One of the pillars of K-Pop is the parasocial relationship that forms between a group and its fans. Everything in the industry aims at strengthening that relationship in any way possible—it means more loyal fans, and, ultimately, more sales.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing—having a bias is fun, living in fandom spaces can be hilarious, and fan meets are a great way to interact with idols if you’re lucky enough to live in South Korea (and manage to get into one). But there are downsides, the parasocial relationship with one or more K-Pop idols (or any celebrity, for that matter) requires a balance and definite/clear boundaries (which either fans or companies can violate). I’ve found—from both my experience and that of fellow K-Pop fans—that if you stan a group for long enough, you can end up with a version of them living in your head 24/7. And that is thanks, in no small part, to social media—which gives you constant access to celebrities’ daily lives and “behind-the-scenes” content. BTS is no different.
This can be positive for groups. Many news outlets actually pointed to social media as an answer for BTS’ success when they first started breaking into the Western market—citing both the easiness with which the boys could talk to their fanbase and the network that fans were able to build. There’s certainly some truth in that, but then again—up until last December—BTS members didn’t even have personal Instagram accounts.
For the longest time since their debut, the main channels with which BTS talked directly to ARMYs was their collective Twitter account, @BTS_twt (filled with selfies, sweet messages, birthday wishes, etc.), and their Weverse, HYBE’s own social media, where each member can comment on fans’ posts from his personal account. You could also include their VLive, a very popular app in the K-Pop fandom, where idols go to start streaming to chat with their fans about any random topic. They tend to read and reply to comments that appear in real-time. They also have a YouTube account, obviously, but the interaction is minimal over there—just as it is on their official Twitter, @BTS_official, and their official Instagram account, @bts.bighitofficial.
ARMYs have long wondered what the seven members’ personal Instagram profiles would look like, and then, like an early Christmas morning, on December 6th we woke up to see that BTS had finally created seven new profiles. As you can expect, everyone took this Very Calmly. I, personally, had to mute myself during a meeting so that my colleagues didn’t have to hear me screech when the notification suggesting me to follow user rkive popped up on my phone screen.
These accounts are exactly as fans have always imagined them. And they’re a delight to follow and keep up with—so here’s a short overview of them all.
@rkive
Namjoon picked the name of his production studio for his Instagram page—since it is, as the description says, “just an archive”.
His feed is filled with pictures of him “namjooning”—a term ARMYs have invented and he himself has started using that means doing typical Namjoon-esque things, from going to art galleries to biking in parks to going on walks surrounded by nature.
He also posts pictures of his outfits, which have always been a great passion of his, and even has time to cater to the fandom’s inside jokes—like when he posted a picture of a cat tagging Yoongi in it (since it’s basically a given to ARMYs that he’s the resident cat person of BTS).
@jin
Jin isn’t the most active member on Instagram, but his feed still perfectly represents who he is—starting from the pictures of food that remind us all of the mukbangs he used to title Eat Jin.
And pictures of himself, of course, Mr. Worldwide Handsome.
@agustd
For his Instagram account, Yoongi chose the stage name he has when he releases solo music, Agust D, where the “D” and “T” stand for Daegu Town. Yoongi is originally from Daegu, and the rest is simply SUGA—his BTS stage name—written backward.
His feed is also somewhat sparse, even though it’s starting to pick up traction now. He posts the music he produces and the photoshoots he takes part in, and some behind-the-scenes action from music videos to moments caught in production studios.
His dog, Holly, is obviously present, just as he’s always present in ARMYs’ hearts, who stan BTS but stan their pets just a tiny bit more.
@uarmyhope
“I am your hope. You are my hope, I am J” Hoseok says from the stage at every concert during the boys’ welcoming speech, where they all introduce themselves, even though it’s been almost ten years. “HOPE!” screams back the sold-out stadium. Everyone laughs, it’s adorable, top five best moments of my life.
So, here’s the explanation behind the name Hoseok chose for his Instagram—a clever pun with his usual greeting and the name of ARMYs. His feed started out with a very cohesive pattern filled with his favorite things—colorful clothes, trips, and funky little gadgets.
It’s lost a bit of that cohesiveness now, but we are definitely not complaining about all the behind-the-scenes pictures from the Permission to Dance concerts and the Grammys.
@j.m
Maybe surprisingly, Jimin is the least active member of them all on Instagram—but you do you, king, we’re happy with what you’re willing to share. His thirteen posts so far include pictures of himself, both wandering around and waiting backstage at concerts, as well as some natural scenery and sweet messages to ARMYs.
@thv
The most followed member out of the seven of them, Taehyung picked a username that includes the two letters of his name as well as his BTS stage name.
His feed is made up of selfies and photoshoots, as well as modern art and pictures of his dog, the world-famous Yeontan, which ARMYs saw grow up from the mini fluff ball he was in 2017.
Taehyung also uses his Instagram to remind everyone that he loves, loves, loves jazz music, and often posts clips of great classics of the genre—as well as a video of himself dancing to jazz in a club, which immediately went all kinds of viral.
@jungkook.97
Let’s all take this moment to remember user @abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz, Jungkook’s first username which purposefully left out “jk”—his most used nickname among BTS and ARMYs alike. He changed it recently to “jungkook.97,” for what I’m sure are extremely good reasons.
He’s also one of the most active members—he’s taken up the habit recently of answering fans’ questions on his stories. And his feed includes mostly pictures of himself, as well as videos of his dance practice and gym training.
(image: HYBE)
What’s your favorite BTS member’s account? Let us know in the comments!
