While some fandoms are busy fighting over charts, ARMYs are out here changing actual lives—even while BTS is serving in the military. Because when people say “BTS paved the way,” they don’t just mean for K-pop. They mean for kindness.
Recently, ARMYs around the world decided that the best way to celebrate BTS’s upcoming group return post-military service is to do what they do best: help people. Specifically, they’re raising funds to support Korean adoptees seeking their roots and advocating for a better life for them.
Here’s what’s happening: BTS ARMY is raising money to help Korean adoptees reconnect with their heritage by supporting initiatives like GOA’L (Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link), a South Korean nonprofit that helps adoptees from around the world find their birth families and navigate their identity. For many adoptees, this includes travel costs, documentation, translation services, and emotional support throughout a complex and often painful process.
As of June, ARMYs have raised over US$40,000 for Koroot, a South Korean nonprofit supporting overseas Korean adoptees who want to reconnect with their heritage and find their birth families, showcasing the fandom’s commitment to giving back to Korean society in a way that genuinely aligns with BTS’s message of self-love, connection, and healing.
Why is this so important? South Korea has one of the highest rates of overseas adoption, with an estimated 200,000 Korean children adopted abroad since the Korean War, many of whom grow up with questions about who they are and where they came from. For some, returning to Korea to search for birth families is a lifelong goal, but one that comes with financial, bureaucratic, and emotional barriers.
ARMY saw that, saw BTS coming home, and said, “Let’s help others find their way home, too.”
ARMYs, seeing the need and understanding the complexities, are stepping in to help lift those barriers. And they’re doing it quietly and effectively, without asking for cookies or praise—just like BTS has always modeled for them.
It’s not the first time ARMYs have collectively mobilized for good. This fandom has a history of aligning birthday projects, anniversaries, and comeback celebrations with donations, tree-planting initiatives, and relief funds. Whether it’s raising millions for UNICEF or supporting small, local charities, ARMYs have consistently shown that fandom culture can be powerful, meaningful, and socially impactful.
This particular initiative also highlights the growing awareness within the fandom of Korea’s history and social issues, reinforcing that it’s not just about loving the music or the members, but also about respecting and supporting the culture BTS comes from.
And let’s be real: while the world waits (impatiently) for BTS’s return, ARMY could have spent this downtime fighting on Twitter about streaming records. Instead, they chose to uplift adoptees searching for family, identity, and belonging, sending a message louder than any chart number could ever scream.
It’s yet another reminder that BTS and ARMY are a mirror for each other: a group of people who, despite being global superstars (or a fandom of 100 millions), still find ways to stay grounded in empathy, kindness, and action.
So, if you ever doubt the power of music, community, and a shared message of “loving yourself,” look no further than ARMY helping Korean adoptees find home while waiting for BTS to come home, too.
Because this fandom? It doesn’t just stream. It saves lives.
