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From Edits to Original Content — My BTS Journey

(Note: This is a long post. I’m sharing a personal experience and thoughts that might resonate with newer fans — or anyone willing to read with patience and an open mind.)

I will again talk about Jimin and Jungkook, because I love them, their art, and their friendship — but mostly to share my experience as a new fan of BTS as a group. I will just put my thoughts here for anyone thinking similarly or differently than me. All sides matter — we just need to be kind and respectful toward both other fans and BTS.

(Maybe this post is more for fans who joined the fandom in recent years — during the solo era or even the military era. I joined around Festa 2024. But if others with more years in the fandom have something to say, they can. I will talk about things I have seen so far.)

I will talk about how I became a fan, how I realized I have two beautiful bias wreckers, and more.

Never in my life had I been in fandoms or loved an artist so much that I wanted to support them, buy merch, or be involved in a fandom. Yes, I listened to music, liked some artists, watched movies and series — but that was it.

I can’t really tell you when I heard BTS for the first time, but I can tell you this: I watched K-dramas, loved some soundtracks, went to Spotify, played a playlist of OSTs, and then it moved on to different K-pop songs. First came Dynamite and Butter. I liked the songs, but I thought they were English/American songs. Then I listened to My Universe with Coldplay, and that was it.

I searched for BTS and listened to all their albums and singles on Spotify. I loved them all — from No More Dream to Take Two — even without lyrics, videos, or faces.

I had many university assignments and exams, and BTS were there. I put my headphones on and got lost in both the music and my work. I felt their energy, and it powered me in many ways.

Then I searched on YouTube. I saw some MVs, but then the amazing algorithm gave me other things — fan edits of hilarious moments and, of course, shipping videos, with the most popular ship (I won’t name it, but you know what I mean).

I was in a very unfamiliar situation — completely out of my comfort zone — because I had never been in a fandom before, so I didn’t know how it worked. The strangest thing for me now is this: how didn’t I realize there would be fake videos showing things that weren’t really there?

I study digital arts and film — how didn’t I see the edits and the constructed narrative?

Now I know there were three main reasons:

I was in a difficult period — pressure from my studies, uncertainty about myself and my choices, and trying (still trying) to change many things about myself. I wasn’t doing great, but I wasn’t at my worst either.

I wasn’t used to fandom culture in my country, Europe, or America — so how could I know how K-pop fandoms work? I didn’t know the culture, the systems, or the context.

I was consuming fan-made content, not original content, during breaks from studying or while eating. That matters. When you take breaks, you’re not really processing what you see — you just watch it, and that’s it.

And yes, I went straight down the rabbit hole — because I loved what they were showing, not the truth. Never the truth. I laughed, I liked — even loved — a bond between two people I didn’t know, and at some point I started thinking like them. Toxic and wrong.

After many shipping edits (not the funny ones, but the heavily narrative ones), I started thinking things like: how can Jimin always be between his two bandmates — who supposedly hate him — flirting and being touchy, when he knows they are “a thing”? Videos claimed other members weren’t like that — not hugging or being close — and that this duo had almost come out and told us they were in a relationship.

I accepted that narrative without questioning it.

I listened only to their songs — not performances, not faces. I could mostly recognize Jungkook and Taehyung, but no one else. At some point, out of boredom, I searched what VLive was and where I could see more content, and I found Weverse. I joined on June 9, 2024, but didn’t have much time to explore.

Then Festa came. I saw the BTS tribute — all their MVs from the first song to the latest — and I was mesmerized. Their passion, dancing, and music. That’s when I wanted to learn more, but still didn’t have the time.

But…

I kept seeing shipping content — without even knowing what it was — until my exams ended. Then I started questioning it. I wanted to know where these clips were from. Some clearly came from shows. So I searched — and found Run BTS.

Shipping content is addictive if consumed the wrong way — if you don’t watch original content, if you’re not in a good place mentally, if you don’t know the culture or the industry, and if you’re just trying to relax without thinking deeply.

I saw myself thinking horrible things about people I didn’t know or understand. Toxic thoughts. I recognized them — and I didn’t like them. I asked myself: how can I think like this about a person? How can I feel hate — a word too strong and deep for me — for someone I don’t know?

I won’t repeat all those thoughts. But I saw comments that were too dark, and I felt uncomfortable. Like — how can someone be described as so awful toward their bandmates?

So I stopped watching edits and started Run BTS. At first, reality and the shipping narrative clashed. When other members hugged or were touchy with one of the duo, I caught myself watching reactions — and feeling frustrated. I thought, “If they’re together, why are they like this with others too?”

Then I rationalized it as fanservice — maybe to hide them, because some fans wouldn’t accept them.

At the same time, I finally learned whose voices were whose. I thought I liked Taehyung and Jungkook more — and partly I was right — but Park Jimin’s power is from another world. Before faces and videos, I had already loved a soft, high-pitched voice without knowing whose it was. Toxic shipping had made me hope it wasn’t his.

But, as we all say: once you Jimin, you can’t Jimout.

Watching BTS shows, behind-the-scenes content, and lives, I started seeing the real Jimin — caring, loving, supportive, funny, cute, sexy, and an ethereal dancer. A perfect duality.

And then I really saw Jungkook — and Taehyung too. All three are best friends. Jungkook constantly checks if members are okay, hugs them, stays close. He’s sometimes clingy — with Hoseok, Jimin, Jin, even Yoongi. His emotional expression is different from Jimin’s. He was more jealous in earlier years — the youngest, at a different life stage. Taehyung had Jimin, Hoseok had Namjoon, Yoongi had Seokjin (same age).

Jungkook wanted someone at the same stage — emotionally, physically, in school.

As he entered his 20s, that shifted. He matured. He’s polite, teasing, uses honorifics, and cares deeply — even if he doesn’t always show it openly.

In earlier years, he was closer to Taehyung. They played, teased others (often Jimin), and were inseparable. Over time, something changed — not distance, just growth. They’re still close, comfortable, and good friends — just not frozen in 2014.

This brings me to my point.

I see people saying they don’t watch original content because there’s “more Jikook content now” and it’s all fanservice — while consuming edits that push toxic narratives. Narratives that portray Jungkook and Taehyung as jealous, manipulative, or using others to provoke reactions.

No. That is wrong.

If you’re a new ARMY, a solo stan, or just curious — go to the Bangtan channel on YouTube, Weverse, and verified content. Avoid fan edits, shipping videos, AI-generated images. Watch original content with an open mind. If you still see something — okay. If not, ask yourself what those edits did to you.

I don’t ship them romantically — it’s not my place. I ship them as friends, all seven. I love their closeness and care. And even if someone believes it’s all fake — that’s fine. They’re allowed to feel what they feel.

But be careful. Take off the ship-colored glasses before everything turns upside down. Because when that happens, you stop believing them — and everything becomes “lies” or “manipulation.”

I was in deep waters once. But I let my mind think freely — not based on what strangers online said, whether they believed it or made money from it. It’s the internet, after all.

We still have time before the comeback. Use it. Learn about your favorite members, their dynamics, and maybe even a bit about Korean culture and language before reaching conclusions.

I haven’t reached any final conclusions — and I don’t want to. I just want to enjoy the ride.

Written while listening to “Take Two” by BTS. “We’re still walking together.”

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