FROM CHOREOGRAPHY TO CARTOON

Because of his longish face, j-hope got teased as j-horse in their earlier days. Refusing to be affected negatively, he turned things around when he drew inspiration from horses, having created the Mal dance (mal means horse in Korea), which eventually made it to the choreography for their song Baepsae. He also built his cute BT21 cartoon character around a dancing animal who dons a horse mask, whom he named Mang.

Our society would be better off moving away from using animal names as insults. And j-hope did right by the animals, not only by using them as creative inspiration, but also by seeing them as a strength instead of a weakness.

There’s no denying how much power BTS holds over consumers that their drinking this or wearing that will result in those products getting sold out immediately. This is true with everything else that they do. Unfortunately, there are times that when taken to the extremes, consumer behavior can do more harm than good.

Case in point: When Jungkook introduced Bam in In the SOOP, many fans took to social media to make light about Dobermans being the “next thing to go out of stock”. Although done in jest, there will be fans quick to purchase Dobermans on impulse without proper research.

Sadly, many animals bought on impulse end up in shelters. It is a relief that many ARMYS are also quick to point out that Dogs are not objects and that it is better to adopt, not shop. Plenty of animals are waiting in shelters and sanctuaries for their hero – their Anpanman, their human who will give them a loving home.