BTS AND THEIR COMPANION ANIMALS
Catapulted to fame by their emotionally charged songs and riveting performances, and backed by their loyal fandom called ARMY, BTS
have gained only more popularity amid the pandemic as they release one international hit song after another. Aside from their campaigns for social change and message of self-love, what non-fans and casual listeners might not know about them is that the boys are also passionate about their companion animals.
Here’s a look at the boys’ fur children and the things they do to show their love for them.
RAPMON AND RM
Group leader RM introduced his companion Dog Rapmon (aka Monie) to the world via a tweet in 2013. He had previously expressed frustration about not spending time with Rapmon as much as he wanted because of their busy schedule; so, the rapper would take advantage of their time together whenever he was back home – taking him to the park and sometimes even bringing him to the studio.
RM finally got the opportunity to bond with Rapmon more during the quarantine period and was there to celebrate his furry companion’s eighth birthday in March. Fur daddy goals.
FUN FACT
RM’s family named Rapmon after his former stage name Rap Monster.
GUKMOOL AND JIN
When he is not in the limelight as his “worldwide handsome” persona, Jin caters to Gukmool, his cute Sugar Glider (preceded by two other Sugar Gliders, Odeng and Eomuk, and rescue Dog Jjangu, who have all crossed the rainbow bridge).
In 2019, the vocalist released a solo song titled “Tonight” as an ode to his companion animals. In a statement accompanying its release, Jin said he wrote the song with them in mind. Part of the lyrics says, “If I close my eyes, I think I’ll remember the times we spent together. When I close my eyes again, I think only happy memories will come to mind.”
If that’s not love, we don’t know what is.
HOLLY AND SUGA
When asked to talk about his companion Dog named Holly in the show Ask in a Box, SUGA expressed, “When I think about Holly, my heart hurts. Because I’m normally not the kind of person who like dogs. But I ended up liking him.” Jimin, also a member of BTS, once teased SUGA about how he would act all cutesy whenever he was around Holly, suggesting that his behavior with the canine was far from his usual no- nonsense personality.
Despite Holly being the family Dog, SUGA has taken it upon himself to become the canine’s dad, even taking the time to write and maintain a parenting diary. No wonder SUGA receives frequent marriage proposals from fans. [The writer has also expressed her wishes to marry this particular BTS member. Not that I blame her. -Ed.]
MICKEY AND J-HOPE
J-hope, the band’s mood-maker, has a mood-maker of his own in the form of his companion Dog, Mickey. Much like his fashion-forward dad, the wide-eyed pup is always sporting cute outfits with adorable hairstyles to boot. And nothing screams proud dad more than having a blown-up photo of your fur child’s face on a pillow, which J-Hope displays in his living room.
He also once joked that it was Mickey whom he called first when the group found out that they got nominated for a Grammy. We can almost hear him say, Hey, Mickey! [Rumor has it that the editor of this magazine fancies this particular BTS member. Then again, it’s just a rumor. -Ed.]
DDOSUN AND JIMIN
Despite currently being the only member who doesn’t have a fur child, Jimin is known for his fondness for dogs and cats, which gained him the nickname from fans of “gangyangee”, a combination of the Korean words for dog and cat.
In several of their Bangtan Bomb clips, Jimin
was spotted playing with animals whenever he encountered them during shoots. In 2015, while on the show My Pet Clinic, Jimin shared that he used to have a childhood companion Dog named Ddosun and expressed, “I’m sure that he is now well in heaven… I hope that he is watching me.” [The writer wishes to be reincarnated as Jimin’s companion animal. Or human. -Ed.]
YEONTAN AND V
Like father like son: Yeontan AKA Tannie
gets his fair share of popularity much like
his dad, V. First introduced in 2017, the pup quickly gained the adoration of ARMYs for his cuteness, which made him an instant internet celebrity, even occasionally making it to the top trending topics on Twitter whenever V would post photos and videos of their bonding moments. #Yeontan.
