Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-11-02)

September’schart-toppingsuccess

oftheband’sfirstEnglish-languagesin-

gle,Dynamite, whichalsowonfourMTV

videomusicawards.SouthKorea’scul-

tureministryestimatesthatthesong

will contribute $1.4 billion to the

nation’seconomy.

The 10-figurehaulisa testament

to fans like Vivian Herr,a 43-year-

oldC-suiteexecutiveinSiliconValley

whofalls asleepwith BTSbooming

throughherAirPods.Herrestimates

shespentmorethan$16,000oncopies

ofDynamitetopushit uptheBillboard

rankings,includingbysendingmoney

tohundredsofpeopleinherVenmo

contactlistandaskingthemtodown-

loadit.Whenshelearnedthesonghad

hitNo.1,shepolitelyexcusedherself

froma businessmeeting,dartedinto

a nearbybathroom,anddoubledover,

screaming.Herrsaysherhusbandand

kidsdon’treallygetit.

ThevideoforDynamitemightnot

maketheband’sjenesaisquoiespe-

ciallyobvious.You’llseesevengrown

menjivinglikeit’s 1999 whiletheysing

lyricslike“Dy-na-na-na,na-na-na-na-na,

na-na-na, life is dynamite.” Asked why

they’re so devoted, ARMY members

tend to say the same thing, often word

for word: “I came for the music, but

stayed for the message.” The mem-

bers of BTS are Unicef ambassadors

who support a wide range of charitable

causesandstress the importance of self-

acceptance.Despite Big Hit’s tight rein,

thebandalsolaces many of its lyrics

andvideos with impera-

tives to challenge the sta-

tusquo. “Don’t get trapped

n someone else’s dream,”

S croons in the song N.O, a

tionof workaholic culture.

Twoyearsago, when arenas were still

a thing,ErikaOverton rented a car and

drove 10 hours from Detroit to New York

to see BTS play Citi Field. The then-38-

year-old contract recruiter had never

been to a live concert before; she brought

her 63-year-old mom, who’s also ARMY.

“This is not just hysterical girls screaming

over guys and thinking of nothing else,”

she thought while looking up at her idols,

the beat pulsing through her sneakers.

Earlierthatyear,Overtonco-founded

One In An Army, which organizes

monthly charitable-giving campaigns

among its 150,000 Twitter followers.

They’ve backed causes such as feed-

ing starving children in Yemen and

constructing water- treatment facili-

ties in Tanzania. OIAA campaigns typi-

cally raised about $6,000 a month until

this past June, when Agbakoba made

#MatchAMillion trend.

BlackLivesMatter

posedsomeuncom-

fortable questions

fortheK-popindus

try. K-pop idols bo

rowmorethanjust

kindsofhip-hopbeatsthat

originated in theBronx.They al

copyBlackartists’hairandclothi

styles,dancemoves, evenmanne

ismslikea distinctivewagofthefi

ger.ARMYhaslostmorethana fe

members uncomfortable with t

onlinebacklashtocriticismalongthe

lines.“That’sdefinitelythedarksi

ofthefandom,”saysBrieStatham,

37-year-oldBTSfanfromMaryland.

becomesreallyhardtobea BlackK-P

fanwhenyoudisagreewithsomethi

likeculturalappropriationandyoug

attackedforit.”

YetARMYhasalsopusheditsav

tarstotakea moreactiveroleintheU

protestmovement.ThedayafterFlo

diedundera policeofficer’sknee

Minneapolis,JiyeKim,a 26-year-oldhi

schoolteacherinSydneywhorunso

oftheworld’sbiggestBTSfanaccoun

woke to a relentless buzzing on h

phone. Dozens of her quarter-millionf

lowers were demanding that shespe

out against Floyd’s murder.

Kim felt more than a little outofh

element, not least because she couldn

point to Minnesota on a map. Hercla

to fame is speedy translation of BTSly

ics. When a new album drops,she

spend 14 hours translating the songsin

English, even if it takes her until4 a.m

on a school night. Soon, though, she

posting educational articles aboutpoli

brutality in the U.S. “Not only isthe

an expectation that K-pop artistsspe

up in regards to social issues,” shesay

“there’s now an expectation thatf

accounts do, too.”

All the earnestness notwithstandi

when the stans take action, theyoft

bring a sense of fun. A few days befo

ARMY hijacked #WhiteLivesMattero

Twitter, the Dallas Police Departme

unveiled a surveillance app call

iWatch and asked citizens to send

videos of illegal activity during citypr

tests against police brutality. Instea

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52

Bloomberg Businessweek November 2, 2020