It Was Never One Sided: How BTS Built ARMY
Key takeaways
Quick summary- 1Discover how BTS built one of the world's most devoted fan communities through trust, gratitude, and reciprocity.
- 2Loyalty isn't born overnight.
Building An ARMY
Those on the outside often describe ARMY as obsessive, loyal to a fault, cult-like, and lately, even a criminal organization. These descriptions miss the real story. Loyalty doesn’t appear overnight. It is built, interaction by interaction, year after year. BTS
didn’t inherit the world’s most dedicated fandom–they cultivated it.
How Did It Start?
ARMY showed up before fame did. In the band’s early days, BigHit relied heavily on social media, offering a rare level of accessibility. ARMY was able to literally watch BTS
grow up. This left BTS
with a very unique digital footprint, but at the same time, helped to cultivate a sense of intimacy and close friendship between the band and their fans. Long before “parasocial relationship” became a common phrase, BTS
was quietly redefining what artist-fan relationships could look like.
The tradition continues to this day. Each member has held hours-long livestreams on their Weverse accounts, sometimes gaming, sometimes eating, occasionally even sleeping, all while ARMYs are on the other side of the camera, enjoying every minute of an experience that feels like hanging out with a close friend.
Participants, Not Consumers
One of the biggest ways BTS
shows the relationship is not one-sided is through the way they invite ARMY to participate instead of simply to consume their content. RM often asks for ARMY’s opinion in his livestreams. ARMY brings signs to concerts that contain inside jokes, never failing to make the band laugh.
Jin’s solo tour is a prime example of fan participation. He made sure to include guessing games, trivia, sing-alongs, and allowed ARMY to choose his outfits for the show. The premise of the tour was set up to mimic an episode of his variety show, Run Seokjin!, a spin-off of BTS
’s variety show, Run BTS
!. Jin would sit on the stage and try to guess what BTS
song title was on the screen behind him based on ARMY’s charades, allowed fans to sing the opening notes of Moon, and made sure everyone present knew how much he loved and appreciated them with his setlist and his heartfelt ments throughout the show.
BTS
is also very good at celebrating ARMY. Literally every acceptance speech contains a warm, genuine expression of gratitude to ARMY. Each concert ends with every member giving a personal farewell speech that contains so much love and gratitude toward ARMY. Fans are celebrated every year on July 9th, the day the fandom was named in 2013, with gifts in the form of exclusive songs, special album editions, anniversary gift boxes, and more.
Defending and Protecting ARMY
BTS
is probably one of the most protective groups when it comes to their fans. RM, the leader of the group, is notorious when it comes to clapping back at people who belittle his fans. One incident in 2021, after James Corden, host of The Late Late Show, made comments about ARMY being “15-year-old girls”, RM very casually asked while appearing as a guest on the show if Corden was alright, saying “You've been in some hot water with ARMY", to which a very flustered Corden stuttered an on-air apology to the fandom, and only after he had admitted his wrongdoing did RM extend a hand and reply "James, it's alright. We appreciate your apology. We just wanted to clear the air.”
One of the fandom’s most enduring interpretations of this protectiveness comes from the 2019 MAMA’s performance of Dionysus. Amid online fan wars in which some detractors referred to ARMY as “snakes”, many fans viewed the giant serpent dominating the stage as a symbolic act of reclaiming the imagery. BTS
never confirmed such an intention–the serpent also fits naturally within Dionysus’s mythology–but the interpretation itself reveals something important: ARMY instinctively believes BTS
would stand with them because the group has spent years proving that they do.
The band is always reminding fans to eat well, to get home safely, to not get sick and to rest enough. RM once said that BTS
and ARMY are good at “charging each other’s batteries”. This is such a good description of the relationship between the band and their fans. Both find confidence and motivation in each other. Rather than treating fans as a marketing asset, BTS
has consistently acknowledged ARMY as people worthy of respect.
Protection Reciprocated
ARMY is also extremely protective of BTS
. Why would millions of strangers voluntarily spend thousands of hours translating livestreams, organizing charity drives, voting, reporting malicious content, and defending a group of musicians they have never met? Because relationships tend to be reciprocal. The catchphrase “BTS
only has ARMY” has become a byword in the fandom, a call to action whenever the band is under scrutiny or falling off the charts.
Fans have dedicated themselves to learning Korean in order to accurately sing BTS
’s songs, stream their music religiously, and vote for the band in different award categories. The fandom is infamous for reporting defamation, harassment, and stalking when it comes to BTS
, prompting BigHit and HYBE to take action to protect their artists.
