I tripped and fell into ARMY: how to become a BTS fan in 5 easy steps
I’ve been transfixed by BTS for about a month now. The depths of this dive were unplanned but now that I’m here, I think it was inevitable. Knowing me. Knowing (a lot) more about them.
Obviously I was aware of BTS before this—they’re the biggest boy band in the world and I’m a pop culture nerd. A fellow Swiftie sent me their ‘Butter’ Grammy’s performance and after that I watched a couple of music videos. I knew they were on hiatus to pursue solo careers and serve in the South Korean military. It was all very interesting but I never went further than a dipped toe.
A few years ago I listened to a free Audible romance novel that was basically BTS fan fiction. I was fascinated and repelled by the window it opened into the K-pop industrial complex. The idea of productising humanity for cultural consumption made me feel a bit queasy, but in truth the differences between K-pop and western pop are few. All modern art—high brow or low—is driven by commerce. Youth, talent and beauty are exploited for financial gain all over the world.
One could argue that western pop actually deploys more artifice to make the exploitation palatable—hiding behind the worthiness narrative of ‘genius’, ‘serendipity’, and ‘sacrifice’. K-pop does away with the serendipity piece of that puzzle. The commercial intent is clear from the outset, and that’s uncomfortable not only to witness, but also to consume.
In essence, the machine throws vulnerable teenagers into years of intense training and constant scrutiny as they pursue the dangled carrot of fame, which, let’s face it, is at least 50% poisoned chalice. The lucky few who make it through the selection process are ‘rewarded’ with placement in a carefully constructed group designed to embody the fantasies of a target audience.
I don’t like the idea of these baby idols being locked into decade-long contracts that police their personal lives and restrict their creative, financial and temporal freedom. It’s dark, right? But is it vastly different to the origin stories of Aaron Carter, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, or Kesha?
K-pop Demon Hunters was the gateway drug that officially sent me on a quest to learn more. The tale it told of shame and guilt hidden beneath a perfect pop facade made me want to go and hunt that story down in real life.
BTS were the obvious starting point. Let me be clear that I entered this rabbit hole with a skeptical mindset. I wanted my hypothesis about manufactured pop music to be proven right. I didn’t get what I wanted. That’s because regardless of how the machine of pop makes me feel, there’s just something magical about BTS. They’re a moonshot.
During my deep dive I watched a YouTube clip where the leader of BTS, Kim Namjoon (RM), was asked to describe his ‘team’ in one word. He said ‘miracle’.
That miraculousness is not just about their talent, sincerity and stage presence, it’s also the chemistry between the 7 of them and their millions of fans; the unique characteristics of the agency that signed them; the quirk of fate that saw the fragmentation of media and the rise of tech-enabled distribution (for both music and narrative) in the era they debuted. (hello again, serendipity.)
I don’t think it’s possible to consume as much BTS content as I have in the past fortnight and not get it, but not everyone has a brain like mine. Or actively likes pop music, for that matter.
So, here’s an experiment of sorts. I’m going to share my journey into ARMY, step-by-step. Follow. Let me know if you fall, too.
1. Come for the chaos, stay for the LOLs
My entry point was predictable: Carpool karaoke. This particular episode is just extremely charming. It gave me my first insight into the members’ different personalities, skills and humour: JK’s voice, Jin’s gags, Jimin’s charisma, J-Hope’s irrepressible joy…
I grinned stupidly while I watched it. Then I read the comments and found I was in good company. I’m not the only baby ARMY who was born here.
This first step was complete when I realised BTS are FUN. Fun to watch, yes, but also they always seem to be having fun.
It all feels too fun to be true, but too true to be fake. I couldn’t help but want more.
2. Next stop > JOY>LAUGHTER>J-HOPE>LOVE
I found the music videos next, starting with the candy-coloured chart toppers. Try not to crack a smile while you watch these, I dare you. This level of infectious joy should be illegal?
During this phase I also ventured into the ‘intro to BTS’ genre of YouTube content. There are some looooooong videos out there. The one I watched was 45 minutes, but understanding the members and their roles within the group really increased the payoff later.
#TLDW;
From left to right
V / Kim Taehyung is a vocalist and dancer known for his ‘visuals’, as in, he’s a babe. He has a deeper tone and timbre to his voice that grounds the vocal line. He likes jazz music. He is the king of the unexpected.
