When BTS was just starting to gain fame in North Korea, a common misconception about them spread across the country.
In an episode of AYO‘s “Comment Defenders” series, North Korean defectors Kang Nara and Park Yoo Sung were invited to speak about Hallyu and BTS in North Korea.
A netizen asked them if North Koreans have the impression that BTS is a performing team of their country.
In North Korea, do people think BTS is a performing team of North Korea? Well, if you think about it, both ‘bulletproof’ and ‘boy scouts’ sound like war and military.
— Netizen comment, “AYO”
Park Yoo Sung explained that when BTS’s popularity was rising, many people believed that there was a member who came from the North.
In North Korea, when BTS first came out, many people said, ‘There must be a member from North Korea’ or ‘The person who produced BTS must be from North Korea‘.
— Park Yoo Sung
Kang Nara agreed, further explaining that North Koreans often say “bulletproof”, which is a part of BTS’s name.
In North Korea, people would say words like ‘bulletproof’ a lot. Also, there’s Chosun Boy Scouts in North Korea, so it might come off that way. It sounds friendly.
— Kang Nara
Knowing how familiar the term “bulletproof” is to North Koreans, it isn’t very surprising that some would think BTS is from their country!
Learn more about BTS’s popularity in North Korea by watching the full video below.
