Why K-Pop Fans Become Such Good Friends

Final March, 25-year-old Kiana Fazeli was on the library learning for the MCATs from 8 a.m. to eight p.m., prepping for medical faculty functions. “I used to be truthfully 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 puzzled: “Who is that this good-looking fellow?” She began poring over Stray Youngsters’s TikToks and music movies and studying extra concerning the eight-member group. That snowballed into Fazeli stepping into BTS after watching their trip docuseries, “Within the Soop [Forest],” and their selection present, “Run BTS.”

A buddy from LA observed her new curiosity and provided 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 pals — 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 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 usually felt alone rising up as a result of I used to be deeply closeted, so songs like ‘2!3!,’ the place there’s speak of hoping for the long run and letting go of the previous, which I nonetheless dwell on continuously, [resonated with me],” he says. “I additionally love the music ’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 of “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 sincere about their struggles.”

Two years in the past, Nicole Haack, a 46-year-old Chinese language Mexican American reverse logistics specialist in Wisconsin, found 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 pals have been aware of Ok-pop, however in June 2021, Haack discovered a Fb group for BTS followers over 40 and made pals — together with with a girl 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 girl from Tennessee who has since turn into a very good buddy — 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 live shows in Las Vegas and South Korea with pals she made by way of the group.

These friendships — at instances 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,” group 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 individuals get extra aware of the style, they usually 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 no less than one group chat the place their favourite artists function the muse for day by day conversations after which extra profound connections.

The relationships usually journey from on-line to actual life: assembly up at live shows, particular occasions, cup-sleeve occasions. and dance events, the place gifting “freebies” — custom-made swag within the type of keychains, equipment, picture 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 scientific analysis coordinator at Stanford College Medical College, says that insider information of Ok-pop can result in quick and actual bonding in a approach that cuts rapidly by way of superficiality.

“You may work with any individual 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 possibly can inform lots about any individual,” 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 group.

“Particularly on Twitter, you see individuals 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 already know that individuals are listening to you, nevertheless it’s like a spot to vent. So I really feel like that is additionally one thing that units it aside from different kinds of friendships.”

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

“Ok-pop has plenty of literary tropes which are important in terms 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 fashioned by way of fandoms have pushed them past their consolation zones, too.

“Due to BTS, I’ve met individuals I’d have by no means met. . . . Our love for these males helps us type sturdy bonds,” Haack says. “None of those girls are Asian. I’m the one one. I’m touring to locations I’d by no means go to, doing issues which are out of my consolation zone as a result of I stan BTS. Many of the ARMY that I meet are probably the most form, caring, and considerate group of individuals. There isn’t any judgment. I’ve additionally made a bunch of pals right here in Wisconsin due to BTS. We do lunches collectively, do purchasing journeys to H Mart, and go to live shows collectively.”

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

Though the coworkers usually met for lunch when in the identical metropolis, in February of 2020, Kim and his ARMY colleague have been in a position to share an unimaginable expertise. A buddy invited him to “The As we speak 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 have been all the way in which in entrance of the stage and despite the fact that it was freezing, we liked 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 comfortable fascinated by how I had nobody to speak to about Ok-pop or Korean music in center faculty, highschool, and now we’ve got 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 pals who additionally knew and liked Ok-pop, however because it’s turn into extra international, she’s additionally acquired far-flung pals by way of 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 effectively, whether or not it is shared experiences or different hobbies,” Chang says. “Plenty of the buddies I’ve made on social media are from everywhere in the world, so it is also an superior alternative to find out about 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 pals with Cynthia previous to understanding that she was ARMY. However understanding that we additionally had that in widespread, it was nearly sort of a reduction, that I might categorical that a part of myself in a spot that is usually purported to be knowledgeable ambiance,” Fazeli explains.

Then, in the future, one of many professors in a neighboring lab observed Pérez’s BTS Mang plushie.

“BOOM, one other friendship occurred,” Pérez remembers. “To have a physician 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 nearly began crying,” Fazeli says. “That is our first lightstick ever. And he or she gave them to us. So it was positively actually particular.”