This week I attended BTS Arirang Tour Day 2 at MetLife Stadium. The tour marks their return after completing their military service, and six years since they last went on tour because of the COVID-19 pandemic. BTS is a K-pop boy group that has achieved worldwide success and sold out stadiums across the globe.
At K-pop concerts, most fans do not arrive just an hour before the show begins. Instead, many arrive early in the morning to buy merchandise and interact with other fans. One of the most special parts of K-pop concerts is the tradition of freebies. Freebies are small keepsakes that fans make and give away to other fans to celebrate the concert. They usually include photocards of the group members, which are printed selfies of the members, but they can also include stickers, keychains, decorated hairpins, bracelets, fans, and many other handmade gifts. Fans hand out these items without expecting anything in return, creating an atmosphere of generosity and kindness.
Another tradition that makes K-pop concerts unique is fan projects. Fans create banners with heartfelt messages for the artists and distribute them throughout the venue. During the concert, everyone holds up their banners at the same time so the artists can read them from the stage. K-pop groups also have official lightsticks that are unique to each fandom. BTS’s lightstick is called the ARMY Bomb, and their fans are known as ARMY.
At the concert, many fans dressed in red, white, and black because those are the colors of BTS’s newest album, Arirang. Others wore sailor-inspired outfits because of the title track, “Swim.” Many people also decorated their ARMY Bombs with bows, charms, and rhinestones to match their outfits. K-pop concerts have often been described as mini fashion shows because fans put so much creativity and effort into expressing their love for the group through their clothing and accessories.
Throughout the performance, fans chanted the members’ names in rhythm with the music. BTS’s fan chant is: “Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, Jeon Jungkook, BTS!” K-pop fan chants always begin with the group’s leader and continue from the oldest member to the youngest, also known as the maknae. During a short intermission, fans’ signs were displayed on the stadium screens. One sign read, “Latinas Love BTS,” and the entire stadium erupted into cheers, showing how many people related to the message. Throughout the concert, everyone sang, danced, and jumped together while also looking out for one another. At one point, I bent down to grab my water bottle, and the ARMY standing next to me immediately reached out because she thought I had fainted from excitement. After I told her I was okay, several other fans nearby also checked on me. Even though we were complete strangers, everyone genuinely cared about one another.
Being able to be witness this concert brought me overwhelming amounts of happiness. I have been a fan of BTS since I was nine years old, so finally seeing my childhood idols in person at the age of twenty felt like a full-circle moment. I knew every single song they performed, and I was so excited that, five minutes before the concert started, I began feeling nauseous, almost as if I were the one about to perform. When BTS finally appeared on stage, I immediately started crying and yelling, “They’re real! They’re real! It’s BTS! It’s BTS, ARMY!” After waiting more than a decade to see them and to hear their music live was emotional in a way that is difficult for me to describe. At points I stopped screaming and just watched them in awe. It felt unreal. Every song reminded me of different moments of my life and how I had grown up listening to their music. Even though thousands of strangers were around me, it felt like everyone was connected through the same shared love for BTS and their music.
Being at a K-pop concert makes me feel connected to a community in a way that other concerts have not. I have attended concerts by artists such as J Balvin and Shakira, but the sense of community at BTS concerts feels different. It does not feel like you are surrounded by strangers, instead it feels like you are surrounded by friends. The Arirang albumn also pays tribute to BTS’s Korean roots, yet the audience reflected people from all over the world. There were young children, older adults, men, women, and people from many different cultures and backgrounds. Seeing so many diverse people come together to celebrate the same music reminded me that music can connect people regardless of language, age, or where they come from. Walking away from the concert, I felt like I had experienced more than just a performance, I had experienced a community.
