By Ashley Cruz
BTS members take a group picture with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. www1.president.go.kr
The BTS ARMY celebrated Hangul Day by posting song lyrics in the Korean script.
Hangul Day is a national holiday in Korea that commemorates the proclamation of the Korean alphabet by Sejong the Great in the 15th century.
Korean and international fans alike have actively shared written lyrics and notes to BTS in Korean on Twitter along with the hashtags #HangulDay and #방탄때문에_한글을배웠다 which means “Because of BTS I learned Hangul.”
“ARMY, in celebration of Hangul Day, will you join me in posting handwritten notes with @BTS_twt’s lyrics in Hangul? Let’s show how much we appreciate the beautiful words they’ve brought to our lives!” one fan tweeted.
“Today is #HangulDay. I’m proud to have been inspired by @BTS_twt to learn a new alphabet system, language and culture. This song speaks to me daily. #방탄때문에_한글을배웠다 ” another fan posted, along with a photo of her handwritten note in Korean.
Fans around the world have expressed their interest to learn the language to understand BTS songs and messages. The BTS ARMY was selected by the Hangul Cultural Association as 2019 “Korean Language Lover.” In a translated report by Twitter user Lovely Soo Choi, the Association said, “ARMY sing in Korean, fan chant in Korean, they spread Korean over the world.”
In October last year, BTS was chosen as the “Top Promoter of the Korean Language” by the Nation’s People Preserving the Korean Language. The septet also received the Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit.
“We’re often overseas, and many people sing along with our songs in Korean and tell us proudly that they studied Korean,” said Jin of BTS. “It makes me proud.”