This group of delicate boys conquered Europe and the United States

Author | Zhao Zimo

"Qi, thank you for giving me strength!"

My friend C wrote this sentence earnestly on purple cardboard.

On June 24 and 25, BTS member Min Hyun held a solo concert at the Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. According to friend C, this was the last chance to see Min Yongqi before he enlisted in the army. So she spent a lot of money and bought VIP tickets for the 24-day session.

Min Yongqi

As a friend of the star-chasing girl, C often sends me a lot of thoughts and praise about Min Yongqi's new songs, which is no wonder.

Hallyu has been popular for many years, whether it is image or singing style, Min Hyunqi is the impression of the Korean group style, white loose fashion clothes and faintly visible delicate makeup, nothing surprised me, it is reasonable to attract C from East Asia.

In fact, in the early years, BTS was tepid in South Korea and Asia. But unknowingly, they became popular in European and American countries on the other side of the ocean. C told me that in May, she was watching Min Yongqi in Chicago, and there were no Asians around.

On May 15, 2023, local time, BTS member Min Yong held a solo concert in Los Angeles, and fans took a group photo outside the venue

According to unofficial data for 2022, the largest fan groups of BTS come from Latin America and the United States, and Asian fans are just a not small piece of the puzzle in the BTS fan map.

Bulging muscles, firm and cold image, low-key and elegant clothing, this is the consistent aesthetic of Europeans and Americans for men, but a group of relatively feminine and delicate Asian boys have killed halfway and stirred up half of the entertainment industry in Europe and the United States.

What does this mean? I became curious about that.

So, I was invited to be C's companion and set sail from Guangdong to South Korea together.

01

Seoul tour

When we planned this trip, we set aside two days to hang out in Seoul. Before going out, we will simply put on makeup. By the 24th, we split up. C needs to go to the Jamsil at 12 o'clock to line up for the concert, and I go out for the City Walk at 9 o'clock. When I returned to the hotel in the evening, I saw a table of cosmetics scattered and reacted, and she carefully put on full makeup when she went to the concert.

She was lying on the bed eating barbecue, and said to me happily: "The phone memory is not enough, and I have recorded more than a dozen G of videos, and I have to save them to the iPad." In the video, Min Yongqi's voice is almost overshadowed by the screams and chorus of fans, and the support lamp is like a star in the dark audience.

BTS concert scene

At the end of the 25th, she said to me wearily, "Oh, it's overtime, I'm coming back in August." ”

Min Yongqi, 30 years old this year, has come to the most important node of his career - military service. Xu is about to join the army, reluctant fans, enthusiasm is undiminished, so there is an extra field.

South Korea's Military Service Act stipulates that healthy men between the ages of 20 and 28 must perform military service. In December 2020, as BTS oldest member Kim Seok-jin turned 28 and was about to serve, South Korea amended its military service law to allow male artists like Kim Sook-jin to postpone service to 30 at the latest.

This law applies to artists who have received government medals for spreading or enhancing the cultural influence of the country globally. Seven members of BTS received this honor in 2018, which is why the English media also referred to it as the BTS Law.

It is enough to see how much the South Korean government now attaches importance to the global influence of BTS.

This time, Min Yongqi's "D-Day World Tour" was very impressive, and it was the highest-grossing Asian singer tour in American history, grossing $30.2 million. BTS's most successful was the 2018-2019 "Love Yourself" world tour, which topped the box office receipts of non-English singers with a box office revenue of $190 million.

BTS and UNICEF launch "LOVE Myself" fundraising campaign

It's hard to imagine such a successful combination, at the 2014 variety show, you need to print flyers out of your own pocket to invite passers-by to watch a free performance on the streets of the United States.

02

BTS breakout

How popular is BTS in Europe and the United States?

Well-known American actor and producer Matthew McConaughey shared a story on The Ellen Show. It was October 2017, and he promised to fulfill his 10-year-old son Levi's birthday wish and take him to a BTS concert. Levi, a native American child, had been singing BTS songs at home in Korean for months before making this wish. It can be seen that the appeal of BTS to Americans transcends the limitations of age and language.

On October 15, 2022, local time, Busan, South Korea, the 2030 Busan World Expo bid for the prayer concert BTS "Yet To Come" will be held, and overseas fans are taking a group photo

On May 4, 2017, the news reported on BTS's concert in Chile. Tickets sold out within minutes of going on sale, and parks and public spaces on the streets gathered hundreds of local fans who spontaneously danced the Korean group.

Such popularity not only exceeded the expectations of the Chilean organizers, but also brought a lot of shock to the Western media.

Where does such a pomp and circumstance come from?

In 2012, BTS debuted in South Korea. Unlike other idol groups, BTS at that time was still relatively marginal, and its brokerage company, Big Hit Entertainment, was not one of the three major brokerage companies that dominated K-POP at that time.

