Why Ok-Pop Followers Develop into Such Good Buddies

Final March, 25-year-old Kiana Fazeli was on the library finding out for the MCATs from 8 a.m. to eight p.m., prepping for medical college functions. “I used to be actually sort of depressed,” she remembers. “It was a really, very lonely time for me.”

Then, the YouTube algorithm surfaced a video for Stray Youngsters, a Ok-pop group, and a member, whom she now is aware of as Felix, caught her consideration. She questioned: “Who is that this good-looking fellow?” She began poring over Stray Youngsters’s TikToks and music movies and studying extra in regards to the eight-member group. That snowballed into Fazeli entering into BTS after watching their trip docuseries, “Within the Soop [Forest],” and their selection present, “Run BTS.”

A good friend from LA seen her new curiosity and supplied to reply questions and introduce her to different followers. In October, Fazeli paid greater than $500 to see Stray Youngsters in live performance in Oakland together with her newfound associates — all of them traveled up from Southern California and stayed at her place in San Jose.

New Yorker Yosub Kim, 36, was working at Giphy when an editor talked about that “BTS” was a trending search. A Korean American who grew up listening to Ok-pop within the Nineteen Nineties — he was a fan of first-generation teams like H.O.T. and S.E.S. — Kim did a deep dive into the BTS members, their music catalogue, and their openness about psychological well being, particularly in South Korea. As a homosexual man, the songs “Spring Day” and “2!3!”resonated with him.

“I typically felt alone rising up as a result of I used to be deeply closeted, so songs like ‘2!3!,’ the place there’s discuss of hoping for the long run and letting go of the previous, which I nonetheless dwell on consistently, [resonated with me],” he says. “I additionally love the tune ’00:00′ as a result of it jogs my memory of the identical factor: to let the previous go.”

At his subsequent job at Twitter, he struck up a friendship with a West Coast-based coworker after she gave a presentation about BTS that he thought-about “considerate and interesting,” Kim says. “We simply actually bonded over their music, their gentleness and kindness in direction of their followers, their being open and trustworthy about their struggles.”

Two years in the past, Nicole Haack, a 46-year-old Chinese language Mexican American reverse logistics specialist in Wisconsin, came across BTS on her YouTube feed. She descended into the rabbit gap acquainted to any ARMY. Now, along with being a diehard BTS fan, she listens to Blackpink, Twice, TXT, and Seventeen.

None of her shut associates had been conversant in Ok-pop, however in June 2021, Haack discovered a Fb group for BTS followers over 40 and made associates — together with with a lady from Germany. Simply 5 months later, they met up on the Permission to Dance live performance in LA. On a bus chartered by the Fb group’s members, she additionally met a lady from Tennessee who has since develop into a great good friend — she and her daughter traveled with Haack to Chicago final July to see BTS member J-Hope headline Lollapalooza. She’s additionally traveled to BTS concert events in Las Vegas and South Korea with associates she made by the group.

These friendships — at occasions unlikely — are rooted of their love of Ok-pop. As a result of the character of the business requires “fan service” from their stars, or “idols,” neighborhood is a key part of a Ok-pop group’s success. There is a particular infrastructure for fandoms, too: every has a reputation, merchandise, lightsticks, and a prolific presence on social media. As folks get extra conversant in the style, they typically get drawn into fan communities, and in the end type deep bonds that may transcend a love of Ok-pop. Most Ok-pop followers are in at the very least one group chat the place their favourite artists function the muse for each day conversations after which extra profound connections.

The relationships typically journey from on-line to actual life: assembly up at concert events, particular occasions, cup-sleeve occasions. and dance events, the place gifting “freebies” — personalized swag within the type of keychains, equipment, photograph playing cards — is the norm. Followers additionally open up their telephones for the Air-Dropping of memes — one other key part of Ok-pop fandoms — at these occasions.

Fazeli, who works as a medical analysis coordinator at Stanford College Medical College, says that insider data of Ok-pop can result in quick and actual bonding in a means that cuts rapidly by superficiality.

“You may work with anyone for years and nonetheless solely know a sure bit about them. However even primarily based off Ok-pop biases [your favorite in a group], you’ll be able to inform lots about anyone,” she says.

As a result of a lot Ok-pop campaigning and promotion occurs on-line, and since the fan base is international, communities are additionally constructed there, after which switch into actual life. Twitter, particularly, has been key to constructing the Ok-pop neighborhood.

