ARMY Forever, Bangtan Forever: Happy 10th Anniversary!

No matter where we are in the world, when it comes to celebrating FESTA, there’s nothing stopping BTS and ARMY from having the best time.

This 10th anniversary was beautifully set up for ARMY and full of fun surprises. As all seven members couldn’t be together this year, BTS prepared in advance to make sure that this FESTA was just as special as the ones before.

After the release of the gameboard-themed FESTA timetable from May 31 to June 17, ARMY had an idea of what was to come but there was still so much left as a surprise.

BANGBANGCON 2023

Singing along as an ARMY is always fun no matter how many times you’ve done it. Starting out with the BANGBANGCON 2023 livestream, ARMY strolled down memory lane with three shows, “2019 BTS 5TH MUSTER,” “BTS 2021 MUSTER SOWOOZOO,” and “BTS MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E.” The stream was nostalgic, reminding us of moments we shared while building up our excitement and anticipation.

APOBANGPO 10 Project

In honor of their 10 years together, BTS created projects which were placed as billboards and ads everywhere. Throughout the years, BTS has seen ARMY’s unwavering efforts to prepare campaigns and messages to celebrate anything BTS-related. Thus, they wanted to celebrate ARMY in return with their own projects.

Picture Time

As per BTS tradition, the family portrait was released along with the APOBANGPO project. The pictures had all seven posing together looking happy and surrounded by purple. In one picture, they held purple boxes labeled “ARMY” while smiling at the camera.

Special pictures named “A Piece of ‘Take Two’” for individual members were also released, with words and settings specific to each. RM was “Light,” Jin was “Begin,” SUGA was “Soul,” j-hope was “Together,” Jimin was “Face,” V was “Young,” and Jungkook was “Stay.”

Lastly, they released “BTS EXHIBITION ‘오, 늘’ FILM CAMERA” Photo (B side ver.), which featured pictures of the boys throughout the years.

Dance Practices

For special treats on this celebration, older dance practices of BTS were released, including ‘Intro Dance’ for their concept trailer from 2013, Anpanman, Boy With Luv, Boyz With Fun, I Need U, and I’m Fine.

Having not seen this footage before, ARMY enjoyed watching the performances.

Special Moments

BTS always likes to keep us on our toes. One very special moment was when episode 12 of SUGA’s “Suchwita” was announced with a special guest we all miss dearly, Jin. Later in the show, another surprise guest whom we also miss dearly appeared: j-hope. The episode was a sweet gift and we all enjoyed it tremendously.

j-hope also handwrote ARMY a letter to share for FESTA, where he expressed his feelings about the festivities and sent us his love.

As June 13 came along, ARMY also received many heartfelt messages from BTS, expressing their gratitude in words they knew would resonate with us best. The unbreakable bond between ARMY and BTS has nurtured a world of our own in which we can feel safe and send each other love.

Take Two and More Music Releases

The new single Take Two was released in honor of FESTA along with a live performance video and a live clip photo sketch. RM and j-hope are co-writers on the song and SUGA is a producer. Recounting BTS’ journey from past to future, the song promises a continuation of not only BTS’ story but also the story between ARMY and BTS.

Jimin gifted us a live clip of him performing his song Letter on a video titled “Dear ARMY.” As a hidden track on his album FACE, the song already feels personal. Now, Jimin’s FESTA performance further reinforces the sweet sentiment that it’s a song for ARMY about his sincere feelings.

j-hope released Arson (Rock ver.) to celebrate FESTA and it was amazing! The song transforms smoothly into the rock genre and gains a refreshing rush of excitement.

Lastly, V released “Le Jazz de V” in which he sang a jazz cover of Bing Crosby’s It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas and a cover of Fred Astaire’s Cheek to Cheek in a duet with singer-songwriter Minna Seo. The songs and the genre complement V’s voice perfectly and gave us a sneak peek into what he has been working on.

10th Anniversary in Yeouido

To close all the global purple celebrations, there was a special event in Yeouido Hangang Park. Over 400,000 people attended in person, while on Weverse, there were six million viewers, and on YouTube 330,000 viewers. It was a celebration for the ages.

The event had RM as the host of a radio show in a set facing a crowd of ARMYs. RM led the activities with some help from the other members, including reading out stories from ARMY. V and Jungkook phoned in as a surprise which greatly delighted ARMY.

RM then performed Persona and Wild Flower, saying that he didn’t know exactly when he’d be able to perform live again, so he gave his all on that stage. Seeing him perform such special songs gave everyone chills. It was a beautiful gift.

After the radio show was over, ARMY was set to enjoy a fireworks show over the Han River. ARMY all over the world watched a stunning celebration of BTS’ career through a musical story of their songs going along with the fireworks. Although millions were able to witness this moment, it still felt like a personal moment between ARMY and BTS. What also made it special was that Jungkook narrated the fireworks show.

It was a memorable way to set the night alight and a reminder that we are young forever.

Will you stay? We at ARMY Magazine along with ARMY all over the world hope that BTS knows the answer to that question is a resounding yes. ARMY forever, BTS forever.

Happy 10 years, and cheers to many more!

Written by: Lizette

Edited by: Ren

Designed by: Achan

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