Bangtan Hermana Notes: BTS: The Art of Connection and Culture Bearing

 

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Bangtan Herman Notes: Growing Up with Bangtan Sonyeondan

 

Bangtan Hermana Notes: Fandom Beyond Hype: OD Lessons From a Golden ARMY

Fandom Beyond the Hype by zarah gagatiga

Bangtan Herman Notes: Arirang is Light and Love Songs in Times of Loss and Tension

Looking Back at the 4th BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference in KL, Malaysia

 

Fangirling @ 14 and 40: A Witnessing of the Lived Experience of Filipino Teenagers and Middle-Aged Women ARMY Zine Edition 2026

Three years ago, more or less, I wrote a paper that centers Filipino teenagers and middle-aged women ARMYs and examines how they navigate bias, prejudice, and joy in fandom spaces. Prompted by the clamor for acknowledgment and respect for Baby ARMYs in these age groups during BTS’s Enlistment Era, I recently revisited the paper and made revisions. 

Below is the abstract and the QR code for the full paper.

Fangirling @ 14 and 40: A Witnessing of the Lived Experience of Filipino Teenagers and Middle-Aged Women ARMY

By Zarah C. Gagatiga, RL

Read and presented at the 4th BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 16–18, 2023

Abstract

Teenage fangirls have long been stereotyped as shallow and irrelevant. On worse occasions, they are stigmatized as hysterical fans trapped in their own bubble of delusion. With the advent of K-pop, the screaming fangirl trope has resurfaced as well as the mature women who fangirl over K-pop idols, bands, girl groups, and boy groups alike. Teenagers or middle-aged women fangirls both experience prejudice and indifference from families, friends, and the larger society.

This academic essay explores the narratives and lived experiences of Filipino teenage girls and middle-aged women ARMY who, in one way or another, have survived and thrived in their own ways through interacting and engaging with co-ARMYs and their chosen fanbase. Using phenomenology as research design, the thematic analysis shows that Filipino teenage girls gravitate to the self-awareness and identity formation present in the art and music of BTS. On the one hand, middle-aged women are drawn to BTS’ songs and aesthetics that engage them to introspect, leading them to reclaim their lost selves and rediscover new talents and rekindle friendships with co-ARMYs in their age group. The essay highlights the unifying power of BTS in bridging age gaps and fostering camaraderie among female fans of diverse backgrounds.

Bangtan Herman Notes: The Power of Seven

At a pottery workshop with ARMY friends last month, while our hands were busy building pots and mugs, we were marveling at something we could suddenly articulate: BTS was designed to grow individually without growing apart. As separate clay projects took form side by side, the metaphor felt unavoidable. It is rare to witness fullness without fracture, change without loss.

That moment stayed with me long enough to send me back to Murray Stein’s Map of the Soul: Persona, Shadow & Ego in the World of BTS. The book is grounded in Jungian psychology, particularly the framework of individuation: the lifelong process of becoming whole through the integration of persona, shadow, and ego. Stein, a Jungian scholar, wrote with evident excitement about BTS’s thoughtful adoption of Jung’s ideas. This was the Map of the Soul era, when BTS was preparing for a world tour that would never come because of the pandemic.

I think, one of the most striking creative choices of this era lies in the rap line tracks themselves, Persona, Shadow, and Ego. Each song samples an intro from BTS’s earliest albums. Skool Luv Affair for Persona; O, RUL8 2! for Shadow and 2 Cool 4 Skul for Ego. This is not nostalgia nor is it just a creative design. It is musical intertextuality: BTS treats their own discography as a living text, returning to earlier works to make meaning of the present one. In Jungian terms, this is individuation, but in song and in sound. The present self revisiting its origin points, not to discard them, but to integrate them.

Stein reflects that “the number 7 completes things,” and that completion signals not an ending, but a time to rest after immense creative labor. In hindsight, Chapter 2 feels less like interruption and more like care. Care for the self. Care for the other. Rest became part of the work.

Seven, Stein reminds us, is also a prime number that is indivisible except by itself. In BTS’s 7, it exists as a single entity not by suppressing individuality, but by safeguarding it.