Suga / Min Yoongi was the second to join the group, he’s a rapper and producer (his solo stuff can be found under the name Agust D). There is a funny video out there of a young Suga having a go at Bang PD (their manager) for lying to him about the dancing he’d have to do if he joined the group.
Jin / Kim Seokjin is a vocalist and the oldest member. Jin’s age commands respect within the group but he comes across as extremely unserious and broadly adored by the other members. He has a solo song called Super Tuna because he likes fishing. His recent solo tour was built around the concept of a variety show, with challenges and games for himself and the audience.
Jung Kook / Jeon Jungkook is the youngest and the lead vocalist. RM gave him the nickname of ‘Golden Maknae’ because he is essentially incredibly gifted and nails whatever he does – whether it be dancing, singing, rapping, or being beautiful (the big 4 in K-pop). He was 14 when he joined BigHit (the agency behind BTS). He had 7 offers from all the big agencies, but chose the smallest and least promising simply because he thought RM was cool.
RM / Kim Namjoon is the founding member and leader. He is a rapper and lyricist. He’s the most fluent English speaker, so often ends up as the spokesperson, and has the most writing credits on BTS songs. He sets the tone.
Jimin / Park Jimin was the last to join the group and is a classically trained contemporary dancer. He’s also known for his falsetto vocals and his stage presence. He draws the eye like a magnet.
J-Hope / Jung Hoseok is a rapper and the lead dancer. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be an idol or a professional dancer, and nearly left the group before their debut. He introduces himself by saying, “I’m your hope, you’re my hope, I’m J-Hope,” and his smile is brighter than the sun.
Other important vocab: in K-pop you don’t have a ‘favourite’ you have a ‘bias’. You’re probably also going to end up with a ‘bias wrecker’ — a member who swoops in and knocks your bias off their pedestal.
You can probably tell from my descriptions that my bias is J-Hope. I initially thought it would be Jung Kook because I discovered his solo music first, specifically this video. But there’s just something about the expressiveness of J-Hope that makes me feel happy in my heart. Then came Jimin, my bias wrecker. But truly I have parasocial feelings for them all at this point, like when they do clever or cute things I feel proud? I get it if you think this is weird.
Step two of my journey was complete when I realised I knew all their names and had a bias.
Also as I got to ‘know’ the members I saw little pieces of myself in them.
3. Started from the bottom now they’re everywhere
I moved on to the live performances which BTS are most famous for. Their Saturday Night Live debut made me realise that the fluorescent disco pop cheerfulness of Dynamite is not what defines BTS’ sound. Dynamite was created as a response to the pandemic — a song of joy and connection to make their fans happy during hard times. It was the group’s first Billboard #1, and they followed that success with a string of similarly bright singles. But their earlier work is much more defiant, loud and predominantly Korean.
BTS was actually built around a ‘hip hop concept’, and their three rappers – Suga, RM and J-Hope – were given freedom to contribute both lyrics and production to their songs. This was pretty unusual, it turns out.
BigHit was the tiny label that signed BTS. With no leverage compared to K-pop’s big agencies, the boys lived in cramped dorms and trained under immense pressure in the early years following their debut. That underdog status gave them more creative involvement than most idols had, and a hunger to prove themselves.
Shut out of many of the traditional opportunities for exposure, BigHit leaned into the new world of social media. They created their own game show (Run BTS), travel show (Bon Voyage) and ran regular fan livestreams. This unprecedented access to the members built a loyal and passionate global fan base. What began as a constraint became the foundation of their unique connection with ARMY. It also provided a compelling hook to their story, which they brought into their music.
Overcoming struggles with depression, burnout, self-doubt, purpose and public criticism are recurring messages in BTS’ music. For their fans, BTS are a shining beacon of fierce self-expression and self-love.
Their steady stream of ‘behind the scenes’ content provides an insane amount of access to the group and how they interact with each other, their team and their fans. You can watch clips of them learning aerial yoga, sleeping, playing board games, cooking, camping in the middle of winter in New Zealand. There are literally thousands of hours of footage of the different members deep in conversation, speaking with vulnerability and honesty about their struggles, hopes, dreams and fears. You can see them fighting and resolving conflicts, comforting and pranking each other. It’s compelling and addictive.
