Meet ARMY: Viviane Bruyninckx

Welcome to the world of ARMY, the dedicated fandom for BTS.

As veteran ARMYs know, our fan base is built on the foundation of love for BTS. Beyond that, we are a family full of diversity, talents, and shared enthusiasm for everything having to do with Bangtan.

ARMY is made up of global individuals from all walks of life. This is the first in a series introducing readers to fellow ARMY.

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Meet Viviane Bruyninckx. Vivi, 56, is a married mother of a 26-year-old daughter who is also ARMY, living in Merksem, Belgium. I first met Vivi in the ARMY Amino app, where her artwork caught my attention. Here is her story.

K-Pop has been part of Vivi’s life for over ten years. She has followed SHINee and Super Junior, among others since 2009. She discovered BTS in 2013 with “We Are Bulletprood Pt. 2” and was fully into the fandom by “Danger.” It is the combination of harmonizing vocals, rap and intricate choreography that make BTS a favorite. Her enjoyment of K-Pop is shared with her daughter. In fact, it was her daughter who inspired Vivi to start drawing her idols as a way to distract herself from some past medical concerns. Vivi credits K-Pop and BTS with being a large part of her recovery. She is now a full-time K-Pop fan artist.

The reason why BTS are such a strong inspiration for her art is “easy” she says. “They all have beautiful faces, with lots of expressions, very photogenic, amazing hair colors. They are perfect muses for a portrait artist like me.” She wants to continue to share her art with the world!

Vivi says her favorite BTS moments are when she’s home alone, relaxing and letting her fan girl loose! She likes to perform her own private karaoke, singing along to videos – though avoiding the challenging rap sequences – and trying out the dance moves, with dance practice MVs for inspiration.

But Vivi says that BTS is a bigger experience, much more than the music. “I love to watch all their funny moments – the bloopers, their appearances on variety shows – to get to know who they are behind the scenes. YouTube is the best way of following them that way. They can be so hilarious at times.”

One of her favorite experiences was watching Kim Taehyung’s first foray into acting in the 2016 K-drama “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth.”

“It had even more impact on me because I read an article about him being so afraid to fail. He could not control his nerves while filming, but the other members were able to help him and give him a confidence boost. In the end he did so well. I’m very proud of him.”

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Desert Island Questions

If you were stranded on a desert island…….

What one BTS song would you take?
- “I’d sing “Save Me” so loud so rescuers could hear me!”

What one music video would you take?
- “I would watch “Blood, Sweat & Tears” until my battery dies.”

What one BTS picture would you take?
- “A picture of all them. They are like my sons, I can’t pick just one.”
What would your message in a bottle say?
- ”If you see an island where some old lady is singing “Save Me”, get me off that island because I miss my BTS music!”