[with ARMY ⑩] BTS's 10-Year Veterans in Paris: "Back Then, It Was a Secret"

Finding fans who have followed BTS for more than a decade turned out to be surprisingly easy, and not in Asia but in Paris.

On the 17th, K-POPIT visited the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, where BTS's "ARIRANG" world tour was underway, and spoke with dozens of ARMYs, the group's official fan base.

Many said they became fans around 2015, before BTS broke through internationally. A significant number traced their fandom all the way back to the group's 2013 debut.

In the waiting line for Section R, twin sisters Inam, 20, and Ines, 20, from Southern France said they first noticed BTS as rookies in 2013 and have stayed with the group ever since. "I liked them from their debut, but there was a period when I couldn't use the internet," Ines said. "I started actively taking part in the fandom from 2015."

Inam, who was introduced to the group by her sister, admitted her first reaction was different. "Honestly, I didn't get it at first, but the more I watched, the more I liked them," she said. She also described how much the environment around K-pop in France has changed. "Ten years ago, if you said you liked K-pop in France, people would look at you strangely. You could even get bullied. So there was a time when you had to be a fan quietly, without telling anyone. Now it's completely different. French ARMY is the biggest fandom in Europe."

On the way to the Stade de France, on the RER B subway line, Nathalie, 23, from Italy said supporting BTS in Europe a decade ago was not easy either. "Right now it's really easy to get albums or official merchandise, both online and offline," she said. "But 10 years ago it was really hard. I had to go back to my hometown in the Philippines to buy them. The K-content community there was much bigger than in Europe."

At Okdongsik, a Korean restaurant in Paris that V of BTS once visited, One fan from Indonesia said she has been an ARMY since 2015, 11 years ago. "K-pop was already really popular in Indonesia back then," she said. "I knew about the group from their debut. I watched them for a while, and I became a fan because they had their own worldview, something different from other groups."