ARMY is also a huge advocate for good in the world at large. From One In An Army, the fundraising collective created by ARMY in 2018, donating to medical facilities and planting trees, to the UNICEF Love Myself anti-violence campaign, along with the smaller movements, such as always cleaning up the venue after a concert, or “adopting” endangered animals through the World Wildlife Fund in honor of BTS
, ARMY is very good at making a difference.
The Soundtrack of Gratitude
Most artists thank their fans in an acceptance speech. BTS
writes entire songs for theirs. Songs like Magic Shop, Mikrokosmos, Zero O’Clock, and Swim were all written with fans in mind, meant to encourage ARMY to keep going, to assure fans that they have a safe place to rest in BTS
’s music. Even some of their more romantic love songs have been acknowledged as songs “for ARMY”.
And when ARMY shows up to a concert and starts singing those lyrics back to the band, in fluent Korean, a language that is not their native tongue? Bangtan has let fans know multiple times just how much that means to them. There have also been a handful of fan projects where a few very talented members of ARMY have written and recorded “answering” songs to some of the most beloved tracks by BTS
.
RM once joked that “our love life is with ARMY”. Fans laughed, but the comment reflects something BTS
has communicated for years: the relationship with their audience isn’t treated as a marketing strategy or an obligation. It’s central to how they understand their career.
Bigger Than Just Music
The members of BTS
are not the only celebrities in this relationship. ARMY has many pop culture references, name-drops, and has even won awards. From The Simpsons to Emily In Paris, Bridgerton, and multiple K-dramas, ARMY has been referenced in so many productions.
Some of Hollywood’s finest proudly proclaim themselves as members of ARMY, including Lizzo, John Cena, Halsey, and Jimmy Fallon. Halsey notably called ARMY “one of the most organized, intelligent, and fiercely loyal groups of people I have ever met in my life."
ARMY has won multiple awards as a fandom, establishing a record-breaking streak in fan-voted categories across mainstream Western and Asian award shows. This includes winning the iHeart Radio Music Awards for Best Fan Army for seven consecutive years, beating out Taylor Swift’s Swifties, Beyonce’s Beyhives, and Ariana Grande’s Arianators. ARMY has also won awards from MTV, Teen Choice Awards, Radio Disney, Billboard, and Hanteo.
At some point, ARMY stopped being simply the name of a fandom and became a recognizable cultural identity. Television writers reference it. Celebrities openly claim it. Award shows recognize it. Even people with little knowledge of BTS
often know what “ARMY” means. People join ARMY for the music, but they stay because within the ranks they find friends, purpose, healing, confidence, and community.
The Best Is Yet To Come
If you’ve ever been to a BTS
concert, or even just seen fancams, you will know the looks of love that BTS
offers to the crowds each night. Staring into the ocean of lightsticks, listening to the voices of thousands of men and women, young and old, singing their own lyrics back to them, bringing tears of gratitude to each members’ eyes. They remember where they came from, that they owe much of their success to the efforts of their fans, and that none of this would be possible, or even worth it, without ARMY.
Critics often dismiss ARMY’s loyalty as irrational. Yet relationships are rarely built on a single moment. They are built through consistency–through showing up, remembering birthdays, writing songs of gratitude, defending one another, laughing together on livestreams, and growing up side by side over more than a decade. BTS
didn’t simply create fans. They created a community that believes it is seen. BTS
shares honestly, keeps promises, and never pretends the relationship is one sided. And perhaps that’s why, thirteen years later, one of the biggest acts in the world still introduces themselves with the same humility they had at the beginning: “Hello, we are BTS
.”
Related groups
BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean K-pop group formed by BigHit Music and debuted on June 13, 2013. The group consists of seven members: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Known for their powerful performances, meaningful lyrics, and strong connection with fans, BTS has become one of the most successful and influential music groups in the world. Their music explores themes such as youth, self-discovery, mental health, love, and personal growth, helping them build a dedicated global fanbase known as ARMY. Since their debut, BTS has achieved record-breaking success across the global music industry with hit songs such as “Dynamite,” “Butter,” “Spring Day,” “Boy With Luv,” and “Fake Love.” The group has earned numerous awards, topped charts in multiple countries, sold millions of albums, and helped introduce K-pop to a broader international audience. Through their artistry, cultural impact, and worldwide influence, BTS continues to inspire fans and shape the future of global pop music.
NCT is a South Korean boy group formed by SM Entertainment with a unique multi-unit concept. There are 6 units within NCT; NCT 127, NCT DREAM, NCT WISH, WayV, NCT U, NCT DOJAEJUNG.
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