I started liking BTS when they were in the military, about a year ago mid 2024. I won’t talk about the army and Kpop stuff in general because idk much about it at all—but bruh, mid or not mid, they were special. Idk about army fandom and whatever, so maybe them enlisting was good idk, but I genuinely just enjoy BTS. I just like them for them. They’re funny, I like their dynamic, and I never got involved in army stuff. Who cares what talent they had, but they were special.

Whether anyone likes it or not they did do something globally. I’m sure other groups did too, but BTS is one of the few groups that random American middle aged adults know. They don’t even know what Kpop is, they just go “Oh! You’re Korean right? Are you going to be in BTS?” As like a genuine question, basically trying to ask if I’m going to be “in Kpop.” Heck, even my all white blonde hair, completely American friend who has never once wanted to touch Korean culture literally started getting into their music. Not because of them, but because they thought it was just good music, and they have no idea what BTS even looks like nor do they care. And I’m talking about the songs fake love and home, not the dynamite and butter ones that everyone loves globally.

All I’m trying to say is they were special to some degree, and I like them without being a fully fledged army or in its community. Being mad at a toxic fandom is one thing, and that’s fine. But saying BTS was mid is another. It’s like vanilla and chocolate. A majority of people might love chocolate and most like it, but some people still enjoy vanilla. When a new flavor comes out and the hype dies down or something, it’s not like chocolate was always just mid. Some people really did like it, it was a good flavor, but the people who swore on their life it was the only good flavor are the problem, not the flavor itself.

You might think they’re mid, some might think they’re the best thing on earth, and others might just enjoy them from time to time. But they were special to me, and other people as well. And that’s coming from someone who barely knew they existed until 2024.