Passions and Obsessions

I am an ARMY nun, my co-presenter a priest— ‘God speaks through BTS, too!’

Our background is theology and pastoral ministry, so what were we doing in the 3rd BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference?

The author before an exhibit display of her bias Kim Seokjin’s ‘Permission To Dance’ outfit at the Hybe Insight Museum in Seoul

3rd BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference delegates at the Total Museum of Contemporary Art, where the opening dinner was held and where delegates viewed the artworks of ARMY artists

This is the deepest I have been down the BTS rabbit hole—and I am never going to regret it.

With a priest ARMY-friend, I gave a workshop in the 3rd BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul last July 14-16. There are so many stories to tell from this trip!

The week before the conference, there were online conferences for presenters who could not make it to Seoul. Although we weren’t required to attend, I decided to listen to a few presentations. I wasn’t prepared for what I heard. Let me give you some of the titles, and a brief description of each, so you know what I mean.

There was a paper entitled From Bias to Borahae: Attaining Linguistic Fluency in the BTS Fandom, by Kendall Bryant and Adam Winsler, which analyzed seven years of tweets with the hashtag #BTSarmy to find patterns of fandom language acquisition. The study showed that it takes an average of 140 days of tweeting about BTS before one adopts the fandom language (for example, Borahae). Then there was He Too Was a Tempter: Desire and Homoerotic Subtext in BTSs Blood, Sweat, & Tears by Courtney Lazore of the TheBTSEffect.com. (If you’re an ARMY, you would know her.) Her presentation dissected the music videos, lyrics, and performances of the song Blood, Sweat & Tears to surface the homoerotic subtext and its thematic links to Herman Hesse’s novel Demian.

And this was my favorite: Under the Same Sky: Synchronicity in BTS Media, On- and Offline by Despina Kakoudaki. Her study explored the many ways BTS transcends time and distance, especially during the pandemic, and creates an experience of synchronicity and being “under the same sky” with their fans.

The level of scholarly work on BTS was mind-blowing! I suddenly felt small. I questioned whether our workshop had a place in this forum. I was grateful my sisters supported and encouraged me, and told me to just be myself—basically, echoing BTS’ Speak Yourself.

It was a gathering of Aca-ARMYs,’ academics who are also fans of BTS, from all over the globe—and the level of scholarly work was mind-blowing

The conference was a gathering of “Aca-ARMYs”—academics who are also fans of BTS, from all over the globe. The paper presentations were divided into tracks such as Fandom and Politics, BTS as Therapeutic Ecosystems, Transnational/Translingual Practices, and Technology and New Media, among the many. There was an interesting panel discussion on Collaboration, Community, and Multi-Directional Movement across BTS and ARMY landscapes, which was a good follow-through to Dr. Jiyoung Lee’s keynote speech that challenged ARMYs: “If BTS has closed chapter 1 and is moving on, how about us, ARMY—what about our chapter 2?”

The passion of the Aca-ARMY and the scholarship devoted to BTS marked this conference. Truly, BTS, with ARMY, are a cultural revolution that cannot be ignored. I am a religious sister, and my co-presenter was a priest. There were three of us, originally, but one couldn’t make it to Seoul. Our common background is theology and pastoral ministry, so what were we doing in a conference like this, right?

Well, my two companions, Fr. Earl Valdez and Lee-an Rosal, are professors of philosophy and theology, respectively, at the Ateneo de Manila University, so the question was really just for me. Our workshop was non-academic, and our approach to the theme was spiritual. The theme of the conference was The Post Pandemic Era: Welcome to the New Humanity.

A big part of BTS’ power to connect to their audience lies in the effectivity of their storytelling

The author presenting a slide of Big Hit Entertainment (now Hybe) founder and head Bang Si-hyuk in the conference

Our workshop was entitled A Spring Day for Our Dis-ease: Sharing our Stories of Healing and Hope. It is easy for ARMYs to recognize the reference to two of BTS’ songs. The workshop was built on the premise that a big part of BTS’ power to connect to and influence their audience lies in the effectivity of their storytelling—whether it is through their songs, music videos, reality shows, or VLIVES. So we used the “stories” from these two songs as springboards for self-reflection, which, in turn, allowed the participants to tell their own stories.

‘How it started’—Sr. Yna recalls. In 2021, the Cenacle started giving online recollections using BTS as theme,  for  Filipino ARMYs,  Ateneo de Naga high school senior students and faculty, and St. Scholastica’s students.

Aside from being there as an ARMY, I felt that our take on the BTS phenomenon, as pastoral ministers, has a place in creating this “mikrokosmos of welcome for the world,” one of the taglines of the conference. In an academic conference such as this, a major challenge for us was how to talk about God without mentioning God’s name. We expected nine participants, based on the sign-up sheet, and all came. I had their names, but because I didn’t have time to check the schedule before our flight, I didn’t realize our participants were all presenters in the conference. We had participants from Australia, Hungary, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, and the US. It didn’t help that it was raining hard that day in Seoul. We got wet from the commute, and my damp clothes made me shiver. I kept praying the whole time, and reminded God that it was God who sent me there in the first place, so God better help me.

Our take on the BTS phenomenon, as pastoral ministers, has a place in creating this mikrokosmos of welcome for the world’

I also took comfort in the fact that we were in the presence of fellow ARMYs, and were all bound by our love for BTS. If I messed up, at least they’d be forgiving. In true ARMY fashion, we asked about our biases and bias wreckers. The interaction became interesting when one participant made a bold remark about one member. She prefaced her statement with, “I know I’m gonna get killed for saying this…” How we were able to turn the conversation into a moment of teaching, for me, was a grace from God.

Everything turned out well in the end. At least three of the participants said it was “healing” for them. As I look back, there was intentionally no direct mention of God in our presentation and in the sharing, but the experience of healing is definitely an experience of God. In ARMY forums, one could easily find testimonies about how BTS has been a source of healing for them, and BTS, in fact, has a number of songs where they offer themselves to ARMY as a means for healing (Magic Shop, 2! 3!, Mikrokosmos, Lights, etc.). My own experience of BTS is deeply spiritual; God speaks through BTS, too! And this became my strongest motivation for submitting our paper for the conference. At some point I felt out of place, but in hindsight, I think we found our unique voice.

Mariana Faciroli, founder of ARMY Help The Planet, Brazil, speaks at the podium. When  fire broke out in the Amazon, #armyhelptheplanet trended on Twitter, ARMYs got together in a group chat, joined by experts, environment engineers, lawyers, and more. Now the group has grown into a large and active force in many social movements in Brazil.

The day before the conference, we went to the Hybe Insight Museum. It is a must for ARMYs, or for fans of any HYBE artist. Here, one is introduced to the different elements of music, and what goes into each production—from lyrics, to storyline, to the rhythm and melody, to choreography. On the HYBE website you read: “Music has the power to enable us to explore each note with all five senses.” It felt like entering an MV and being given a guided tour where you are given a chance to look at, touch, listen to, taste, and smell what is given. (I didn’t even know music had a scent!) I now appreciate more the amount of work and tremendous talent that go into every production.

Fr. Earl Valdez and Kim Youngdae, author of ‘BTS The Review: A comprehensive look at the music of BTS,’ who was interviewed, answered questions, and signed books during the conference

What a beautiful gift to the world music is! When I think of the healing effect of BTS on countless individuals, I say, thank God for BTS!

About author

Articles

Sr. Yna Oñate, rc is a professed sister of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Cenacle. The Cenacle Sisters work toward awakening and deepening of faith through retreats and spiritual direction. She has given retreats and recollections using K-drama and BTS music. Jin is her bias.

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