[with ARMY ⑲] "Then It Became a Family Thing": How BTS Brought One Toronto Family Together

TORONTO — For Mandy, becoming an ARMY started with V. Then came her sister Lilian, followed by her daughter and eventually her husband. By the time BTS returned to Toronto for its "ARIRANG" World Tour, what had begun as one person's interest had turned into something the entire family could share.

K-POPIT met the family outside Rogers Stadium ahead of BTS' Aug. 22 concert, where they had arrived together dressed for the occasion, with Mandy and her daughter even wearing matching outfits.

"At first, I liked V. I liked Taehyung, and then I introduced BTS to my sister," Mandy recalled. "After that, I started liking Jungkook, and she also liked him. Then I introduced them to my daughter."

"Then it became a family thing," she added. "Even my husband is here."

Everyone has since found their own favorite member. Mandy and Lilian share an affection for Jungkook, while her husband is drawn to Jimin. When asked what he liked about Jimin, the answer was considerably simpler than his wife's explanation of what BTS meant to her: "He's cute."

For Mandy, however, much of her admiration for BTS comes from watching the seven members build their career over more than a decade.

"The way they work and how hardworking they are," she said. "When you look at everything they've gone through and how they moved forward from around 10 years ago to where they are now, it shows how much effort they've put in."

She also pointed to the members' involvement in their music and the way they have used their songs to tell their own stories. "They write their own songs and talk about their lives through them," she said. "They're just so hardworking."

Toronto was not the family's first time traveling to see BTS. They had previously flown to South Korea for the group's Goyang concerts and already had plans to travel again for an upcoming Los Angeles stop.

But this time was different. Instead of boarding a flight to see BTS somewhere else, the family was getting to welcome the group where they now call home.

"We live in Toronto, so we're really excited," Mandy said. "This time they're here in our hometown."

After BTS had already taken the family as far as Korea, and with another trip to Los Angeles still ahead, the Toronto concerts offered something they had not experienced before: the chance to enjoy the group they had come to love together without having to leave home.