Welcome to my purple world

Dear ARMY and non-ARMY alike (or should I say "muggles" as Namjoon likes to call you :D)
I imagine that only refers to the fact that you aren't in the know - and not as a derogatory term in any sense :))

I've been wanting to write about my purple* experience for a while now. But whenever I think of where to even begin, I get overwhelmed. There's a lot I want to say - or possibly more so echo as I know I'm not the only one out there with these thoughts. 

*The colour purple is a promise of love and support between BTS and ARMY, and so whenever I talk of this bond I like to do so with the colour reference.

First of all, I should state that being part of a meaningful fan-community like the BTS ARMY is SO MUCH MORE than just liking and supporting the guys by streaming their music, going to their concerts and buying their albums and merch. But that probably goes without saying or else I wouldn't have written this entire post - or the posts that I hope to come.

Second of all, BTS (or Bangtan Sonyeondan as they are known as in the kpop sphere) has gone above and beyond in terms of writing history not just within the korean music industry or the asian music industry - but on a global scale. They've collected numerous daesangs (grand prices) from asian award shows as well as a growing number of grammy nominations - though they've yet to win a grammy (a heavyly discussed topic within the fandom). 

When you look at any sort of numbers surrounding the Bangtan boys (as I like to call them) - you can tell that they're are not an ordinary band or music group. They are not your average kpop idol or boy band in the western sense. Their music videos gathers hundreds of thousands of views, they have entered the "billions club" on spotify in terms of streams, their youtube account has 70+ million subscribers, they each have 40-50 million followers on instagram. Their free concert in Busan in 2022 had a digital audience of about 60+ million when it crashed two songs in - I was there to witness the massive numbers grow and grow, and also there to curse at my screen when the online platform suddenly couldn't handle it anymore.

They've also spoken at the UN on three separate occasions. First in 2018 with their Love Yourself campaign, then in 2020 for the graduating class of 2020 whilst covid was raging and again in 2021 as presidential envoys of youth and culture - a titel given to them by the korean government. AND on top of that they've spoken at the white house as part of the anti-asian hate campaign. So they've also been recognised outside of the music world, as people of major positive influence.

Now, all of these achievements makes me very very proud to be part of this community - and very proud of the boys, of course. But compared to the kind of people that they all are, and the way they carry themselves as artists - this is really just icing on the cake in my purpled opinion. 

What I wanted to say with all of that, by mentioning some of their biggest moments in the objective sense, is that they're very unusual. And in THAT sense they're a fascinating group to study - and to reflect upon and with continuously as I myself walk on my own path forward, conscious of the fact that my path are parallelled to their paths as we belong to the very same generation. I'm the same age as Jimin and Taehyung (V), only a year younger than Namjoon (RM) and Hobi (J-Hope), two years younger than Yoongi (Suga), three years younger than Jin and two years older than JK (Jung Kook). This means that we're the same generation. And that we'll experience similar life things at around the same time. Obviously, I'm not a global superstar or a billionaire, so my lifestyle is vastly different - but in terms of being a human we really do walk on parallelled paths. And this is enourmously encouraging to me.

"Why?" you may ask, because they share so much of their life and artistry with us. The bond is indescribably strong between artist and fandom in this instance, and I think that has everything to do with the fact that they don't treat us as fans - they treat us as friends, as equals, as partners. We are
much more so a community than a fandom, if you look at how they address us and the kinds of events and projects we engage in as ARMY. We make sure that the values that we share (and that the boys express through their music), is at the forefront of everything we do in the name of ARMY. We are in many ways an extension of the values they put out. The topic of ARMY-related projects is a whole chapter in and of itself though, which I would love to talk about in another post.

The bond between artist and fandom resulting in this massive global community is another chapter, which I would love to get into. "How do you know you're ARMY?",  "Do you have to engage in political-alike projects to be part of this community?", "What does it mean to feel their support?",
"How do you know the support goes both ways?",  "What does an exchange of energies really mean?" I get these kinds of questions a lot, when I start to open up about my ARMY experience. And they can be really difficult to answer in any sort of short-form. It's a lot easier to show it through professional talks,
interviews, concerts, fanmade videos etc. But I do want to be able to answer well to these type of questions. And I want to do so in a way, where I don't gloss over important aspects or get discouraged by ignorance or misunderstandings. After all we are dealing with a lot of complicated concepts here. 

Among others being:
- "Parasocial relationships" are not new, but they've gained a different kind of significance with the internet, youtube and social media.
- "Digital communities across cultures and continents" again the internet is at the heart, but when millions move as one, the power and influence is undeniable.
- A "sense of belonging" is central to any human experience. More and more people feel lonely and separate from their own realities because of the very same digital impact, but also because of the pace of modern life: we neglect ourselves in order to serve our society and play our roles right.
- Music is a form of unity and healing, a place where we go to find refuge. The sense of togetherness you feel at concerts is even stronger when a bond has been forged between you and the artist.
- Being a small purple fish in a big purple lake is sometimes easier than being a conscious human in a vast universe. A shrunken reality is easier to relate to than an indefinite one.

Okay, this is a strange place to end at. But I think this will do in terms of introductions. 

Welcome to my purple world 💜