The Daily Vox
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There’s an adage among the ARMY, the fans of Korean group, BTS, “You only find BTS when you need them.” It’s something most fans connect with, especially the I am ARMY: It’s Time to Begin book contributors edited by Wallea Eaglehawk and Courtney Lazore.
There have been boybands, groups and even fandoms throughout the ages. From Beatlemania, to the boy bands of the 90s and even more recently One Direction, there has always been an intensity around fandoms. But there is something different about BTS and their fanbase ARMY – an acronym for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth. In the years since BTS has grown globally, books, research papers and even academic lecturers have explored their popularity. But now a group of ARMY have come together to write about why they think BTS and ARMY are creating a “revolution”.
Why the book?
Speaking to The Daily Vox from Australia, co-editor of the book, Eaglehawk said she started her own publishing company and initially released Idol Limerence. The book explored the mass phenomena of the Korean idol, in particular, BTS and how it intersects with the psychological experience of limerence. Writing that book was important for her exploration of identity and she wanted to give other ARMY the same kind of process.
But more than just giving people the chance to explore their identities, she wanted to build an academic scholarship. “I wanted to be able to contextualise these stories through a more political, sociological, economic, and environmental lens.” The book features ARMY from around the world, writing about their fan experiences.
But the book is more than just about BTS. It’s actually about the fans themselves and explorations of their own identities.
What stories were told
Eaglehawk sent out a call on social media asking people to send in pitches. “I just said speak your truth knowing who you are as an ARMY and showing me all the different impacts and influences on your life,” she said.
While the book features just eight stories including Eaglehawk and her co-editor Lazore’s stories, the remainder of the submissions have been published online.
Practising Revolutionaries
The ARMY are described as “practicing revolutionaries”. Eaglehawk says the term means “we all have a capacity for greatness and change as long as we work together.” She said: “They (ARMY) are really aligning themselves and preparing themselves to take up a call to be part of any social movement. They’re primed just by being in the fandom.”
This is another thing that seems to emphasise how different BTS and their fans are. There is an intimate relationship between the artists and their fans. Earlier this year, when BTS donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement, ARMY matched that in a short period of time. Within the K-pop industry which BTS has its origins in, there has always been a close relationship between artists and fans, seperate from the music. Inspired by their favourite artists and groups, fans often donate to charity and do good work. ARMY just takes it to another level by the sheer size of the fandom.
Power of fandoms
For the longest time, the screaming teenage girl has persisted as the stereotype of a fan. The BTS ARMY and many other fandoms are actually more diverse than represented. But Eaglehawk says it’s important to acknowledge that within K-pop and BTS, women are the primary fans.