Fandom as New Transnational Political Actor : Evidence from BTS ARMY fandom

This article examines the possibility of fandom as a transnational political actor by analyzing the two cases of BTS fandom ARMY’s fan activism on a global scale with political orientation. The first case is fan activism related to the BLM movements. The second case is the One-In-An-ARMY platform, a consistent grass-root charity project that deals with various human rights issues. Analyzing two ARMY fan activism cases revealed that fandom could effectively mobilize its members to achieve a goal. Social media and identity among fandom have played key roles in organizing political fan activism. The transnational fandom members have actively discussed global issues without time-space limits by using social media effectively. The ARMY fan activism reflects the present characteristic of political participation, which blurs the line between politics and culture and beyond borderlines.