When Lee Young-ae, one of South Korea’s most recognizable actresses and the star of the internationally successful television drama Dae Jang Geum, shared photos from Busan this week holding BTS merchandise, the images quickly attracted attention online. More than a celebrity social-media post, the photos highlighted how deeply BTS has become embedded in South Korean culture, attracting fans far beyond the younger audiences traditionally associated with K-pop.
Lee posted several photos from a visit to Busan with the caption, “Busan. A brief healing time,” while tagging BTS. In one image, she held an official BTS slogan bearing the phrase “WHAT IS YOUR ARIRANG?” against the backdrop of the city’s coastline. Another showed her running past a purple-themed mural, a color closely associated with BTS and its global fan community known as ARMY.
For South Korean fans, the significance was not simply that a celebrity had expressed admiration for the group. Lee occupies a unique place in Korean popular culture. Her career spans decades, and she remains one of the country’s most respected actresses. Her public embrace of BTS underscored how the group’s appeal has expanded across generations and social groups that were once considered outside the traditional K-pop audience.
The trend has become increasingly visible in recent years. Veteran actor Kim Kap-soo previously joined BTS’s paid fan club, while actress Kim Jung-nan has publicly spoken about her admiration for the group. Lee’s latest post adds another prominent entertainment figure to a growing list of older and established celebrities openly identifying as BTS fans.
The phenomenon reflects BTS’s evolution from a successful boy band into one of South Korea’s most influential cultural exports. Since debuting in 2013, the seven-member group has helped transform K-pop into a global industry while becoming a source of national pride at home. Their influence now extends beyond music, shaping fashion, tourism, language and popular culture.
That cultural reach has increasingly blurred traditional demographic boundaries. In South Korea, where idol fandoms were once largely associated with teenagers and young adults, BTS has attracted followers ranging from students and office workers to retirees, academics and public figures.
Lee’s post offered another reminder of that shift. More than a decade after BTS debuted, one of South Korea’s most famous actresses publicly identifying as an ARMY no longer feels surprising. Instead, it reflects how thoroughly the group has become part of the country’s cultural mainstream.
Meanwhile, Lee is preparing to return to television with the upcoming drama Jae-i’s Youngin. The series will reunite her with actor Yoo Ji-tae for the first time since the 2001 film One Fine Spring Day, marking their first on-screen collaboration in 25 years.
