South Korea celebrates 10 years of K-pop megastars BTS

SEOUL (AFP): Fans of K-pop megastars BTS flocked to hotspots around Seoul recently to mark the supergroup’s 10-year anniversary, with South Korea unveiling a special commemorative stamp series to celebrate.

The group’s fans – known collectively as ARMY – gathered outside the offices of its agency HYBE to take selfies and record TikTok videos in front of a huge mural of the stars being painted on a wall.

Korea Post unveiled a special edition series of stamps in BTS’s honour set to go on sale at post offices Tuesday – the official anniversary of the septet’s debut – having already sold out almost instantly online.

“Obviously BTS are global superstars, but we didn’t expect the stamps to be sold out on the day of the online release,” a Korea Post official told AFP.

After debuting on 13 June 2013, the group went on to become the first all-South Korean act to dominate the US and UK charts, raking in billions of dollars and building a global fandom in the process.

“Many ARMY BTS fans have asked for the release of BTS stamps, and we also wanted to issue stamps for these global artists for their 10th anniversary,” Korea Post stamp designer Kim Mi-hwa told AFP.

The band – currently on a hiatus, with two members performing their mandatory South Korean military service – released a new digital single last week to celebrate the anniversary.

A special map released by the city Government for fans visiting from abroad features 13 locations across the South Korean capital.

Fans said it was worth travelling so far to honour their favourite band.

BTS members who are not doing their military service yet have been busy with their solo careers – with Jimin releasing his six-track solo album “Face” in March.