The invisible string connecting all my fan personas has always been woven from narrative. If I fall for something it’s undoubtedly because I connect with the story behind it as much as I do the ‘thing’ itself. With BTS, the story of the members is the strongest funnel into ARMY. Their music isn’t genre-specific, and their sonic evolution as a group isn’t linear. Instead, the BTS music creation process seems to start and finish with the members’ commitment to being authentic to their own stories. The music jumps from hip hop to dubstep to pop, but the stories they tell are always genuine, funny, relatable, and often wise. There are so many entry points to the BTS narrative universe.
Step 3 was complete when I found myself watching a fan-made BTS ‘try not to cry challenge’ video. (spoiler: I cried).
4. Making trying hard cool again since 2013
I spent 10 days in South Korea when I was 24. My grandfather was a Korean war veteran and I was invited as his grandchild to attend a ‘peace camp for youth’. It was like the United Nations for good vibes. We hung out at a university in Seoul, learnt about South Korean culture, ate a lot of bibimbap and bbq. We travelled to the demilitarised zone and down to Busan. I was so lucky. My enduring memory of the Korean people I met is of their kindness and their effort. They showed respect through service to others.
This was step four of my journey—discovering how BTS show their respect and love for their fans by trying very fucking hard to entertain them. In every single behind the scenes video I’ve watched, I’ve heard the members talk about how hard they want to practice to get it right for their ARMY—how grateful they are for their fans.
They are perfectionists raised in an environment that demands perfection, and there are problematic things that come with that (e.g. their relationship with food and weight is sub-optimal) but they also just seem to genuinely want to do well to repay ARMY’s belief in them. This effort is most obvious in their live performances, especially in their dance routines. I’m a sucker for good choreo, but when you pair that with behind the scenes insight into the effort that goes into a performance? It’s impossible not to be impressed.
As I watched more and more performances, I realised that dance is an invitation into the world of BTS that overcomes the language barrier. Most of their lyrics are Korean, and it’s clearly a much more allegorical language than English because the translations don’t always work. But somehow when you watch the performances and see the conviction and commitment of the members, both the meaning and intent are clear. Or at least, it feels like they are to me?
I think the ON Kinetic Manifesto is my favourite example of this. I’ve watched this video and the behind the scenes clip so many times now. I feel like this is the true anthem of BTS – a song about conviction, vision and unwavering resolve in the face of suffering.
Plus the lyrics ‘you have to go insane to stay sane’ hit quite hard in 2025.
That’s how the pre-chorus starts, and it ends with the promise and/or threat of ‘find me and I’m going to live with ya.” So far so true.
Stage 4 was complete when I realised I’d watched every ON Kinetic Manifesto reaction video on YouTube. Lol.
5. The best is yet to come?
This is less of a ‘step’ and more of an observation. I really couldn’t have picked a better time to become ARMY. I dodged the trauma of the hiatus announcement. All the members have now finished their compulsory military service and have reunited, preparing for a comeback in early 2026.
I’m so curious to watch how their story will unfold in this next phase, BTS 2.0.
Everything about BTS appears to have been carefully orchestrated and strategic. Everything, that is, except the members themselves. They have somehow managed to make a home in a grey area between artifice and authenticity, between ambition and purpose. All of them are now successful record-breaking solo artists—and yet they still want to be part of BTS. It’s so counter culture of them to value the collective over the individual, and so wise of them to realise the wellbeing of the individual is necessary for the health of the collective.
I like how they all talked about this time apart as necessary to ensure they could reunite as an even better team. This conversation between V and Suga is a great example of the members’ state of mind during their break.
Step 5 was complete when I downloaded WeVerse and began to learn the Korean alphabet in preparation for 2026.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
So there it is, the story of how the Saja Boys sent me on a quest to find demons hidden beneath the surface of K-pop. Instead I found these 7 humans who just magically work together. Like any catalytic cultural engine, the concept of ‘bts’ is now bigger than any art they produce. The fan connection is so deep that it doesn’t matter what they send out into the world — ARMY will be ready to consume it. They’ve built trust through authenticity. Fans know that whatever comes next, it will be true in that moment for the members.
Bonus wholesome post-military discharge / reunion content.
(Just in case this 5 step plan has worked for you).
My favourite thing I’ve watched from this era of content is Jin climbing Mt Hallasan 5 days after he was discharged… maybe he’s my bias wrecker?
But these two videos are the key moments to get you up to speed. (Oh and also Jung Kook reacting to K-pop Demon Hunters).
Final bonus. I made a no skips BTS playlist. No pressure.