BTS "ARMY Mom" Phenomenon

ARMY: Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth

My version of ARMY:

Adorable Representative of Mom feeling Young

I am a 56-year old mother of a 16 year-old ARMY. I work full-time in marketing and

I AM ARMY.

If you expect the BTS fandom to consist of only squealing teenage girls as represented in many media reports, you will be surprised at the devoted following of “older” fans. Yes, many ARMY are youthful in age. But there are just as many – perhaps more – that are also “very youthful in spirit.”

Some call themselves “MARMY” (mom+ARMY), or noona – 누나 (older sister), or ajumma – 아줌마 (auntie) – all nicknames that depict fans that are older than the Bangtan Boys. There are also ARMY “men” – the hyungs (형) that consider BTS their donsaengs (동생). For the longest time, I thought I was a rarity in the fandom. But the more time I spent on social media, and then after attending BTS events, I saw that I am surrounded by amazing women – my age – who adore BTS like I do, as well as male fans from all walks of life, who also love BTS.

Now, I am ALL FOR screaming and having a good time when I see my idols. At the taping of Ellen last month, the audience mainly saw the young girls in the crowd, drowning out the interview. Spin Magazine even wrote an article about how the show consisted mostly of screaming: BTS Were on Ellen and I’m Screaming!

But what you didn’t see was this – me and another mom, both with daughters who are ARMY, enjoying the show, and fan-girling with the best of them. Our inner 16-year olds were very happy this day.

It’s great to see that older ARMY are making themselves known. Some recent examples shared on social media include:

ARMY Dinner BBMA-eve in Las Vegas

This is from the ARMY Dinner Meetup the day before the event pic.twitter.com/UDPl5w9ZIa

— 21st Century ARMY (@21centarmy) May 29, 2018

Blog post of ARMYs in their Forties Explain Why they Love BTS

- This charming 52-year old man in Japan dancing his heart out to “DNA.”
WHAT!!! I'm speechless….. ????

For those who are hesitant to love @BTS_twt at an older age, you have not seen it all! This 52 year-old man is a director of a company in Japan and he's dancing to DNA until his heart is content ?@the_ahjummas pic.twitter.com/mTursRv0Fs

— ? Map of The Soul ? (@bts_sci) June 4, 2018

There are also myriads of groups that support older fans, like these on Facebook:

Bangtan Moms & Noonas Facebook Group

ARMY’s Ahjummas Facebook Group and Twitter

Lots of posts going around recently about the ages of @BTS_twt fans so let's compile the information and inform the masses.

Let us know and RT to help get more input ??#PremiosMTVMiaw #MTLAFANARMYBTS #MTVLAKPOPBTS #MTVBRKPOPBTS

— Army's Ahjummas (@ArmysAhjummas) May 21, 2018

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It’s all well and good to read about older fans, but here is living proof of older ARMY in the Bangtan Moms & Noonas Facebook Group.