Who I am today

I am Titia, a third year Korea Studies student at Leiden University. For me, K-pop made me who I am today. Through liking K-pop and being a fan of BTS, I learned a lot about myself. I first started listening to K-pop in 2017, just before BTS had their USA breakthrough with the song DNA. The first K-pop song I listened to (besides Psy’s Gangnam style) was “Not Today” by BTS. I found this song through some Youtube videos and decided I really liked how it sounded, but I was also captivated by the music video . After the first BTS video, Youtube kept recommending me other ones and I just kept clicking on them.

Every music video was captivating in its own way and I really enjoyed listening to every song. Slowly my playlist filled itself with more and more BTS songs, until it was only BTS songs and nothing else. At the same time, Youtube kept recommending me videos called “BangTan Bomb”. BTS films a lot, from behind the scenes from music videos to just funny videos of them chasing each other with snowballs, and uploads these videos under the name “BangTan Bomb.” These videos really made me feel like I knew these people, and I felt connected to them. For me that feeling of connection was really important and very much needed at that point in my life.

That connection also came back through ARMY, the BTS fandom. It feels good to be part of something, and I can proudly say I’m part of ARMY. Being an ARMY taught me more about diversity and the world than my high school ever could, simply because ARMY is a very diverse group of people. I made friends through BTS all over the world, and while some I don’t talk to anymore, others I’m planning on visiting soon.

This love for BTS and ARMY also made me buy a lot of merchandise of BTS, and most of it is on display in my room. Let me show you around.