When I first read this book, it was during the pandemic, and I was a Baby ARMY learning alongside my ARMY daughter, who gently guided me through songs, names, and histories. I read Stein then with curiosity. I return to him now with recognition. Watching BTS today, sometimes alone, sometimes together with ARMY Daughter or with ARMY friends,I see the truth of Jung’s insight made visible: separation does not undo the whole. It deepens it. Seven remains prime. Seven is one. One is seven.

Apobangpo! Purple and true!

First Book Acquired in 2026

 

@titazeeh7

BTS Book Budol 💜😅💜

♬ Stay Alive (Prod. SUGA of BTS) - Jung Kook

From ARMY of Bangtan's (AoB) BTS Reading List 2025: A Review of Jack-in-the-Box, A Short Story by Ray Bradburry

Ray Bradbury’s “Jack-in-the-Box” reads, for me, as a story of emancipation: about Edwin, a child who escapes a world built for him, but never with his consent or consideration of his being. His confinement is not merely physical. It is structural, ideological, and emotional. His world is carefully designed, orderly, and suffocating, shaped by fear disguised as protection and authority disguised as love.

When Edwin finally breaks free from this boxed world, his declaration is "I’m dead! I’m glad!” reframes death not as an ending, but as liberation. What dies is the imposed self, the obedient version trapped within manufactured boundaries. What emerges is the possibility of living again, this time as a self that chooses, feels, and experiences the world beyond fear (sounds like Ego, right?). In this story, death becomes transformation, and freedom is earned through breaking away and sundering.

I chose this short story as part of the AoB Reading List because I wanted Jhope to be represented. Last year, I revisited "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", a book Hobi read in high school and which later inspired Hope World. For 2025, with the HOPE ON THE STAGE tour marking a defining moment in his career, Jack-in-the-Box felt like a timely and necessary read.

Bradbury’s story resonates with Jack In The Box, the album, in concept, song lyrics and sonic qualities. Both confront boxed expectations, manufactured identities, and the cost of stepping outside what is prescribed. Both insist that emancipation is not always gentle, but it is essential.

This pairing honors Jhope not only as a performer, but as an artist continually choosing authorship over confinement, and selfhood over safety.

#ARMYofBangtanPH #ARMYofBangtanBookClub #BTS_JHOPE

Bangtan Hermana Notes: Plurality in Fandom

 RM once said during Map of the Soul ON:E:

“Our first march started with a very small dream of seven little boys… Along the way, we met many people who were like us. Anyone can join us. BTS is not just a story of seven people.”

I find myself going back to this quote of Namjoon a year after I wrote about ARMY multistans and multistaning. It comes at the wake of Jin losing the Daesang at the MAMA 2025. Threads is ripe with discussions on fandom identity, solidarity, belonging and evolution besides.

I face this conflict once again: the tension between plurality and loyalty.

RM’s words are true. The march did grow. ARMY is no longer the single, roaring purple wave we once were. We have become an ocean with many currents: multistans, old fans, casual listeners, new joiners, soft stans, tired stans, nostalgic stans, hopeful stans. Different hearts. Different histories. Different ways of loving.

This plurality is not failure. It is the natural evolution of a fandom that has lived, changed, and endured for twelve years. It is the proof that BTS’ love has made room for many forms of belonging.

But if I am honest, plurality also carries consequences, especially in spaces that demand focus, unity, and numbers: streaming, voting, charting, award shows.

It was painful to see votes split. To see playlists divided.

To watch Jin lose a Daesang not because he lacked impact, but because ARMY today walks many roads at once. And for a moment, I felt torn:

How do I embrace plurality without abandoning my own sense of devotion?

How do I honor different journeys while grieving the effects of divided participation?

The answer that found me was simple, gentle, and grounding: Plurality explains how fandoms evolve. Loyalty explains how I choose to love.

I can now acknowledge the multiplicity of ARMY with kindness without erasing the clarity of my own devotion.

I can now understand why multistans exist, why priorities shift, why the ocean no longer moves as one and still firmly choose my lane: My votes are for BTS. My streams are for BTS. My energy, intention, and love remain with BTS alone.

