Nearly four years ago, Sokvin Vann felt like her life was in a rut.
Her brother encouraged her to find a positive outlet through her love of K-pop and BTS, the globally popular boy band. Vann took her brother’s advice and formed BTS Army Toronto. The local fan club — a reference to the broader BTS fan base, which refers to itself as “army” — hosts activations and fan meet-ups that foster bonds through love of the South Korean band.
Shortly after founding BTS Army Toronto, Vann’s brother passed away. Despite her grief, the 43-year-old continued to grow the organization into a thriving community that hosts hundreds of fans at events, organizes giveaways and fundraisers, and promotes supporting local Korean businesses.
Now, the fan club is gearing up for BTS’s much-anticipated return to Toronto for the first time in more than a decade.
“I did this for the community, but selfishly, it’s come back to me tenfold,” said Vann, who co-runs BTS Army Toronto with her 24-year-old son, Jordan Vann, and is now a dedicated team of about 10 people. “This community has built friendships that you never thought would ever exist. People who come into your life that understand you and your passion and your love for music. That’s the most rewarding thing about doing this.”
As part of their Arirang World Tour, BTS are performing sold-out shows on Saturday and Sunday at Rogers Stadium. The K-pop group, whose hit songs include “Swim,” “Permission to Dance” and “Butter,” will perform for about 100,000 fans across two nights.
The army is known for its fervent fandom, with devotees boasting encyclopedic knowledge of the band’s history, its members and their song catalogue. They have shorthand terms such as “army” or “bias,” a word used to describe your favourite BTS member.
Vann said fans’ devotion is a byproduct of BTS sharing so much of themselves through their music, with lyrics that touch on topics like mental health, self-love, personal struggle and growth.
“There’s so much meaning and intention behind everything they do, from lyrics to artwork, and I think that’s really brilliant of them,” said Vann, a real estate agent by trade but whose work with BTS Army Toronto has spawned a new business venture called Idol Konnect that provides consulting, event planning and tour support for K-pop artists. “It’s not just, let’s make music and put it out and make some money. It’s let’s make music that can make a difference in the world.”
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Before this tour, BTS had been on hiatus since 2022 as each of its seven members completed mandatory military service, a requirement for able-bodied South Korean men aged 18 to 28.
The north Toronto outdoor venue is the group’s only Canadian stop on the worldwide tour, which runs through March 2027 and spans 88 shows across 34 cities in 23 countries.
Since BTS debuted in 2013, they’ve gone from underdogs to international superstars. In 2020, their first all-English song, “Dynamite,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, a first for a Korean pop group. Since then, K-pop has continued to grow in North America, with last year’s Academy Award-winning film, “KPop Demon Hunters,” and its hit song, “Golden,” another example of the genre’s expanding reach.
BTS’s fifth album, “ARIRANG,” the basis for the current tour, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. in April and sold 641,000 equivalent album units — a figure that combines physical sales, downloads and streaming numbers. It was the biggest sales week for a group album in more than a decade.
Vann has seen BTS perform live six times in the United States — but said it’s meaningful to finally see her favourite band at home, especially after their previous Toronto concerts in 2020 were cancelled due to the pandemic. BTS last performed in Canada in 2018, in Hamilton.
“It feels like a homecoming, right? From 2018 to the missed 2020 (concert). Now eight years later, it feels like our seven kings are coming home. That’s what makes it special,” said Vann, who will attend both concerts, including pre-show soundchecks, with three others for a total cost of more than $1,200.
Aira Uy, 39, also had tickets to the 2020 show. When it was cancelled, she said she was disappointed but understood the reasoning. When BTS announced their current tour would stop in Toronto, Uy signed up for a Weverse membership — the band’s online fan platform — to access pre-sale tickets.
“This is like unfinished business for me,” said Uy, who’s attending Sunday’s show with her sister and friend.
The City of Toronto is also embracing BTS’s first visit since 2015. City council agreed to temporarily rename a portion of Yonge Street, from North York Boulevard to Finch Avenue, to BTS Boulevard.
Meanwhile, hundreds of BTS fans have visited the official BTS merchandise pop-up store on Bloor Street daily since it opened last week. T-shirts, hats and albums have been popular items, according to store manager Andrew Park, who said excitement for BTS’s arrival has been palpable.
“If you buy an album, you get a photo card, and then when these fans pull their ‘bias,’ which is their favourite member, you can hear them screaming from outside,” Park said.
Nicole Chau, 21, travelled from Kitchener, Ont., to visit the pop-up and walked out with a T-shirt. Chau said she recruited her boyfriend to help purchase concert tickets to increase her odds of getting through the massive queue.
“I can’t even believe it — that I was able to get tickets as a longtime fan because I know since a couple of years ago, they blew up a lot more, especially in North America,” said Chau, who has been a fan since 2016. “I was really happy that I was able to get tickets, and I’m so excited for this Saturday.”
As anticipation for the concerts grows, Vann’s BTS Army Toronto will have a booth with photo opportunities and a craft station at the Toronto Korean Festival at Mel Lastman Square, which runs Friday through Sunday. Vann is also planning to share a guide to Toronto, including restaurant recommendations, on the organization’s Instagram account to help travelling fans navigate the city.
BTS Army Toronto will also host an event near the concert venue for army members to meet, purchase food and take photos ahead of the shows.
Looking ahead to the performance, Vann said she’s curious how intimate the concerts will feel at Rogers Stadium, which altered its configuration to accommodate BTS’s 360-degree, in-the-round stage. She’s also eager to find out which surprise song — a track not on the set list — BTS chooses to play in Toronto.
“That’s a cool thing they’ve done this tour,” she said. “People go wild and crazy once they hear the first beat drop.”
Most of all, Vann is looking forward to soaking in the “truly special” concert experience alongside the BTS community.
“After the concert, you’re going to feel the post-concert depression. That’s what we call it — the PCD after every concert,” Vann said. “But after you get over that hump, it’s just going to be a feeling of gratitude, and it will help you move along in your journey in life because you’ve seen them, and you feel that connection.”
