BTS Comeback Concert on Netflix Builds ARMY Collective Identity Through Reciprocal Communication

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FORMOSA NEWS

SURAKARTA – Globally streamed concert performances no longer serve merely as commercial entertainment, but have transformed into interactive communicative spaces that construct transnational collective identities. A 2026 communication study authored by Desi Anggi Ramadhani, Pawito, and Andre N. Rahmanto from Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, examines how the Netflix concert film BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG successfully co-creates collective identity between BTS and their global fandom ARMY through reciprocal communication. This research provides critical insights by demonstrating that digitally streamed media events can foster symbolic convergence and deep communal belonging among geographically dispersed audiences.

The rapid evolution of digital media has reshaped how cultural products are experienced worldwide. In modern Korean popular music communication, live concerts are no longer linear one-way transmissions from performers to passive viewers. Instead, contemporary concerts function as dynamic communicative ecosystems where cultural values, narratives of resilience, and emotional commitments are continuously negotiated. When BTS staged their comeback performance at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul and broadcast it globally via Netflix, the event merged local cultural heritage with transnational fan participation within a single symbolic realm.

To analyze this communicative phenomenon, the researchers applied Ernest G. Bormann's Symbolic Convergence Theory using Fantasy Theme Analysis. This qualitative interpretive study systematically observed the concert's audiovisual data, including members' speeches, audience cheering, fan chants, synchronized ARMY Bomb lightstick usage, stage visuals, and the performance of the traditional song Arirang. Through iterative data coding, the authors tracked how dramatized messages delivered on stage were accepted and reproduced by the audience to form shared social reality.

The findings reveal three dominant fantasy themes that construct collective identity throughout the performance. The first theme is reunion as a shared narrative of hope, framing the group's return after a four-year separation as a mutual emotional restoration rather than a standard commercial release. The second theme is Korean cultural identity, embodied by the album title Arirang and the historic setting of Gwanghwamun Square, which function as shared symbols of resilience for both Korean and international viewers. The third theme centers on reciprocal communication grounded in authenticity, where members openly share personal anxieties and vulnerability, receiving immediate verbal affirmation and emotional support from the audience.

The continuous interaction between stage narratives and audience participation generates fantasy chains and symbolic cues such as OT7 and the shared metaphor of moving forward together. This communicative process culminates in a rhetorical vision that unites BTS and ARMY into a cohesive symbolic community facing future uncertainties together. The study demonstrates that transnational fan identity is not passively consumed from celebrity branding, but actively co-created through dialogue, symbolic rituals, and shared emotional experiences over digital streaming channels.

These insights offer significant contributions to communication scholarship, media producers, and global event organizers. The study demonstrates how digital streaming platforms can be leveraged to foster meaningful social communities and cross-cultural dialogue. Media practitioners can apply these participatory communication frameworks to cultivate long-term audience engagement and community solidarity in the digital era.

This study was conducted by Desi Anggi Ramadhani, Pawito, and Andre N. Rahmanto from Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta.

Author Profile: Desi Anggi Ramadhani, Pawito, Andre N. Rahmanto (Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta)

Research Source: Article Title: Constructing Collective Identity Through Reciprocal Communication in BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG: A Fantasy Theme Analysis

Journal: East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (EAJMR), Vol. 5, No. 9, 2026, pp. 3621-3638 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v5i9.271 

Journal Link: https://journaleajmr.my.id/index.php/eajmr