As global K-pop icons BTS gear for a full seven-member return this month after serving mandatory military time, a Mumbai-based fan club has big plans for a fitting welcome
Kim Nam-joon aka RM plays the saxophone alongside Kim Tae-hyung aka V after their discharge. PIC COURTESY/ARMY CONNECT ON X
Yesterday, Kim Nam-joon aka RM and Kim Tae-hyung aka V, members of the Korean boy band BTS, put on their first public show in 18 months in South Korea’s Chuncheon. Fresh off their mandatory military service and dressed in forest camouflage uniform, RM picked up a saxophone and belted an impromptu saxophone solo to roaring cheers from fans, who are ironically dubbed ARMYs. With subsequent discharges lined up for today and June 21, the seven-piece band is all set for a comeback for old times’ sake.
Fans hold a life-sized image of BTS member Suga. PICS COURTESY/MUMBAI BTS
Far from Chuncheon, the roars are echoing here in Mumbai. A homecoming celebration by Mumbai BTS, the largest fan club in the city, will coincide with the band’s 12th anniversary on June 13. “The last time we saw the band together was in 2022. It calls for a retrospective, a celebration, and a slow evening with fans who share the same love,” admits founder Ayushre Tari.
BTS perform together in 2021, before their military conscription. PIC COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The day-long event at a Korean cuisine restaurant in Powai is set to begin with live screenings of the band’s past concerts. Dancing along will be passionate fans, many of them are performers themselves. Mumbai-based K-pop singers Leo Sian and Dwijisha Katkar, for instance, are rehearsing their vocal runs while K-pop dancer Simran Gupta has the mammoth task of replicating the boyband’s signature moves on the big day.
In a spin to the Korean menu featuring staples like kimchi fried rice and kimbap, the group has been brainstorming on a special drinks menu. “Each drink on the menu is a tribute to one of the seven members of BTS. We assigned them colours based on their personalities to create a rainbow-themed menu,” Tari reveals. A good mix of cocktails like Hope flame paired with mocktails such as Mono ocean will allow fans to soak in the celebrations responsibly.
Ayushre Tari
After hot ramen bowls are inhaled and songs are belted out in unison, what really changes for the fans with the comeback, we ask the founder. A spike in club memberships is expected, but not new. The proverbial heart has only grown fonder in the band’s absence, we learn. “We started in 2021 as a group of 30 members. The number has steadily grown through the hiatus. From a handful of 20-year-olds, we now have members as young as eight years old, and as old as 40,” she reveals. Interestingly, the club has maintained a 90 per cent majority of female members.
Kimbap (PIC COURTESY/HENG BOK)
What is on the cards, however, is hope for a debut Mumbai concert soon. Tari reveals details of a short conversation she had with band member J-Hope (who completed his military service in October 2024), at his concert in Bangkok last month. “I was in the VIP area adjacent to the stage when J-Hope came down to meet the fans. In the limited Korean I had learnt, I asked him if he would come to Mumbai soon. He gave me a reassuring nod,” she reveals.
Hope flame (PIC COURTESY/HENG BOK)
Fan Speak
Snehil Dandwate, singer
It was hard to see the band leave; military service entails the threat to life at the end of the day. While the band is back, the scene has evolved in the past two years. The Korean entertainment hype is no longer new, and many K-pop bands have tasted success ever since. Given the variables, I’m still on the fence on whether BTS can ever return to their legendary status.
Simran Dalvi, model
I’m not really concerned about what kind of music they will make and when. BTS has been a constant presence in my playlist and I’m just happy the band will be back once again. With talks of a world tour making the rounds, I have my fingers crossed for an India concert. I’m already brushing up on my Korean.
Akanksha parmar, social media manager
I screamed at my screen when I saw RM kneel down to play the saxophone yesterday. It’s a feeling you cannot explain. I have laughed, cried and danced to BTS songs in the past two years. To know that they are safe and ready to rock again is like music to my ears. I have my eyes on the debut comeback track now.
ON June 13; 12 pm to 5 pm
AT Heng Bok, Kailash Industrial Estate, Veer Savarkar Marg, Powai.
MESSAGE @mumbai.bts (to sign up)
ENTRY FEE Revealed on request
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