From ‘lowkey’ fans to 7,000-strong: Inside the K-Pop meetups transforming the Tampa Bay area

TAMPA, Fla. - K-pop fans across the area create community with each other through meetups, sharing boba tea drinks, fan-made gifts and stories about their favorite music groups.

What we know:

BTS, a seven-member South Korean K-pop group, is a global powerhouse. 

They’ve broken boundaries at awards shows, sold out stadiums, and have billions of streams.

The backstory:

BTS stands for "Beyond The Scene," but the original name is Bangtan Sonyeondan, which means ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts’ in Korean. 

Their fans are called "ARMY" or "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth," and social media made it a lot easier to connect with other ARMY around the world.

"My group, Tampa Bay BTS ARMY, has grown tremendously. We were small. We started off just as a community. We have over 7,000 members now and a lot of that is because of the announcement of the tour," said Jasmine Wade, the founder of Tampa Bay BTS ARMY, a local fan group.

Local perspective:

All are welcome at a Tampa boba tea shop on a Saturday afternoon, as the lively crowd inside had one unspoken rule – loving K-pop.

"I just loved the dancing. It was so different, and I was a boy band fanatic as a teenager myself," said Sylvette Alfaro of Tampa.

Alfaro and her teen daughter Mariana attended a fan-organized BTS meetup organized by Tampa Bangtan Besties to meet other BTS listeners in the Tampa Bay area. 

Dig deeper:

The ‘Arirang’ world tour from BTS is huge for fans, as it’s the first world tour in four years since all seven members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service, beginning in 2022. 

During that break, each member released a solo album, and a few went on solo tours.

"I think the really interesting thing about BTS is that even though they left for the military, they left in such a brilliant way," said Madison Harrison, a 19-year-old BTS fan from Spring Hill. "We always had a member here with us until this three-month, four-month part when everyone was in the military."

BTS attends a press conference for BTS's new digital single 'Butter' at Olympic Hall on May 21, 2021 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins via Getty Images)

After the final member was discharged in June 2025, the countdown was one for their comeback.

"When Jin came to Tampa, I think it was his first time in Tampa. BTS has never been, I think, to Florida per se. So, he said he would talk to his brothers, and he can’t promise anything," said Hudson resident Patricia Papageorge of BTS’ decision to open the North American leg of their 2026 tour in Tampa.

What you can do:

K-pop music creates community, as meetups include sharing free items or freebies, games and fan-made merchandise for sale.

"I've been in ARMY since like 2020, I was just very, like, lowkey about it, because I thought it was embarrassing. But now, I'm open about it," said Mariana Asca, a BTS fan.

What they're saying:

The K-pop concert experience comes with synced light sticks and a variety of freebies exchanged among fans.

A rite of passage for the BTS ARMY also includes the fan chant, which involves saying the names of each member: "Kim Nam-joon, Kim Seok-jin, Min Yoon-gi, Jung Ho-seok, Park Ji-min, Kim Tae-hyung, Jeon Jung-kook, BTS!"