I moved from Madrid to Seoul for one reason I can say out loud — BTS. I came for the stadium lights, the chanting in unison, and the chance to hear those seven voices in the same room as me. What I stayed for was a whole life I didn't expect.
The decision that sounded silly to my parents
I had three university offers back home. None of them were in Seoul. I told my mother I was going to Korea to study international relations at Seoul National University, and she looked at me with that specific face Spanish mothers make when they know you're lying by omission. I did want to study. I also wanted to be where BTS lives, where the music video locations are, where ARMY meets ARMY on the street corner and we just nod.
I remember the first time I walked out of Seoul Station with a suitcase and a hangeul alphabet cheat sheet on my phone. I was not calm. I was not brave. I was just very, very lucky that my host buddy was waiting.
What I actually came for
A live show at Jamsil Olympic Stadium. I bought the ticket before the visa came through. That is not financial advice.
A normal semester that wasn't normal at all
My weekdays look like any other exchange student's:
- 9 AM lectures in English-taught tracks at SNU
- Lunch at the student cafeteria — typically around 5,000 KRW
- Afternoon group projects in mixed Korean and English
- Study hall at Central Library until it kicks us out
My weekends are where the story shifts. I've been to fan sign events (signed one, missed two), pop-up cafes in Hongdae, a fan-made mural in Seongsu. I've also spent a whole Saturday in pajamas at the dorm because Korean academic life is not a vacation.
The night I saw them live
The concert was in Jamsil. I want to be honest — the logistics of getting there as an international ARMY are not trivial. A quick table of what I had to line up:
| Item | How I handled it | Would I do it again |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket lottery | Weverse membership + Korean phone number | Yes |
| Seat zone | Random draw, I got nosebleeds | Happily |
| Light stick | Borrowed from dorm senior | I'll buy my own now |
| Post-show subway | Jamsil Station crush for 40 min | With better shoes |
The show itself I will not try to describe. If you've been, you know. If you haven't, you will understand when it's your turn.
What I tell other ARMY who ask me about moving here
People DM me almost every week asking if I regret coming to Korea for a fandom reason. Here is my honest answer:
- Come for the music if that's what moves you. Nobody at immigration asks your motive.
- But stay for the classes, the friends, the kimbap place near your dorm that knows your order, the seasons that actually change.
- Please do not plan your whole life around one concert. Plan your life around a country, and let the concert be one Tuesday in it.
Specific practical things I wish I'd known earlier: apply for the Global Korea Scholarship early if your grades support it, and check each university's international office for fan-friendly calendars before you commit — some schools run culture weeks that line up with album releases, which is either a pro or a con depending on your thesis deadline.
Key takeaways
- I came for BTS. I am not embarrassed about that.
- Seoul is a real city with real classes and real rent; fandom is one thread in it, not the whole cloth.
- Scholarships and language programs matter more than your seat zone on concert night.
- ARMY abroad find each other fast; ARMY in Seoul find each other faster.
- If you're weighing a move, come visit for a semester first — the difference between tourism and residence is the whole thing.