ABSTRACT
BTS has emerged as a premier band of the early twenty-first century, even evoking comparisons to the Beatles. This chapter provides the broad background of South Korean popular music, and in particular K-pop, whence BTS debuted in 2013. As identifiable as the group is as a K-pop specimen, it is also important to observe its distinguishing qualities. First, unlike other K-pop acts, BTS takes an active role in artistic decisions and airs its opinions, thereby rebutting the common charges against K-pop groups that they are automatons and therefore inauthentic. Second, the outsized role of the fan group ARMY is noteworthy. Indeed, as much as BTS draws on the received K-pop formula, it disrupts the standard model that has proven to be spectacularly successful.