Not out of hostility toward other groups. Not out of disdain for multistans. Simply because this is where my heart has chosen to stay.

This is the distinction I needed: a boundary that is honest, not bitter; clear, not harsh; kind, not compromising.

RM said “anyone can join us,” and I believe that. Everyone’s way of loving BTS is valid.

But my own way is focused shaped by twelve years of sincerity, memory, and a bond that has never asked me to look elsewhere. Plurality and loyalty are not enemies. They simply live in different chambers of the same heart.

So as Jin’s birthday approaches, and my favorite album by RM celebrates its 3rd year, I return to what has always been true for me: We show up because the heart remembers.

I stream and vote for BTS because their story is the one I walk.

I honor plurality with kindness, but I stand with BTS with clarity.

And in this, I find peace. Not the peace of uniformity, or belonging to a clique or an exclusive group, but the peace of knowing who I am as a fan, and with joy of who I am marching beside.

Apobangpo! Purple and true!

Book Review: Two Tales of Emancipation: Madeline Miller’s Galatea and Kim Taehyung’s Winter Ahead

Madeline Miller’s Galatea is a tale of emancipation from a creator-husband who controlled her every will; a man who gazed at her as his own work of art. No agency. No voice. No choice. Until, at last, she reclaimed all her faculties in a cruel, shocking act that left me pondering justice, liberation, and the cost of becoming fully human.

Winter Ahead by Kim Taehyung (feat. Park Hyo Sin) explores a parallel theme, though the rebellion here is softer, quiet, humane, but no less liberating. The music video suggests references to the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea besides.

The lines:

I’ll be with you until the spring runs by

And the summer starts to burn

And I’ll be with you when autumn returns

Yes, when all the seasons turn

signal a different kind of subversion.

They imply: He will be with you through every change, but not at the cost of his own becoming.

A love that honours presence without demanding permanence. A devotion that refuses self-erasure.

In this way, Taehyung seems to gesture toward the K-pop industry’s traditional creator-captor dynamic, where idols are sculpted into images and deprived of agency. A modern Pygmalion myth. But BTS, across their career, have steadily subverted that narrative, becoming auteurs of their own art, identities, and stories.

And in Winter Ahead, Taehyung widens that subversion into something tender: an articulation of loving and being loved with freedom, with consent, and with the right to grow into one’s own form. A gentle rebellion and perhaps the most radical one of al

When We Read, We Never Walk Alone: An Interview with Ms. Andrea Posner Sanchez, Editorial Director of Little Golden Book

On October 4, 2025, the ARMY of Bangtan (AoB), in partnership with Fully Booked and Penguin Random House, hosted a joyful book party to celebrate the launch of BTS: A Little Golden Book Biography. Parents and children filled the space with laughter and excitement as they joined games, raffles, and a read-aloud of the beloved children’s book.

For ARMYs, this event marks a milestone worth cherishing. A beautiful moment where two icons meet. BTS and the Little Golden Book series come together to leave both children and adults with a legacy of inspiration, creativity, and love that will last for generations to come.

As AoB’s Bangtan Hermana, librarian, author, and ARMY, I was deeply honored to be given the chance to interview Ms. Andrea Posner-Sanchez, albeit online and through Ms. Jennifer Javier and Rafa Ashraf, of Penguin Random House. 

Ms. Posner-Sanchez is Editorial Director of Little Golden Books. In this interview, Ms. Posner-Sanchez shared the creative process behind bringing BTS: A Little Golden Book Biography to life.

ARMYs, both young and old, will be delighted to learn about the thoughtful decisions and care that went into every page. Readers of all ages will come away inspired, seeing how pop culture can open meaningful avenues for learning, imagination, and connection.

1. What inspired Little Golden Books to include BTS in its iconic biography series, and what does their story bring to young readers that felt essential to highlight?

When considering who to feature in a Little Golden Book Biography, we look for notable and inspiring people from diverse backgrounds. When author Jan Ann suggested BTS, I honestly didn't know much about them aside from the fact that they were enormously popular. I did some research and quickly learned that BTS doesn't just make terrific music. What sold me on the book was watching footage of RM at the UN General Assembly urging young people to "Speak Yourself". That was just one inspiring moment Jan Ann included in her manuscript. Other parts of BTS's story we felt were essential to highlight for our young readers include overcoming obstacles, working together, and not giving up on one's dreams.

