BTS, a popular Korean boy group, has become the first K-pop group to break into the American music charts and hit number one in the past couple of years. With the help of social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitter, the group has changed the relationship between idols and fans, which has helped bring them many successes throughout the years.
          BTS started to use social media back in 2012, before the group debuted. Unlike other K-idols, BTS began to use Twitter and YouTube to connect with their fans. “BigHit Entertainment, now named HYBE Corporation, did not have connections or the funds to support and promote the group, unlike other Korean entertainment industries. This led the company to use social media to post videos and photos of the group,” said Michelle Cho, a professor of East Asian Studies at the University of Toronto.
          On Twitter, the members posted images of their outfit of the day or something they liked, and the YouTube videos consisted of the members doing everyday things such as making ramen or telling a story. “Using social media to post themselves how they are, whether good or bad, showed the group’s authenticity as being human and not a manufactured product, which helped create a kind of intimacy between them and the fans,” said David Kin, a YouTuber who analyzes K-pop. Since then, BTS has expanded their social media platforms. Many groups have recreated the interpersonal relationship that BTS has with ARMY, BTS’s fans.