This post was written by Leslie Day

Welcome to Ask AP529 where YOU get to utilize OUR brain wrinkles to find answers to your most burning BTS questions. This question comes from Katie of the AP529 Admin Team. She asks: 

Why are they called K-Diamonds? I thought it was K-ARMY.

I didn’t know. I’ve been ARMY since PTD in 2022, so I know there are many of you newer ARMYs out there who may not know the answer to this question, so here goes:

First of all, ARMY is an acronym which stands for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth. I have feelings about what it actually stands for, but I think after all that BTS and ARMY have endured, it’s rather fitting. That is also why it is stylized in all caps.

(For more about BTS overcame trials, see AP529 Monday Muster Week Two)

So, like all BTS related questions, it’s not just a simple answer. K-Pop has been around for decades, but BTS broke through some existing barriers and it was all due to the cooperation of K-ARMYs and I-ARMYs (that stands for International ARMY for those of you newbies).

My initial Google search took me to Urban Dictionary. This jogged my memory a little bit and I have seen these terms before, but they didn’t stick because I had no context. So, I had to dig deeper: Where did these nicknames come from?

An article from Koreaboo (a source we don’t normally utilize) shows this came to fruition in 2017 when BTS was under attack in the media. Both K-ARMYs and I-ARMYs banded together to counteract negative articles. 

A Billboard article highlights how the bond between K-ARMY and I-ARMY was strengthened over the translation of BTS content, featuring interviews with fan translators:

Rachel Kim (@vlissful): “Having a fandom where all ARMYs have healthy relationships with each other helps. This is only my opinion, but I feel like ARMYs, our fandom, has a really good International-Korean relationship. Korean ARMYs call international ARMYs International Lovelies [I-Lovelies], and international ARMYs call Korean fans Korean Diamonds [K-Diamonds]. And I think that’s really sweet. I really like seeing their communications, like their interactions, whenever I inform them [about] something, because it’s really cute.”

If you’re interested in this, please read the full article (links below). It explains how this started with a few K-Diamonds wanting I-Lovelies to be able to understand the massive amounts of authentic content that BTS created, and English was the most accessible language. Then, the network grew to ARMYs who then translated those English translations into other languages. It’s quite phenomenal. 

Time picked up on the power of both K-Diamonds and I-Lovelies in 2020, when they defined who and what ARMY is and how they utilized their power for many causes. This also explains the rise of the translation X accounts and the unified hashtags. 

All in all, ARMY is an exceptional fandom that has done many great things out of pure love for the seven members of Bangtan Sonyeondan. I know many K-Lovelies are a bit jealous of the K-Diamonds who had the opportunity to hug Jin in the flesh. But let us remember that they call us “lovely”. Let us live up to our name! 

Bonus Fact: K-Diamonds gave Filipino ARMYs their own name: Pearls. But the reason why will have to be a separate post. If you’re interested in that answer (which I have not researched yet) please formally submit a question on the AP529 Contact page.

LINKS:

1. Billboard: “Meet the BTS Fan Translators (Partially!) Responsible for the Globalization of K-pop” (2017)

2. Koreaboo: “BTS’s Korean Fans And International Fans’ Sweet Nickname For Each Other Influences Other Fandoms” (2017)

3. Time: “Inside the BTS ARMY, the Devoted Fandom With an Unrivaled Level of Organization” (2020)

4. Amino: Filipino ARMY called Pearls (2017)

CREDITS

YouTube/Web: HYBE LABELS, BANGTANTV, Bangtan Subs, DKDKTV, KAPWING, Mnet K-POP, BTS Wiki; AP529 Volunteers: Leslie Day, Heather C., NoonaAmy, Joscelin