00:00 When I started collecting, I stopped buying other things.
00:05 People thought I spent 2.2 million.
00:09 And it didn't happen like a week or a day, overnight, that you released it.
00:15 It required me to sacrifice other things that I want.
00:27 Hi, I'm Ethang, and I'm a proud BTS ARMY mom.
00:31 In 2014, my niece became a BTS ARMY.
00:44 So, that's how I met them.
00:46 Just a casual listener.
00:48 I'm in that category where I enjoy listening.
00:53 It was in 2016.
00:57 That was the turning point of their career.
01:00 And then I saw their US TV guestings in 2017.
01:06 I said, "Ah, here they are!"
01:08 Then they had a concert here.
01:10 Then their album, "Her," launched the "Love Yourself" campaign.
01:16 That was 2017.
01:18 That's when I really watched them.
01:20 My world went to K-World.
01:24 This group is different.
01:26 You fell into the rabbit hole.
01:29 You can't escape it.
01:32 In 2018, I became active.
01:38 I started looking for different ARMYs.
01:41 It was the time that I came out of the closet.
01:46 It's easy to find groups and pages.
01:51 But the real interaction was hard.
01:55 My classmate in Singapore texted me,
01:59 "Are you an ARMY?"
02:01 It led me to a group of ARMY moms.
02:05 BTS ARMY mom international.
02:11 I also found NUNAS on Twitter.
02:14 The mature ARMYs.
02:16 We had a lot.
02:18 I was still young.
02:20 There were 70s and 60s.
02:24 I didn't just find acquaintances.
02:29 I also found friendships.
02:31 [Music]
02:41 By heart, I am OT7.
02:44 OT7 is "You Love All Seven of Them."
02:48 When I started, I always watched
02:51 Jungkook and Taehyung.
02:54 They caught my attention.
02:57 But as time passes by,
03:00 I found out that they have a different bias.
03:04 The record is Suga and Yoongi.
03:09 I was jealous of other ARMYs
03:11 who only had one bias.
03:13 BTS has a lot of songs.
03:21 I'm proud to say that they compose,
03:24 produce their own songs.
03:27 Their songs have special messages.
03:31 They address social issues,
03:34 mental health,
03:35 about discovering oneself.
03:38 My family is supporting me unconditionally.
03:44 My husband is my best friend.
03:48 I always tell him about BTS.
03:54 I think he likes BTS, too.
03:57 My son wrote a fan chant
04:03 when he found out that I was watching a concert.
04:05 I memorized it on his paper.
04:09 Wait, what makes me different?
04:16 Maybe I'm willing to travel,
04:20 to spend, to stay all night.
04:24 I include my plans in my life.
04:28 When I started collecting,
04:31 I stopped buying other things.
04:34 People thought I spent 2.2 million.
04:37 And it didn't happen like a week or a day.
04:41 You know, overnight, you spend it.
04:44 It required me to sacrifice other things that I want.
04:49 I stopped buying clothes.
04:52 I stopped going to malls to shop.
04:56 I know I can't have it all.
04:58 That's a good thing.
05:00 I'm attached to them because
05:02 I have a lot of things to exchange.
05:05 I make sure that
05:08 my family's needs are met.
05:11 I spend wisely when it comes to merch.
05:15 Even if they have more than I do,
05:18 I make sure that my family's needs
05:21 are met by the importance of other things.
05:24 About armies,
05:30 toxicity,
05:31 they say armies are toxic.
05:33 Army is family,
05:35 and I don't think a family will be toxic.
05:38 I see that armies are just being critical
05:42 about the misconceptions and criticisms
05:47 that they peddle.
05:48 Negative comments, and so on.
05:50 Of course, armies will try to defend.
05:56 That's how much an army loves BTS.
06:00 We won't allow them to say bad things.
06:05 If that happens, we'll be toxic.
06:09 It's because of love.
06:10 You can't not respond.
06:15 If they see that's what's happening,
06:18 it's because we love BTS.
06:20 I know over time,
06:30 this merch,
06:32 they may appreciate or depreciate in value.
06:37 But that's not what matters to me right now.
06:41 It's the happiness
06:43 that it brings me.
06:46 The story behind it.
06:47 How you acquired it,
06:50 and how do you relate that merch to BTS.
06:55 To be honest, I was affected,
06:58 not by the criticisms towards me.
07:02 I wasn't affected by their reaction to 2.2.
07:09 I was affected by the negative comments towards BTS.
07:14 I expect that the articles
07:17 will be filled with my comments.
07:20 But no.
07:21 The ones that didn't read the article,
07:24 but they bash BTS.
07:28 But then we can't please everyone.
07:30 So, I'm not asking them to be fans.
07:33 Respect.
07:35 There are ARMYs who feel unfortunate
07:39 that they can't afford to buy merch.
07:42 So I always tell them,
07:44 having less or no merch at all
07:48 will not diminish or make them less of an ARMY.
07:52 This is not the measure.
07:54 So you can say you love BTS.
07:57 Not just merch.
07:59 The support.
08:01 The love and support for the group.
08:03 Not having a single merch
08:05 doesn't make you less of an ARMY.
08:09 Just by having them in our lives
08:12 make us blessed already.
08:16 Finally, I said this after their online concert.
08:22 There will never be another BTS in my life.
08:26 Life is short.
08:28 A group of people,
08:29 BTS,
08:31 they will not heal the virus.
08:33 But definitely,
08:35 they are healing and they are sending light
08:39 to the people who support them.
08:41 We really looked for a dog.
08:57 Because this is the first dog
08:59 inside the house.
09:00 I thought I might see a dog
09:04 that looks like Yontan.
09:06 Yontan is V's or Taeil's dog.
09:11 BTS is the best.
09:13 BTS is the best.
09:15 BTS is the best.
09:17 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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