BTS fans from Australia join a special tour

The official Australian A.R.M.Y., a group of BTS fans from Australia, has visited South Korea as part of the BTS Road Special Tour hosted by the Korea Tourism Organization, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the band’s debut. 28 BTS fans, dressed in hanbok, Korean traditional clothes, posed for a photo in front of Injeongjeon, Changdeokgung Palace. June 13 marks the 10th anniversary of BTS’s debut.

These fans from Australia will stay in Korea from June 5 to 16 and visit locations connected to the band’s activities. The video for “Daechwita,” a song released by one of the band’s members, SUGA, in 2020, was filmed in the set in Daejangeum Park in the city of Yongin, where Changdeokgung Palace is recreated. The fans, however, have visited the actual palace. They also visited the Sungnyemun Gate, where BTS performed for “Global Citizen Live” in 2021, and the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, where the virtual graduation ceremony for the band’s YouTube channel, “Dear Class of 2020,” was filmed.

The “BTS Road” is a special tour package designed by Barbara Dela Pena, one of the admins of the BTS Army Australia, in collaboration with the Korea Tourism Organization. This tour marks the fifth trip to Korea for Barbara, who leads a 15,000-member of BTS fandom in Australia. Ever since her first visit to Korea in 2019, she has come to Korea several times and visited BTS members’ go-to-restaurants and the former office building of Big Hit Entertainment, now rebranded as Hybe Corporation, BTS’s agency, in her trip, which she named as “BTS moments.”

“This is my first time wearing hanbok. I am very excited to try out new experiences,” Samantha Roundtree, another BTS army member from Australia, said. Deborah Robertson, who has visited Korea for the second time since October 2022, said that she returned to Korea in eight months and now feels at home in Korea. “I will visit Korea with my family next year,” Deborah said.


Seong-Taek Jeong neone@donga.com