2. The Little Golden Book Biography series has featured changemakers, artists, and leaders across history. How does BTS’ inclusion reflect the series’ commitment to introducing children to figures who shape culture?

There is no doubt that BTS has shaped culture! They significantly increased global interest in K-pop and South Korean culture through their relatable music. Their countless Korean-language hits such a Mic Drop, Idol, Spring Day, prove that music transcends language. And they took artist-fan relationships to a whole new level by using social media to directly engage with fans around the world.

3. From an editorial perspective, what were the most important values or messages you wanted to emphasize in the BTS Little Golden Book—especially for children just learning to read?

The members of BTS exhibit so many good qualities that are beneficial for young children to read about. As an editor—and a mom—I especially appreciate how kind, respectful, empathetic, and gracious RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are.

4. BTS’ journey is deeply rooted in themes of resilience, creativity, and hope. How do you see their story resonating with families and children outside of the fandom?

Everyone loves a success story! Through a combination of talent, hard work, perseverance, and staying true to themselves, BTS overcame challenges as they chased their dreams to become global superstars. Even people unfamiliar with their music can appreciate that.

5. Looking ahead, what role do you think books like this play in bridging popular culture and children’s literature, especially in helping young readers discover joy in reading through the lives of people they admire?

Any book that inspires a child to read is a good book. The more you read, the more you improve your literacy skills. Reluctant readers especially may be more inclined to pick up a book about their favorite actor, athlete, or K-pop group rather than try to read and comprehend an unknown story. Little Golden Book Biographies about pop culture icons are a terrific way to help encourage a love of reading.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit the nearest Fully Booked in your area and get a copy! Read with your child! Shine! Dream! Smile!

Bangtan Hermana Notes: From Me to We: On Personal Joy and the Collective and Communal Nature of Fandom

RC Muñoz’s autograph post. Ticketing battles won or lost. Barricade flexes and seated preferences. Again and again, fandom conversations circle back to this: personal joy versus collective care.

On the surface, fandom looks like a string of individual stories: I got lucky, I persevered with my iPhone 16, I saved for years. Social media magnifies this focus on the self, rewarding posts that showcase proximity or possessions. Hyperindividualism at its finest at a time of war, division and uncertainty. It is no surprise that the prevailing mindset becomes: “I’ll celebrate my way, and that’s enough.” It does not help that in a capitalist consumer culture, fandom is too easily reduced to what we buy, what we hold, what we can show.

The artists we stan becomes COMMODITY.

But fandom is not only personal. It is also communal. Lighting the MOA Globe purple, singing in unison at concerts, streaming in circles, organizing cupsleeves events and watch parties. These are not solitary acts; they are rituals of community and belonging. And as Clifford Geertz (1973) reminds us, rituals are texts we interpret. To do a “thick description” of fandom* is to see beyond the surface gesture and into the layered meanings: a light on a globe is not just electricity, it is longing, belonging, a collective claim to space. A cupsleeve is not just paper, it is memory shared over coffee, proof that ARMY is plural.

So why does individualism still prevail? Because it is the language capitalism teaches us. Because “celebrate your way” is easier than asking “who gets left out?” Because envy is deflected by shrinking fandom into personal coping, rather than expanding it into communal and relational accountability.

The challenge is not to erase personal joy, RC’s happiness is hers, barricade victories are theirs. The challenge is to keep joy mindful. Joy is sacred. And in fandom where fangirls are prejudiced, A WOMAN’S JOY IS SACRED. To celebrate with gentleness, knowing others were scammed, excluded, unlucky. To remember that purple is not just a personal color, but a shared one. These all point to connection and community despite individual differences.

Maybe ARMY’s work is to resist fandom being flattened into “me” and recover the “we.” To thicken our descriptions of what it means to be fans not just as consumers, but as companions, co-creators, caretakers. BTS has always reminded us that we never walk alone. That they are more than idols, artists and products of an industry. They are people. And in their art and music, we find humanity. BTS never sang alone, and neither should we.

