As a long-distance fan girl, the FOMO hits too hard sometimes and here’s when social media helps me vicariously live through Reels and posts!
If you’re a K-drama, K-pop and K-culture fan, you know that no matter how much of Korea we bring to our own home, there are days when it’s just simply not enough. If I wake up missing the bustling streets of Myeondong, I can’t just open the door and head down the street. If I want to know about the newest brunch spots or trending shopping stores, I can’t just take a stroll down Seongsu-Dong or Gangnam. So I go to the next best thing available to me aka Instagram! All thanks to my social media, over the past five years, I feel like there is no stone left unturned when it comes to knowing what the new pop culture obsession is in Korea!
My algorithm feeds me with information about every nook and corner of Seoul and it’s always fascinating how I know which pop up is being held where and sometimes even the directions to the place, all while sitting in the comfort of my room! While being there in person would be the real deal, for us 9 to 5 girlies who can’t just vacation whenever we want social media does play a huge role in making us feel included in this new phenomenon we call the Hallyu wave!
Not a day goes by when I don’t watch someone’s ‘What I eat in a day in Korea’ or ‘Best places to eat at Gwangjang Market’ Reels. Does it make me miss Seoul immensely? Yes! But will I still doom scroll till I can feel Seoul’s chilly air in my face again? Duh! My ultimate guilty pleasure is watching what Korean workplaces have for lunch in their cafeteria. Yes, I dig deep to that extent!
But above all comes my life as a BTS fan girl! Every single year since I became a BTS Army, June has always made me question why I don’t live in Korea. Since June is BTS’ debut anniversary month, aka Festa, the whole city is dressed in purple to celebrate the super group! Cafes have BTS themed pop ups and there are beautiful decorations outside the Hybe building which is where BTS works from. Even the buses, taxis and the billboards at the bus station are all BTS themed. Above that, every June 13, to celebrate Festa, there’s an official event arranged by BTS for fans from all over the world to come and enjoy various activities. For someone like me who has no choice but to watch from a distance about the activities that take place year on year, our fellow BTS armies become our guide to Festa every year. From taking us to every single zone designed for each member to showing every damn thing they got as gifts this year, I was part jealous part happy binging all the Reels! Tell me I wasn't the only one!
June 13 was also the day when we finally saw all 7 BTS members under the same roof after 3 whole years! While Jungkook and Jin made special appearances at J-Hope’s concert and sang some of my favorite songs, the rest of the members were sitting in the audience enjoying just like fans. This was probably one of those major highlights in BTS history that I hated missing in person, but as I sulked alone in my room, my social media made sure I had a swarm of Reels and posts of the concert from every possible angle, from various different kinds of edits on songs that would give me that much needed serotonin boost!
Even though I wasn’t a part of the concert in person, it still made me feel like I was very much there. It also made me feel like everyone gets their time to meet BTS and mine simply hasn’t come yet. But seeing all of those Reels only made me hopeful that the day when I get to see them isn’t far away either. There will be a day when I will go from watching these Reels to actually making them and posting it on my own feed. I love how my entire algorithm looks like one big BTS world, rather, it's exactly what it looks like in my head! After ending a hectic day at work, watching BTS edits on my favourite Bollywood songs is my favourite thing to do. There’s truly no other place I’d rather be!
It’s crazy how social media has only and only increased my love for them and how it was my number one confidante during the three years of their military service. Watching fans from around the world feeling the same things as me, saying the same things as me, yearning for the members to come back, gave me so much solace and comfort that I didn’t even know I needed. Social media truly has made me feel like it is a small world after all, because, tell me, how do I not believe that I know exactly what the Hongdae guy is going to say to me if I ever cross paths with him or the fact that I know every single art piece that is on display right now at the BTS fan art exhibition!
In an era where there’s so much negativity out there, be it a literal war breaking out or people just waiting to cancel each other every chance they get, I love that my social media algorithm has managed to make a safe space of my own for me. Here’s to feeling a little bit closer to my dream everyday and living the best of both worlds quite literally!
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