The global fanbase of K-pop boy band BTS, known as ARMY, has become severely divided following member Suga’s (Korean name Min Yoon-gi) drunk driving incident on an electric scooter. Many Korean fans demand the 31-year-old rapper’s departure, arguing that “Suga has tarnished BTS’s honor,” while international fans defend him, saying, “We can’t understand the Korean fans. Suga can make mistakes too.” The once-solid fanbase that supported BTS’s rise as a global K-pop sensation since their debut in 2013 has now fractured into K-ARMY (Korean ARMY) and I-ARMY (International ARMY).
Around 30 funeral wreaths demanding Suga’s withdrawal have recently appeared in front of BTS’s management agency HYBE in the Yongsan district of Seoul. The ribbons bear messages such as “You’re the one who let go of our hands” and “Why are your updates making headlines in the society section?” Protests also continue outside the luxury apartment where Suga resides, with banners displaying messages like “You told fans to hold their heads high, but you returned with drunk driving” and “Blood alcohol level at a career-high of 0.227%.”
K-ARMYs say they cannot accept that Suga, who had been an idol to teenagers, was involved in drunk driving. One fan said, “This is not the BTS we envisioned,” adding, “Suga has betrayed all the blood, sweat, and tears we’ve invested.” Domestic fans are also angry at how Suga and HYBE handled the situation, feeling deceived by the early statements that described the electric scooter as a “kickboard” and Suga’s claim of only having one beer, despite the breathalyzer indicating heavy intoxication and the incident actually occurring on the sidewalk, not while parking as initially reported.
However, I-ARMYs are frustrated, arguing that Korean public opinion is too harsh on Suga. When a video of Suga appearing at the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul was posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 27, it drew over 200 protest comments in various languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian, and Spanish. Responses included, “Take the video down immediately” and “This video was illegally filmed outside the police station.”
One international fan said, “The goodwill I’ve built toward Korea has crumbled over the past few weeks,” adding, “Through BTS, I saw the beautiful side of Korean culture, but now I’ve seen 1,000 times more ugliness from the Korean netizens criticizing Suga.” Some believe Suga is being excessively vilified simply because he is a BTS member. Another international fan noted, “Korean media has published 1,400 articles about Suga this week, while a baseball player caught drunk driving received far less coverage.”
Some international fans have even started a boycott of Korea. One fan mentioned, “My husband and I were planning to visit Korea next summer, but I’ve lost trust in the country because of this incident,” and said they would visit Japan instead. Another said, “I don’t want to visit a country that treats BTS this way.”
International ARMYs criticize that BTS has not been properly recognized in Korean society. “While professional gamers, soccer players, and Olympic athletes are exempt from military service, BTS, who have promoted Korea globally, are forced to enlist,” they argue, “No other country would treat its top artists this way.” I-ARMYs are also conducting hashtag campaigns on social media, such as #KoreanPoliceCorrupt.
The conflict between the two sides has escalated beyond mere differences of opinion into a full-blown exchange of accusations. Some Korean fans have derogatorily labeled international fans as “foreign roaches,” criticizing them for turning this into a witch-hunt without understanding Korean laws, and stressing that “drunk driving in Korea is equivalent to attempted murder.” International fans have distanced themselves from K-ARMYs, asserting, “There are no ARMYs left in Korea, only antis,” and “We are not as impulsive as K-ARMYs.”
