Kuwentong Bangtan: Our Celebration of BTS FESTA 2025 is a Pilgrimage of Purple Love

ARMY Daughter and I are back from Seoul where we joined a 5 Days and 4 Nights curated tour for ARMY at Festa season by Savedbythebest Travel and Tours. This trip is a product of blood, sweat and tears. It took us a eighteen months to save for this trip on top of life challenges one after the other. This is the toughest ARMY Glow Up Project I had. And somewhere in the middle of all this, I am grateful to have received the graces of friendship and companionship. 

This trip is precious to me not only as ARMY but as a mother. Being with Zoe, my daughter who became ARMY years ahead of me, this is a mother-and-daughter journey through Seoul; through light and shadow, memory and music.

I wrote and reflected each step of the journey on my social media pages. Here's everything from Day 1 to Day 5.

D1: Heart and Seoul – We Never Walk Alone

Theme: Arrival, belonging, and walking in their footsteps
Key Stops: HYBE Building, Hyuga Café, Old Big Hit, Hakdong Park, Yoojung Sikdang

Reflection: From fog to warmth, from dorms to dreams, from their footsteps to ours, we were never alone.

D2: Heart and Seoul – Shared Memories

Theme: Reverence, rest, and memory that transcends ownership
Key Stop: In the SOOP Mansion

Reflection: To visit a space where BTS once rested is to understand that silence is a kind of presence. Rest is sacred. Memory is shared.

D3: Heart and Seoul – Why Do You Sound Like Soul?

Theme: Namjooning, city rhythms, and sensory immersion
Key Stops: Myeongdong Cathedral, parks, alleyways, food stalls

Reflection: Seoul isn’t just a city—it sings. And for the first time, I knew the lyrics were meant for me, too.

D4: Heart and Seoul – Born in Seoul, Raised in Ilsan

Theme: Movement, generational role shift, and place as identity
Key Stops: Seongsu, Ilsan commute, Lake Park

Reflection: She leads now, the way I once did. I see the city through her steps—and remember how Namjoon once walked from hometown to dream.

D5: Heart and Seoul – Light and Shadow

Theme: Becoming, motherhood, and shared inner journeys
Key Stop: Gyeongbokgung Palace (Hanbok day)

Reflection: She is growing up and out into the world. And I, once her guide, now stand beside her as a friend, an ally, a witness.