For fans around the world, BTS is more than a band — it is a lifeline. Nine fans share their stories with The Korea Herald
Among fans of BTS, known collectively as Army, there is a saying shared across the fandom: You find BTS when you need them.
For British fan Maxine Wilson, the phrase feels literal.
Wilson discovered the group in 2018 while struggling with severe depression and a rare form of epilepsy. After an argument with her father, she threw her phone against the wall in frustration. The screen lit up and YouTube had opened — and a BTS song began to play.
“I just remember sitting on the floor crying and the music suddenly started playing and it got me out of my emotions,” Wilson said in a Zoom interview with The Korea Herald. The song was BTS’ 2018 track “Let Go.” She said she was moved and felt consoled by the emotions conveyed in the music itself.
Wilson’s story is not so unusual among Army.
In interviews with The Korea Herald, nine fans from Singapore, India, South Korea, Mexico, the UK and the US repeatedly described BTS as artists who appeared in their lives during moments of personal vulnerability, and remained long after.
Ahead of the group’s long-awaited full-group comeback on March 20, fans spoke not only about their excitement for new music, but also about why BTS continues to hold such deep meaning in their lives.
For many, the group’s appeal extends far beyond catchy songs or polished performances. Fans described BTS as a source of comfort, a catalyst for personal growth and, in many cases, the reason they discovered an entirely new community.
Korean American Jiwon Han told The Korea Herald that BTS entered her life when she graduated college in 2016, when she was “overwhelmed by anxiety and uncertainty about what would come next.”
“I was just really feeling lost with what I should do with my life and feeling very down. BTS’ music, words of comfort and variety of content helped me through one of the darkest stretches of my life,” said Han. “They really healed me and helped me find something to look forward to in life.”
For Amy Ganta from India, BTS became part of a larger journey toward self-acceptance. She said their music pushed her to confront a level of self-hate so intense that, at one point, she often did not want to get out of bed.
“Their music made me realize how important self-love is for a person,” Ganta explained. “They taught me to hope again and they showed me that if I were to choose love, love would be greater than hate. They empowered me … and made me invest more in who I was.”
Music that feels personal
That connection — feeling understood before even fully understanding the language — came up repeatedly in conversations with fans.
Ana Gonzalez from Mexico said that BTS’ music and lyrics help her “feel less alone.”
“Their music and the lyrics in it really help me to become a better person. Sometimes, when I feel really lonely and feel that I can’t communicate that feeling with others, I listen to BTS. And whenever I do, I feel like I’m accompanied by someone else and don’t feel as alone anymore,” Gonzalez elucidated. “Even though I don’t speak Korean fluently and have trouble understanding the songs, regardless, I feel that the songs hold a powerful message of its own.”
Many fans say that is what sets BTS apart: the sense that their music is not simply packaged for consumption, for sales or for it to generally perform well on music charts, instead it is rooted in lived experience, intention and messages to their fans.
Yi Chen of Singapore, who has followed BTS for a decade, said the group feels different from other K-pop artists because of how deliberately they build their work.
“What makes them different is how intentional they are with their storytelling. The albums don’t feel like a mere collection of songs, but chapters that describe youth, growth and identity,” said Chen. “As they’re very involved in their creative process (behind the music), their work feels really personal rather than just a song being manufactured for us to listen.”
Another fan based in the UK, Enny B, expressed similar views, saying that what first drew her to BTS was not even the music itself, but the group’s sincerity.
“I got into BTS initially because of their personalities. After studying their personality and drive for music initially, it made me feel like they’re my best friends,” Enny shared. “When you find an artist that actually loves what they do and the songs they write mean something to them, that’s what makes it different for me and makes me love them even more.”
From comfort to action
The sense of comfort fans feel from BTS’ music is part of what inspires them not only to admire BTS, but to alter parts of their own lives for the better.
For Han, BTS’ messages conveyed through the songs and performance have done more than offer comfort. She credits the group with giving her the courage to pursue a different future for herself — including moving to Korea from the US to pursue her own dreams — rather than following the path her parents had expected of her.