BTS

If idol groups want to succeed, they need to compete on platforms and media such as TV stations and music websites, and small agencies such as Big Hit Entertainment do not have enough financial resources to find another way, so they aim at the battlefield of social media.

Unlike other Korean groups, which are tightly controlled by the company, BTS's regularly updated members on social media provide fans with multiple ways to connect emotionally.

As early as 2013, a BTS fan account spontaneously translated Korean content on BTS social media, radiating BTS's influence to more groups.

In May 2018, BTS won the "Top Social Artist" at the Billboard Music Awards in the United States for two consecutive years

On July 30, 2022, in the vlog released by BTS, fans will see Kim Namjoon, who loves art, spending his vacation watching exhibitions in Sweden. In other vlogs, fans can see different members dressed casually to go to the dentist, drive, travel alone in foreign countries, etc. In the early morning of July 5, BTS member Tian Jungkook livestreamed live for two minutes with Seventeen member Kim Min-kyu because he wanted to follow.

BTS does not shy away from talking about the plight of today's young people, but also openly discusses its own problems, trying to build empathy with fans. In September 2021, member Kim Nam-joon celebrated his 27th birthday live. The fan asked him about his mental state and he replied that he "fights every day", will not lose to depression and will not give up. In addition, Min describes his mental health as "cold weather" and "negative emotions come and go," saying he relies on music to reflect on himself and encourage people to share rather than dwell in their minds.

These daily routines provide a window into the behind-the-scenes status of idols, satisfying fans' desire to understand idols from many aspects. Fans lamented: "A lot of idols feel a little too delicate. And the set (BTS) will show many sides, good and bad. Earthy and lovely. ”

Such casual "everyday" is a characteristic of BTS. Carefully managed social media content has allowed BTS to attract a large number of followers from all over the world, and today they have 48 million Twitter followers and 75.9 million YouTube.

BTS joined Twitter in 2011 and currently has more than 48 million followers

Of course, their musical talent is undeniable. In addition to commercial songs, they expanded into social issues rarely touched on by Korean group music. The title song of the first album, "No More Dream", reveals in the first person the dreams of young Koreans that are gradually extinguished in the brutal competition for entrance examinations, and criticizes the Korean education system.

It can be said that from the beginning of its debut, BTS has been committed to being a socially conscious artist.

In fact, BTS members also have their own vivid images and personalities, and are willing to express their personal views on vulnerable groups, gender conflicts, current politics, public welfare and other issues.

In 2018, they also participated in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr.

This point is undoubtedly in line with the mainstream values of European and American society.

03

The politics of entertainment

It can be said that BTS entered the mainstream through marginalized groups.

Looking back, they did try to gain mainstream recognition and succeeded. In the MV for Dynamite, BTS's first single, which topped the US bulletin board, dancer Park Jimin's dance pays homage to the classic dance moves of pop king Michael Jackson. And Michael Jackson's nephew Taj Jackson also tweeted his support on the day the song was released.

The milestone mark of the convergence of the fringe and the mainstream is the olive branch thrown by the United Nations in 2018. This year, BTS was invited to speak at the United Nations General Assembly on the mental health of children and adolescents.

On September 24, 2018, local time, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, BTS attended UNICEF's "Infinite Generation" event

BTS exploded in Europe and the United States, and there was also a layer of cultural and political factors that could not be ignored - their Asian identity and their influence on young people under the age of 30. That is also what the United Nations values.

In the Western value system of white supremacy, the entertainment needs of non-whites are ignored, squeezed, and despised. It seems no coincidence that African-Americans and Latinos in the United States are BTS's largest fan base.

BTS's Asian identity gives these marginalized groups entertainment options against the white context, so BTS seems naturally political in the context of racial contradictions.

In this way, the frequent participation of BTS fans in American political activities is not a simple rice circle phenomenon.

On May 31, 2022, BTS was invited to deliver a speech on Asian American hate crimes at the White House and meet with US President Joe Biden

The rise of BTS has also had to draw the world's attention to these large, silent crowds.

In fact, 97% of BTS's fans are women (2022 data), and the vast majority of them are women with high school education or above, and it can be said that the image of BTS is created for such a fan group.

In the official MV for "Dynamite", saturated dopamine tones and delicate makeup create eye-catching visual effects, while the scenes and retro props used in the MV, such as antique cars speeding on the road and colorful fireworks surging like waterfalls on the oily grassland, place the song in a fantasy world.

In this MV, delicate idols who sing and dance lively and joyfully are placed in a non-existent field and welcome the audience's gaze without threat.

The pictures in the article are partly from Visual China and partly from the Internet

Edit | Ashu

Typesetting | Eight pounds

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