Mother-daughter ARMY all set for the BTS Permission to Dance in-person concert in LA
I’m a latecomer to the BTS party, but I guess my conscription into the ARMY was inevitable. My daughter Maia has been a fan since 2016, and I always wondered why she was so crazy about them. I just knew that the band made her happy, so I let her be. My music taste leans towards the oldies and I love OPM, so I wasn’t particularly interested in listening to something so young and so foreign.
Then just last September, a friend in one of my Viber groups posted the video of Permission to Dance. It piqued my interest because the song was in English, and it was co-written by Ed Sheeran. Watching the video for the first time just brought out the joy and optimism that we seriously needed at that moment. If you recall, September was the month the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolutions (IATF) switched over our community quarantine status to an alert level system, and we were at the restrictive Alert Level 4, still battling many new cases of COVID-19. It was a very frustrating time for all of us, especially in the tourism sector, which went through many starts and stops over the last two years: “There’s always something that’s standing in the way/But if you don’t let it faze ya, you’ll know just how to break.”
The author and daughter waiting for BTS Permission to Dance concert to start: ‘What they conveyed in their UN GA speech was exactly how I felt’
When BTS gave a speech at the United Nations 76th General Assembly on September 20, I joined more than a million other fans around the world who watched the livestream. The group had just been appointed by the South Korean president himself as Presidential Special Envoy for Future Generations and Culture, but this was not their first time to address the UN. I didn’t know what to expect, but what they conveyed in their simple and heartfelt speech, which was delivered in Korean, was EXACTLY HOW I FELT.
I didn’t know what to expect, but what they conveyed in their simple and heartfelt UN speech was exactly how I felt
“We thought the world stopped, but it continues to move forward,” said RM.
Jungkook: Here I’m the same as I was yesterday, but the world changed. Like we were transported in a flash to a parallel world. I was saddened to hear that entrance and graduation ceremonies had to be canceled. These are moments in life you want to celebrate. And missing out on them must have been upsetting.”
Suga: Yes, it was a time for us to mourn for the things that COVID-19 took away from us. A time to discover how precious each and every moment we’d taken for granted was.
And things got more interesting when they tied it in with climate change.
Jimin: And lots of people answered our question by sharing pictures of their precious moments. Many people showed how they share their moments with nature. I think during these two years they found dear the time they experienced and cared for nature.
j-hope: Yes, but maybe because we feel an encroaching sense of dread that our time on this earth is limited. We just talk about the things we mourn, and I shudder to think about mourning for the earth. Everyone agrees that climate change is an important problem, but talking about what the best solution might be…That’s not easy. It’s a topic that’s tough to make conclusions about.
RM: Yes, it is a tough discussion. But I learned while preparing for today that there are many young people who have an interest in environmental issues and choose it as their field of study. The future is unexplored territory. And that’s where we, more than anyone, will spend our time.
They even stressed the importance of being vaccinated.
j-hope: What is important is the choices we make when we’re faced with change. Right? Some of you heard the news that we’re coming to the UN, and a lot of you were wondering whether we have been vaccinated.
RM: I’ll take this opportunity to say yes. All seven of us. Of course we received vaccinations. The vaccination was a sort of ticket to meeting our fans waiting for us. And to be able to stand here before you today. Just like we said in our message today, we too are doing the things that we’re able to do right now.
V: Like the vaccinations. Efforts are continuously underway to keep this new reality going forward. I think the day we can meet again face to face is not far away. Until then I hope we can fill each of our days to the brim with positive energy.
And they showed how they are good examples to the youth of today.
These seven boys use their fame and influence for the social good. I even posted that they would make ideal sons-in-law, haha!
RM: I’ve heard that people in their teens and 20s today are being referred to as COVID’s lost generation.
Jin: They look like they are finding new courage and taking on new challenges. I think that’s why instead of the lost generation, a more appropriate name would be the “welcome generation.” Because instead of fearing change, this generation says “Welcome,” and keeps forging ahead.
RM: We thought the world has stopped, but it continues to move forward. I believe that every choice we make is the beginning of change, not the end. I hope that in this nascent new world, we can all say to each other, “Welcome.” And now, as we look forward to this future, the permission to dance is our message of welcome that we want to share with everyone today.
And so when Maia said she really, really wanted to attend the BTS concert in Los Angeles, the group’s first live performance in two years, I couldn’t say no. The BTS vibe is more infectious than the coronavirus. Their music has helped millions of people get through the challenges of the pandemic with their messages of hope and self-love, kindness, and optimism. These seven boys broke through a whole lot of barriers to become the world’s number one musical phenomenon, yet they remain humble and super hardworking, and they use their fame and influence for the social good. (I even posted that they would make ideal sons-in-law, haha!) Their massive global reach has turned countless numbers of people into fans of South Korean culture, and I can’t think of another example of soft power as transcending and unifying as BTS.
ARMY bomb lights up the moment. (From Tourism Secretary Berna Puyat)
I took my first personal leave since 2018 to “chaperone” Maia to watch one of the band’s sold-out performances at the SoFi Theater. I saw many other BTS Titas of Manila there, dancing and chanting and screaming like young girls. Certainly there was an atmosphere of celebration and freedom—and the long-missed sense of community—that I know we too will get to experience in the Philippines as the country continues to ease restrictions.
The morning will come again, because no darkness or no season can last forever.
1 Comment