We often think of community among the members of idol groups or within their fandoms, but being part of a fandom can also bring families, and specifically sisters, closer together.
A month ago, I traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, to attend two of BTS’ concerts. What was special about this trip was that I went with my two sisters. We shared a single hotel room for three nights and together we were fully immersed in the concert experience.
It was a fun, unique and intense adventure — the three of us have never traveled together without our husbands and other family members. As my sister Christine put it: “Core memory made.”
In the months leading up to the event, I was surprised how excited they were about the concerts. I have been a BTS and K-pop fan for six years now, but mostly I thought my family, at best, humored me about all of it and at worst, teased me. On more than one occasion, my mother told me I should talk about something else. Still, I think they began to come around regarding BTS with the popularity of “Butter” and “Dynamite,” or perhaps I finally wore them down.
My sister Christine put it succinctly: “In the pandemic, Grace obsessively played videos and quizzed us on the members’ names during family Zoom calls. Mary followed suit and quickly found a bias for Jimin, but I was on a path of resistance. I couldn’t understand the love for these seven Korean boys. Definitely not Army over here. Fast forward a few years and seeing how much it meant to my sisters, after hearing “Butter” and “Dynamite” dominating the summer airwaves, I eventually downloaded “Proof” along with the members’ solo albums.”
While I am a devoted J-Hope fan, my sister Mary favors Jimin, and Christine loves Jungkook, V, and RM. At least we are not fighting over our biases! Honestly, we love them all.
While it was fun for all of us to experience the community of Army swarming Las Vegas, what made it special was experiencing it all together.
My sister Mary explained, “The best part of my BTS concert experience was going with my two sisters. Music brings people together, and the Army fandom demonstrated that on many levels. They were friendly, creative, generous and eager to share their personal connections with BTS. The sharing of freebies was also a very engaging and high-energy experience for me.”
Of course, it helped that we had, as Christine described, “Floor seats? Amazing! Floor seats two nights in a row and in Vegas? Mindblowing! Getting a few days where it’s just us three hanging out, catching up, taking care of one another and just feeling extra grateful to have each other in this life? I honestly don’t know when we’ve ever had this time together. Truly priceless.”
While the concerts themselves were thrilling — all of us screaming to the lyrics of “Fake Love” while members J-Hope and V walked closely to us — I think it was the days leading up to it and afterward which were just as memorable.
We talked about the gifts we were preparing to bring to other Armys. Mary embroidered a special Jimin shirt to wear to the concert and bought us matching T-shirts for one of the concerts. Christine made coordinating necklaces and bracelets for us (and my Army friend). We went through the freebies we received after the first night and talked about all the incredible outfits that other people sported. We even went to the matcha cafe where J-Hope ate the day before!
We all noticed many families at the concert. Some wore matching T-shirts — one family included members from three generations (as stated on their shirts). There were many groups of sisters and close friends that had sister-like relationships.
In fact, I recalled that when I went to see BTS at Goyang in April, I met several sister pairs as well as mother-daughter pairs (since our “stay and play” tickets were sold as pairs). BTS became a joint activity that did not center husband-wife or boyfriend-girlfriend or partner-partner pairs as the primary organizational unit.
As I left my sisters at the hotel and headed to the airport, I wondered if we’d ever have an experience like this again. We all have our own families, and I think it was especially hard for them to leave their husbands and children behind.
Perhaps they would have all liked to join us, but it is impossible to secure that many tickets for a BTS concert. On the plane, I sat next to two sisters who were also returning from the concerts. They shared that they were two of nine sisters — one was the oldest and the other the youngest. Like me, they had flown from New York to see BTS, and also, what was particularly special was that they got to do it together. We shared stories and photos from the concerts and we talked about when we would see them next.
I am so grateful to my sisters for being a part of my life, and this will be a cherished memory for all of us. I’m also happy that BTS performed “Boyz with Fun” on the last night of their Las Vegas concerts — although for me, it will now be retitled as “Girlz with Fun.”
– – –
Grace Kao
Grace Kao is an IBM professor of sociology and professor of ethnicity, race and migration at Yale University. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. — Ed.
khnews@heraldcorp.com
Leave a comment