“Particularly on Twitter, you see folks simply spilling all of their ideas onto the web,” Fazeli explains. “It is like speaking right into a void, the place it is mildly cathartic, as a result of you understand that individuals are listening to you, however it’s like a spot to vent. So I really feel like that is additionally one thing that units it other than different varieties of friendships.”

The worldwide scope of Ok-pop additionally permits its fandoms to fulfill in a melting pot. Constanza Jorquera, 33, a longtime Ok-pop fan and an affiliate researcher on the Chilean Korean Examine Middle on the College of Santiago, notes that Ok-pop embraces common themes that supersede language.

“Ok-pop has plenty of literary tropes which might be important in the case of producing friendships, belonging, and bonds with artists, such because the ‘hero’s journey,’ ‘coming of age,’ ’empowerment,’ and ‘teenage angst,'” she explains.

Many followers say the friendships they’ve shaped by fandoms have pushed them past their consolation zones, too.

“Due to BTS, I’ve met folks I might have by no means met. . . . Our love for these males helps us type sturdy bonds,” Haack says. “None of those ladies are Asian. I’m the one one. I’m touring to locations I might by no means go to, doing issues which might be out of my consolation zone as a result of I stan BTS. Many of the ARMY that I meet are essentially the most form, caring, and considerate group of individuals. There is no such thing as a judgment. I’ve additionally made a bunch of associates right here in Wisconsin due to BTS. We do lunches collectively, do purchasing journeys to H Mart, and go to concert events collectively.”

One thing related occurred when Kim’s colleague launched him to different ARMYs. They bonded over their love of BTS and the group’s messaging, however additionally they checked in on every others’ work lives.

Though the coworkers typically met for lunch when in the identical metropolis, in February of 2020, Kim and his ARMY colleague had been in a position to share an unbelievable expertise. A good friend invited him to “The Right now Present” for a BTS efficiency, and he in flip invited his colleague. “I used to be shocked however not shocked that she would come at a second’s discover,” Kim says. “We had been all the best way in entrance of the stage and regardless that it was freezing, we beloved each second of it.”

Kim remembers making eye contact with Jimin, who additionally threw out his hand heaters at them. It was one of many highlights of 2020, he provides.

Omg @kathiepham caught Jimin’s pack ‼️‼️‼️ #BTSTODAY pic.twitter.com/00cZl0FyPA

— yoey⁷ 요섭 🥢 (@yosub) February 21, 2020

“It makes me so blissful enthusiastic about how I had nobody to speak to about Ok-pop or Korean music in center college, highschool, and now we now have the world to speak to,” Kim provides.

Like Kim, Clarice Chang, 32, a trainer in Los Angeles, has been into Ok-pop since she was younger. Her favourite teams are TVXQ and Tremendous Junior, however she additionally loves SHINee, BoA, and Epik Excessive. She grew up with associates who additionally knew and beloved Ok-pop, however because it’s develop into extra international, she’s additionally acquired far-flung associates by social media, particularly through the pandemic.

“Discovering individuals who like the identical teams as me and who’re in the identical age group as me has been comforting and many enjoyable, and oftentimes we find yourself studying extra about one another past the lens of Ok-pop and bonding on these as nicely, whether or not it is shared experiences or different hobbies,” Chang says. “A number of the chums I’ve made on social media are from everywhere in the world, so it is also an superior alternative to study so many different cultures.”

When Fazeli began her new job at Stanford, she rapidly discovered that her coworker, Cynthia Pérez, was additionally a BTS fan.

“Clearly, I used to be nonetheless associates with Cynthia previous to figuring out that she was ARMY. However figuring out that we additionally had that in frequent, it was virtually sort of a aid, that I may categorical that a part of myself in a spot that is usually purported to be knowledgeable ambiance,” Fazeli explains.

Then, at some point, one of many professors in a neighboring lab seen Pérez’s BTS Mang plushie.

“BOOM, one other friendship occurred,” Pérez remembers. “To have a health care provider additionally share the identical love for a bunch was simply wonderful. The informal, ‘Have you ever seen Hobi’s new music video or JK’s early Vlive?’ within the hallway is enjoyable. No person else understands what we’re speaking about however the eye contact — we all know what’s up. All three of us went to see ‘But to Come’ on the cinema, it was a lot enjoyable.”

Earlier than the professor went on sabbatical, she gave Pérez and Fazeli presents: BTS ARMY Bombs, or lightsticks.

“Each of us virtually began crying,” Fazeli says. “That is our first lightstick ever. And he or she gave them to us. So it was undoubtedly actually particular.”