"The whole nation has collapsed": Fans react to TikTok Korea joining ARMYs in emotional farewell following BTS' enlistment

BTS' military enlistment now seems to have attracted attention from TikTok Korea as well. On December 12, 2023, Jimin and Jungkook, the last two members of the band, enlisted in the South Korean military, leaving their fans distraught. A day before that, their bandmate RM and Taehyung had enlisted in the Nonsan Military Training Centre.

Following these developments, TikTok Korea uploaded a funny image on X, where the brand's logo is seen staring at two smartphones that display the group's enlistment news. As translated by a fan, @mhereonlyforbts, TikTok's caption read:

"My world collapsed today. Until the day when everyone is discharged, I'll be waiting for you like this."

Fans immediately reacted to the post as it resonated with the entire fandom and commented how "the whole nation has now collapsed."

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Fans share TikTok Korea's sentiments about BTS' enlistment, flood Twitter with emotional responses

This is not the first time a massive brand like TikTok Korea has behaved in a "fan-like" manner with respect to the BTS members.

Something similar happened when Chipotle changed its Twitter handle to "Chicotle" after Jungkook mispronounced the name in 2022. The brand capitalized on the joke by rebranding Jungkook's version of the brand as its official display name on Twitter and saying, "It's Chicotle from now on."

Furthermore, in September 2023, Microsoft stated itself as a fan account of Kim Seokjin. Even National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) expressed similar feeling towards The Astronaut singer, back in 2020, when they responded to a fan's comment by writing that "the Moon already belongs to everybody, even Seokjin."

With TikTok Korea now joining the aforementioned big names in expressing their support towards BTS, the group's fandom flooded social media with posts about the members' enlistment, saying that they relate to the sentiments expressed by the brand.

RM, V, Jimin, and Jungkook also enlisting has started a countdown that will last a year and a half until the group's much-anticipated reunion. The septet's management company, HYBE, has tentatively mentioned a reunion for 2025, most likely for the latter half of that year.

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BTS contributes 5.56 trillion Won annually to South Korea's economy

In 2019, the Hyundai Research Institute estimated that the BTS effect on the South Korean economy as an entirety was 5.56 trillion won (US$ 4.9 billion) annually.

Dynamite's debut at the top of the Hot 100 chart in 2020 was also predicted to generate 7,928 additional employment overall, with 1.23 trillion won invested in the production sector and 480 billion won contributed to the economy.

According to the Bank of Korea Economic Statistics System, the first quarter of 2019 saw South Korea's balance of payments (BOP) for music and entertainment come to US$ 114.7 million.

As reported by Indonesia Business Post in January 2023, in 2019, BTS influenced yearly sales of consumer items, including food (US$ 3.966 billion), cosmetics (US$ 2.8 billion), and apparel (US$ 2.026 billion). As the brand ambassadors for Hyundai, they additionally contributed 600 billion won (US$ 504 million) in profits to the automaker.

The numbers have tripled as of 2023 with the septet's endorsements with brands such as NBA, Valentino, Bottega Veneta, Dior, Tiffany & Co., Cartier, CELINE, and more.

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Meanwhile, the septet's song Spring Day claimed #1 on iTunes in 50 countries on December 12, 2023, for the first time in six years since its release.

Furthermore, on December 13, 2023, the Korean news agency KBS said that Snowdrops (cherry blossoms) unexpectedly bloomed in the chilly winter, marking the day that the group's members Jimin and Jungkook enlisted in the military on December 12, and the song Spring Day reached the top of iTunes.