive  RM/Kim Namjoon

rpwprpwprpwp RM extra acct for RPWP album

jin  Jin/Kim Seokjin

wootteo Jin's The Astronaut character acct 

j.m.   Park Jimin

agustd  Agust D/Suga/Min Yoongi

uarmyhope  JHope/Jung Hoseok

thv  V/Kim Taehyung 

*Jungkook does not have an official Instagram anymore. His used to be jungkook.97 but someone took the name after he deleted his account. Anyone using that name is fake. He did set up an Instagram later for his dog Bam which is bowwow_bam

** Update 7\15\25  Jungkook opened a new IG account and it's confirmed to be real mnijungkook

bts.bighitofficial

Twitter\ X

bts_bighit

bts_twt

Threads

Jungkook's ONLY official Threads account: Jungkook's ONLY official Threads account

Opened Jan 2026 and first post March 2026

BTS officially joined Threads on 6\13\2026 BTS Official Threads Account

Articles of interest by others:

 Article about Sasaengs (highly recommended reading)

*I will add more links as I find them and as I think of things to add.

Welcome to Risaborahae's BTS Blog

      Welcome! This is a blog I have thought about starting for a long time and I kept putting it off. Well now I'm here. Every time I saw one of those tabloid Kpop blogs where someone was paid to write lies and post misinformation and they never retracted it or were punished for it, I wanted to go and write an answer article to theirs and debunk all the misinformation and set the record straight. This isn't intended to be a news blog but I want this to be a space where I sort of pick up where Threads conversations leave off because there's not enough space really to say what I want to say there. If I did, it would be one long never read thread. 

     This blog is planned for BTS ARMY only though I know that the topics can apply to other groups and fandoms as well. I don't belong to any other kpop fandoms so I don't claim to know anything about how they operate or anything about conversations that go on among them unless it is something I have seen come across my feed. I won't really be discussing other groups or anything unless it relates directly to something with ARMY. I try to make sure I add links and resource info to where I get my information to back up my opinions. 

    This blog will be mostly based on my opinion and me sharing thoughts but I hope it will also be informative as well as fun for ARMY to read and know they can catch up to me on Threads or IG and continue the conversation. 

Risaborahae6137

@risaborahae6137  on IG and Threads 

Photo credit: Big Hit/Hybe