Resources

This paper examines BTS' performances from 2015 to 2018, ranging from the narrative in their songs and albums, musical performances (recorded and live), and a documentary show to their use of social networks. This examination argues how the actor-network of on-stage and off-stage performance is created when some aspects of their off-stage personality pervade into their on-stage personality.

"This pandemic will pass, there will come a day where there will be justice for the people. All the struggles and fights of 2020 will be a distant memory and we will have changed the world for the better. For now, we may continue to seek solace in the lyrics of ON..."

2020 began with a bang for the Korean pop group, BTS. But, as the pandemic worsened, BTS and its powerful fandom called ARMY had to shelve their plans to gather on the group’s tour, forgoing the excitement of the mass spectacles that have become a feature of live, K-pop performance. Instead, the group’s international fandom was left to cling to the digital intimacies that the group has fostered through a steady and robust stream of social media content on Twitter, VLive (South Korean tech company Naver’s celebrity live-streaming app), and the proprietary fandom platform Weverse, developed by the group’s management company Big Hit Entertainment. The period of pandemic self-isolation has not only heightened digital connections between fans and their favorite groups, but has also brought new initiates into the fold.