Apobangpo. Purple and true.

* Geertz defines thick description as a method of interpreting culture by attending not only to observed behavior but also to the context and meaning behind it, like “sorting out the structures of signification” through which people make their actions meaningful (The Interpretation of Cultures, 1973, p. 6).

#BangtanHermanaNotes #ARMYAfterThoughts

Bangtan Hermana Notes: The Many Ways to "Purple You"

 

Book Review: BTS: A Little Golden Book Biography (2 of 3)

In Part 1 of this series, I reflected on the cultural and emotional weight of BTS: Little Golden Book Biography and how its very existence feels like a milestone in both early literacy and BTS’ legacy.

Now, with the digital review copy from Penguin Random House, I’ve had the joy of reading it cover to cover. What I found was more than just a charming children’s biography. It was a tender, artful retelling of a story ARMY knows by heart, filled with details that speak to both newcomers and long-time fans.

Here are my impressions.

Part 2: My Reading Impressions of BTS: Little Golden Book Biography

The underdog narrative was kept and honored in this book without being judgmental or accusatory. It's told with the tenderness of a story that knows where its heart is: in the long, winding journey from obscurity to the global stage.

ARMYs, believe that "1 is 7; 7 is one." This belief is beautifully presented on the very first page: all seven members in a huddle, with Suga facing away as he always does in these moments. That detail alone made me smile. From there, the book unfolds with each member's origin story, a tale every ARMY knows by heart, yet one that never loses its magic in the retelling.

The illustrations are simply adorable, soft, endearing, and, I suspect, rendered in watercolor. If so, my oh my! All the more reason for me to love this book. The gentle palette and expressive lines make the storytelling even warmer, inviting young readers into BTS' world with ease.

As a school librarian, I find BTS: Little Golden Book Biography worthy of acquisition. Call it my bias if you must but consider this: how many students in your school love K-pop and are fans of BTS? How many readers in your learning community are ARMY? The presence of this book in a school library is not just about fandom; it is a message of representation and a nod to the benefits of learning from pop culture and its influences.

In my next post, I'll share activities you can do in the library or at home using this book as a springboard to expand and extend the reading experience.

Read part 1 of the series here, Kuwentong Bangtan: BTS A Little Golden Book Biography (1 of 3)

As the release date draws near, the celebration goes beyond my own reading joy. In Part 3, I’ll share how the ARMY of Bangtan will mark this milestone through a month-long blog tour along with a guide for parents and school librarians to make the most of BTS: Little Golden Book Biography in nurturing young readers.

Kuwentong Bangtan: Who is BTS in our lives?

On ARMY Day, I reflect with gratitude on a journey that began with my ARMY daughter and BTS. For me, it has always reached beyond music; beyond the Purple ocean or universe. From day one, transcendence was apparent. It was already in motion. Not during the enlistment era or after, when all members have all been discharged. For who in Kpop would dare reference Omelas and Snow Piercer in a song of loss, longing and emancipation?

At the 4th BTS Conference in the University of Malaya, I had the honor of standing among scholars and fellow aca-fans who continue to explore what BTS means in our lives. For many of us, BTS was not just a gateway into K-pop and newer music or transmedia storytelling. BTS was, and still is, a lifeline. Their music helped us heal. It gave language to our silences. For some, it even became a form of decolonization, a path toward reclaiming joy, self-worth, and belonging.

It has been my lived experience. It was never about image or optics. It was speaking one’s truth, and holding power and accountability for myself and others I hold in high esteem. And having one’s own understanding of this dynamic, parasocial it may be, is the pre-requisite for realignment.

Before we can realign our purpose as ARMY, we must first ask: Who is BTS in our lives? Not just as artists, (and in delulu moments, partners even lovers; in worst cases, commodities we can simply consume) but as companions, teachers, mirrors, and catalysts. Our answers to that question shape the kind of fandom, fanbase or fan group we choose to build, one rooted in authenticity, reflection, and care.

