The way to travel back to earth: Mapping the design of BTS concert endings

If you are ARMY (a BTS fan), you probably know the common structure of a BTS concert, and you probably know about the last-song lie. This lie has been told at BTS concerts since at least 2015. Here’s what happens. About two hours in, one of the guys, usually RM, announces that “this is the last song.” But really, it’s only the last song before a short break, after which they always return for their encore set—to nobody’s surprise. When RM makes this last song announcement, there is still about another hour’s worth of concert to go, and the audience knows it.

Why has saying something technically untrue become such a reliable feature of BTS’ concerts? Because BTS are masters of something extremely difficult: ending well. They put a great deal of thought into how they end their shows, and they do so because they care about their fans—and themselves—not only in those key emotional moments, but in all other moments too.

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April 17, 2021

Waste It On Me and #TheGreatBTSBillboardHunt: An experiential campaign that mobilized locally and engaged globally

In 2018, one mysterious billboard in Hollywood sparked a hashtag that trended on Worldwide Twitter. How did a campaign that focused on hyper-local “offline” activity in American cities manage to engage thousands of fans from around the globe, who couldn’t directly participate?

I was a presenter at the Korean Marketing Association’s 2020 ICAMA-KAS International Conference. I shared “Waste It On Me and #TheGreatBTSBillboardHunt: A case study of social media-powered promotions that mobilized locally and engaged globally” at the online event on October 31, 2020 (Korea Standard Time).

Watch the recording here

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October 25, 2020

Luv, Happiness, & Dynamite

“We just hope the world gets more positive, and be happy. That’s our goal.”
RM speaking about BTS’ new single “Dynamite,” USA Today

Recently, I presented a piece of writing on BTS and positive psychology at an online ARMY conference. In describing different approaches that a positive psychology perspective could offer for understanding and amplifying BTS’ positive influence, I purposefully excluded positive emotions as a major topic. That was a mistake. I was trying to avoid the (understandable, incorrect) perception that positive psychology is only interested in “surface-level happiness”—that it’s only about feeling good. But by doing so, I played into a pattern that I actually want to reject: the undervaluation of joy.

“Dynamite” is an explosively happy song, and the music video is bursting with exuberant dance-around-your-bedroom and rainbow-firework energy. It’s a timely reminder that “just feeling good” is actually much more important and impactful than the pleasantness of the fleeting emotions themselves. “Dynamite” is a testament to the fact that we ought to take happiness, and the things that bring us happiness, seriously.

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August 23, 2020

Hey ARMY, Play This: A Game Design Analysis of ARMYPEDIA

I was a presenter at BTS: A Global Interdisciplinary Conference Project in January 2020, where I shared “Hey ARMY, Play This: A Game Design Analysis of ARMYPEDIA.” The conference was organized by and hosted at Kingston University in London.

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January 4, 2020

The Magic Shop, part 2: Manifestation

Read part 1 (Psychodrama) here.

A doorbell rings once, twice, three times. Text appears on a backdrop of what looks like a starry night sky. A soothing voiceover begins to read the words in English: “Welcome to the magicshop. Any worries you’d like to share? Any wish you’d like to make come true? The magicshop will be your guidance. But first, I will need your keys. Concentrate on opening the door to the magicshop. Keep calm and relax. Take a deep breath.” The soft background music transforms into a recognizable melody from the song “2! 3!” The voice continues: “Empty your minds and focus. Imagine a door leading to your minds. What you want the most stands behind that door. Just believe. And your magicshop will come true. Are you ready? I’ll show you.” The concert begins.

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October 21, 2019

The Magic Shop, part 1: Psychodrama

BTS has built their own lexicon of significant words and ideas through repeated use and re-contextualization across all aspects of their creative work. One of these ideas that I find particularly interesting is the Magic Shop. The Magic Shop does not mean only one thing and does not originate from only one source. But all of these meanings and references are rooted in psychology. So naturally, I wanted to explore and learn more.

I’ve come to understand that there are three main meanings of BTS’ Magic Shop: as psychodrama, as manifestation, and as Magic Healing Therapy. The first two have to do with references to outside sources, and the third is distinctly Bangtan.

I also found that the Magic Shop connects, in one way or another, to nearly every aspect of BTS’ creative work and social efforts. This is a testament to the very mission-driven nature of what they do, and I think the Magic Shop is actually an embodiment of that mission. So instead of only one post trying to cover everything about the Magic Shop, I am dedicating one post to each of its three meanings so I can dig deeper on them all.

This is part 1: The Magic Shop is psychodrama.

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October 17, 2019