For another Mexican fan, Alison Contreras, BTS motivated her to step into things she had never imagined doing before, including learning Korean.
“They taught me to feel more confident in myself, to become braver in trying new things,” Contreras said. “When I listened to their music for the first time, I couldn’t understand what they were trying to say so they motivated me to learn Korean. Like such, they motivate me to do things that I never would have dared to do before.”
Contreras is one of several among Army to have founded a regional fan community for BTS in her own country. She founded the Mexico-based fan community Army Power Mexico in 2017 because she wanted to find others who shared her excitement for BTS’ music, choreography and message. The community now has more than 75,000 followers on X and has organized several fan gatherings in Mexico City, as well as fan-led surprises for individual members of BTS during their concerts in previous years.
Enny, who is the founder of the UK-based fan community UK BTS Armation, said she was motivated to create the fandom because she wanted BTS to know they had supporters in Great Britain as well, at a time when BTS centered its promotional activities for Western countries mostly in the US. UK BTS Armation has organized major fan gatherings around the UK, including boat parties on the Thames River in London.
“I wanted to build the fan community so that BTS would know that they have fans in the UK as well and that there is a demand for BTS,” explained Enny. As of 2026, UK BTS Armation is one of the largest BTS-centered fan bases in the country, with more than 108,000 followers on X.
Many fans have successfully built communities like Enny and Contreras in their home countries and formed lifelong friendships, with some describing each other as chosen family.
In the US, Indian American fan Sandy Presad said joining US BTS Army during the pandemic started as a way to keep herself occupied, but quickly became something much more meaningful. She and Jackie Alvarez, another administrator in the fandom, met online through the fan base before eventually meeting in person at the “Permission to Dance On Stage” concert in Los Angeles in April 2022.
“I’m from Texas and Jackie is from Virginia. Without the fandom and without BTS, we would have never met, but now Jackie is one of my best friends,” shared Presad. “It’s really enriching and we’ll always be very grateful and credit BTS for that opportunity.”
Anticipation for BTS’ comeback
BTS announced earlier in January that it would be releasing a 14-track LP on March 20 titled “Arirang.” According to Big Hit Music, the album is expected to explore themes of identity and deep affection and will be one that “best embodies BTS’ musical identity.”
Years after discovering the septet, many fans say the group’s influence continues to shape their lives, making the band’s long-awaited full-group comeback feel especially meaningful.
Chen said she is especially curious about how the group will present themselves to the fans after their respective military service and years of solo projects.
“I’m really excited to see what concept they’re going to come up with and the messages that they’ll be showing us,” Chen said. Referring to BTS’ “What is your love song” advertising campaign for the upcoming LP, Chen added that she was “really curious as to what it’s about” and what its relation is to the album overall.
On the news that the upcoming album will be one that connects BTS with its roots, Han shared fans were excited to hear how the group would incorporate Korean elements into the new album.
“I haven’t seen all seven of them together in, I think, maybe almost six years. I didn’t get to see them on tour before they went to the military because of the pandemic,” said Han. “I’m just really excited to see all seven members performing together again.”
For many fans, the long-awaited comeback of BTS represents a reunion — not just with the group, but with fellow Army members and the community they built together over the years.
“(BTS’ comeback) is like a light at the end of the tunnel. You’ve been waiting for a while, and it’s so exciting to have them back. But not only that, but the opportunity to see other Army in person and just have a good time together,” said Alvarez. “All of this is like a reward for waiting for the members’ military service to end. I’m thrilled and I’m sure (BTS) are super excited as well.”
With the group returning on Friday with a new album and a comeback show on Saturday, those same fans are waiting for the feeling of seeing something deeply personal come back to life.
“Knowing that they are back is like recovering a part of my soul that had been missing,” said Gonzalez excitedly. She added that upcoming concerts in Mexico City in May will be the first full-group concert she’ll be attending since she became a BTS fan 10 years ago.
“I’m really excited for the concert … but it’s still hard to believe that it’s all actually happening. I’m also very, very excited to hear the new album and I think it’s the only thing I’m most excited about these days,” she added.