ARMY as a fandom has changed in the last three years; and so are the Tannies and the industry they disturbed and helped change. Newer entry points into K-pop will continue to emerge, and we welcome them. But they also remind us that BTS’ story is still unfolding. And so is ours. ARMY. Whatever this is going to look like or will be, our history and culture which began back in 2013 can become pins of light. Whatever this will bring us, I am here for the ride.

Finally, I honor Zoe, who, to this day is still surprised I became ARMY. A story I will never tire of telling. And of course, much love and appreciation to the Tita ARMYs who are my companions in this ever-evolving journey. We may not all be published or cited as Bangtan scholars, but we have done the quiet, steady work of remembering, creating, caring, and holding space.

You know who you are. Happy ARMY Day! Borahae!

Zarah Gagatiga 7.10.25

Kuwentong Bangtan: The Return Is the Ritual Reflections on BTS, Community and Why We Feel Safe

Last night, BTS went live on Weverse as seven. Their first group live after completing their military service. No fanfare. No flash. Just the seven of them sitting together: talking, teasing, and laughing like no time had passed. Our chaotic 7 whom we missed so much.

My daughter watched it and posted an edit she found on Tiktok showing the last live OT7 had in September 2022 and the one last night post-military. Her caption read: “It's like they never left.”

She’s right. That familiar rhythm; the way they lean into each other; listening in and taking a cue from a planned message for ARMY; the inside jokes; the tone of their voices when they’re together. It was all there. And it made so many of us feel "safe".

An ARMY in the comments said, “Why does this constancy always make me feel safe?” And I have been thinking about this all day-- on top of my online classes, a deadline to beat and a training manual to finish.

Maybe it’s because we’re so used to things shifting, especially now on social media where our digital lives are ruled by algorithms and AI. Things move so fast and change happens in a blink of an eye before we can even make sense of what has passed. In the same vein that fandoms and fanbase change. 

People leave. We get abandoned.

Trends rise and fall. We wonder where to anchor our beliefs.

But BTS? They show up. 

Even after everything. Even after the distance and the silence, they return, not just to the stage, but to us. And that kind of showing up is rare.

ARMY, we all saw them last night-- and in succeeding posts of ARMYs and fans, form translations, clips, memes and reactions. They are returning strong and transformed, but comforting and familiar. Like nothing has really changed.

My daughter continued the conversation and added something she read online: “The price of community is inconvenience.” That line stayed with me because it is true, but, there is a nuance to it. Community isn’t effortless. It means choosing to be present. It means communicating and articulating honestly that things are changing. That at some point, people will pause and keep silent. And in the downtime, there are those in the fanbase who chose to stay with BTS while in conscription. It’s not easy. Even when you're tired or busy or uncertain, joining the live, commenting, streaming, defending, celebrating. These are all part of this quiet work of being together.

The thing is, ARMYs are not just fans consuming content. We’re participants in something built over years. Being part of ARMY means giving time, attention, care. And in a world where hyper-individualism is often rewarded, choosing community, choosing to show up, can feel like rebellion.

The conversation continues when an ARMY chimed in, saying: “Good thing we can do both! My individual-ness might not be able to take it.” And there’s the beauty of it, we can do both. We don’t have to erase ourselves to be part of something bigger. BTS shows us that. Their bond isn’t about sameness, it’s about connection. It grows and changes, but it doesn’t disappear. It evolves, and yet, somehow, stays the same.

That’s duality. And it’s comforting.

With BTS and ARMY, it is not the spectacle or the performative fangirling that is already a stereotype among Kpoppers-- no offense meant. What holds BTS and ARMY are the rituals that have been built overtime. Not the comebacks but the returns. Jin performing live a day after discharge and hugging 1,000 ARMYs. Hoseok allowing Jin to sing Spring Day with him on 613. JK being present for 2Seok in Jamais Vu. And Yoongi, donating millions for the care of children in the spectrum. The live last night felt like home because they have always been with ARMY through two years of being away in the military.  

And the joy ARMY felt? It’s not just from new music of Jin and Hoseok or the big announcements of an album and a world tour. It’s in the rhythm of presence. In the trust we’ve built, slowly, over years.

The return is the ritual. And in that, we are never really lost. We never walk alone.