In 2019, during the final leg of the group’s
Love Yourself tour in Seoul, Yeontan welcomed home his dad by being at their concert along with V’s canine mom. And as if that’s not special enough, V is the only member to upload a profile photo of his fur child on the social networking site Weverse. #LOL.
He has two older Dogs, Sangdol and Soonshim, and a cat named Kkanji.
FROM CHOREOGRAPHY TO CARTOON
Because of his longish face, j-hope got teased as j-horse in their earlier days. Refusing to be affected negatively,
he turned things around when he drew inspiration from horses, having created the Mal dance (mal means horse in Korea), which eventually made it to the choreography for their song Baepsae. He also built his cute BT21 cartoon character around a dancing animal who dons a horse mask, whom he named Mang.
Our society would be better off moving away from using animal names as insults. And j-hope did right by the animals, not only by using them as creative inspiration, but also by seeing them as a strength instead of a weakness.
BTS AND ARMY RIGHT BEHIND ANIMALS
BTS and ARMY alike put their effort into helping animals in need.
For his 26th birthday, Jin quietly donated a generous gift of 322 kilograms of food to the Korea Animal Rights Advocate – an act which the organization couldn’t help but share on their Twitter page, @ekara_org.
In turn, their good deeds inspire ARMYs to do similar acts of kindness by regularly donating food and raising funds for animal shelters and sanctuaries, and adopting animals in need of forever homes (just to name a few among other numerous projects).
BAM AND JUNGKOOK
During the premiere of their reality show In the SOOP in October, fans and other BTS members alike were treated to a surprise as Jungkook brought Bam along with him. Like Jungkook, Bam is the youngest of all the companion animals cared for by the boys.
In the show, fans saw how loving and patient Jungkook
was toward training his new companion – this comes as no surprise, as he also cares for a much older Dog at home named Gureum, whom he adopted from an animal rescue shelter.
EVERYBODY SAY NO (TO ANIMAL CRUELTY)
There’s no denying how much power BTS holds over consumers that their drinking this or wearing that will result in those products getting sold out immediately. This is true with everything else that they do. Unfortunately, there are times that when taken to the extremes, consumer behavior can do more harm than good.
Case in point: When Jungkook introduced Bam in In the SOOP, many fans took to social media to make light about Dobermans being the “next thing to go out of stock”. Although done in jest, there will be fans quick to purchase Dobermans on impulse without proper research.
Sadly, many animals bought on impulse end up in shelters. It is a relief that many ARMYs are also quick to point out that Dogs are not objects and that it is better
to adopt, not shop. Plenty of animals are waiting in shelters and sanctuaries for their hero – their Anpanman, their human who will give them a loving home.
BANGTANIMALS
Text taken from fan website btsdiary.com. Translation credit: Iraide @bts-trans
In 2014, the boys appeared in the February issue of Japanese publication Potato Magazine where they were asked to compare each other to animals. Here’s what they had to say.
(SUGA was not present during the interview.)
7 MOMENTS BTS INTERACTED WITH OTHER ANIMALS
- Fun day training with Dogs (Run BTS, Episode 23)
2. What a lucky Cat!
(Run BTS, Episode 145)
3. How to be a baby Sheep? (Bon Voyage, Season 4)
4. Playing with Bradley the Cat (2017 summer package shoot in Coron, Palawan)
5. Taking a photo after playin with Megan’s Dog, 4oe (YouTube)
6. Fascination for Crabs
(2017 summer package shoot in Coron, Palawan)
7. Buzzfeed interview with Puppies (YouTube)
EPIPHANY
As an ARMY and an animal rights advocate,
I cross my fingers the members of BTS would someday include veganism in their advocacies. Just imagine what a huge difference that would make for animals. But for now, it’s safe to say that when BTS are not performing onstage, working on their next album and numerous engagements, or tackling social issues and contributing to their philanthropies, they’re very much like you and me when it comes down to loving their companion animals.
