Hi! It’s Annie!
Now that we’ve got through some of our planned reviews, I felt that we should really talk about what’s been happening in the K-Pop world. I know that it’s Taehyung’s birthday today or tomorrow depending on where you live, but my sister is going to cover his birthday since he’s her bias wrecker. So this post is just going to be general news. All of it is important and some of it has been (or might be) changing plans within the industry. But mostly I want all of us to remember to support our groups no matter what happens and hope that they all stay safe. There’s a lot up in the air again and that’s always difficult to navigate. I’ll also put some good news in here so don’t expect a depressing post either! I swear all of this will be mostly hopeful! Anyways, I’m just going to jump right into it.
Yoongi, Namjoon, and Jin:
I think pretty much everyone and their mother knows this by now, but three members of BTS have tested positive for Covid. Yoongi was the first to test positive when tested immediately after returning from the states to begin his quarantine in South Korea. We heard pretty early on that he was asymptomatic, and we heard a friend of his confirm that he was actually feeling fine not long after. He’s been experiencing light cold symptoms, but not much else. Yesterday he confirmed that he’s not feeling bad at all due to his vaccination. This is why we all need to get vaccinated, folks! Not long after we received another statement saying that both Jin and Namjoon had tested positive. Namjoon was tested again after his quarantine, so it came as a shock to him and everyone else because he had felt completely fine throughout his quarantine. He also confirmed that he’s still feeling completely fine. Jin was already out of his quarantine, meaning he probably contracted his case in South Korea, unlike the other two who probably contracted their cases in the states or traveling. He submitted himself for testing because he was starting to feel flu-like symptoms. We haven’t heard from him yet, but his symptoms also seem to be light, though worse than the others. I know this news freaked out a lot of ARMY, but I want to be as much comfort as I can in this situation. This situation is actually very hopeful. All of them have light symptoms or are not having any symptoms at all, which is a very good sign! They are also all vaccinated, and making sure you feel light symptoms instead of something worse is one of the purposes of the vaccine. They are all young and healthy and I’m sure that they will all feel fine and test negative in no time. It’s ok to worry about them, but it does nothing to worry too much. Especially because it seems like there’s very little to worry about in this situation. Let’s all try to stay positive for their sakes and all of our sakes!
Tour Questions:
Another piece of this is people wondering what this will mean for other groups and planned world tours. As many people know, many K-Pop groups have already scheduled tour dates in 2022. It even seems like BTS might be doing a world tour in 2022, though they haven’t announced one yet. Many people are worried that this will mean the cancellation of tours. I have several thoughts about this worry. First, this probably shouldn’t be much of a conversation right now. If you are worrying about the health of the idols, that’s completely fine. But worrying that this will mean you won’t be able to see them in concert is a little misguided. We really need to focus on making sure our boys are healthy first, and that should always be the first priority. Personally, I don’t believe any group will cancel their tours unless their groups get Covid on the tour. Especially because all the member of BTS contracted Covid over two weeks after the concert, meaning that the concert itself was not a super-spreader event. Which I love, I’m glad that the venue and all of ARMY was so responsible! However, the idea that these idols will probably have to get sick for their companies to cancel is not a great thought. I definitely worry about groups traveling around right now. I really don’t know what to think, but I do know if concerts do get cancelled, I will support the decision because a decision like that will always mean that the company is taking the health of their artists seriously. Also, if you are currently worried about the state of the BTS concert in Seoul, and you do not live in South Korea, please stop. Right now. You are not going to South Korea to see the boys, just wait until their tour. I know that’s easy to say coming from someone who saw them in LA, but I live in California and US travel restrictions are looser. And traveling is dangerous for you and for the people in South Korea. Right now it looks like you won’t be able to go over there at all, so don’t plan on it. That concert is only meant for locals and we aren’t about to ruin it for anyone.
ATEEZ Extension:
Most ATEEZ fans will already know that due to high demand they added a day in Los Angeles. This addition did mean that my sister and I snagged tickets and we are actually going to make it to the ATEEZ concert! I’m so excited! I’m a little worried for the boys, but I hope that they do whatever they can to stay safe during their travel and if the tour gets postponed again I’ll completely understand. I hope everything gets better though and we’ll all be able to see them pretty soon here! Anyways, it’s really nice to see our boys selling out venues so quickly and having such a demand that they could add days. I think the day we tried for tickets, they all sold out in about thirty minutes. My friend actually was the successful one who got them so I’m grateful for her! By the time I got in there were only a couple of separated seats left. I hope all you Atiny out there were successful in getting the tickets and I hope I see all of you there!
Namjoon and Hoseok:
On a more lighthearted note, I wanted to talk about Instagram and BTS again, because what happened yesterday made me laugh and then struggle for breath. Namjoon has been posting pictures of him Namjooning pretty often on his Instagram, which is one of my favorite things ever. Namjoon posted the final few pictures from his most recent vacation and then said that this was all he had left. No more pictures. Until Hobi commented back that he had pictures of Namjoon and posted what can only be called a thirst trap that sent the internet into a frenzy. I’m sure Hobi was cackling madly. More importantly, the interaction reminded me that the boys are still in contact even with various members quarantining and that just warmed my heart. I love their accounts on Instagram for so many reasons, and this is definitely one of my favorites. Through this and Tae’s birthday we also received the information that Hobi has folders of pictures of the rest of the boys. This information is also absolute gold.
Bias Change:
And this is a note that’s mostly just about me, but I wanted to note that since the concert I’ve had a bias change that if you’ve kept up with my BTS posts, you might have detected. Jimin and Namjoon are still my boys, but it seems that they’ve switched places and now Namjoon is my bias. I know people say to expect a change to your bias list after you’ve gone to a concert, but I was not expecting to be wrecked that hard! Namjoon was just so comforting and I find myself continuously going back to that feeling. I would love to hear from anyone else who’s bias line might have changed after the concert or really any concert! Loving all the boys so much really means you never know when one of them is just going to completely wreck you out of nowhere. Though I guess this wasn’t out of nowhere considering he was already my bias wrecker. I’m sorry this isn’t exactly general K-Pop news, but I just thought I would note the change! Thank you for bearing with me through that!
I tried to keep more of a positive tone through all of this, even though some of the news wasn’t exactly the best. But I think that all of the news is hopeful, even if some of it isn’t necessarily good. And I think keeping positive is also what’s going to help all of our favorite groups the most through the bad news. It’s completely understandable if you’re worried or saddened by some of this, but try and stay hopeful if nothing else. I think ARMY has proved that they are strong and continue to be strong through any obstacle, and many other group fandoms are the same way. Let’s all get through this together!
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 