My diary beautifully captures the scale and emotion of a monumental summer.
From Tampa to LA, will my passionate summer of 2026 ever come again?
Starting with the Tampa concert on April 25th to the LA concert on September 6th, I attended 12 concerts—including 8 soundchecks, 2 floor sections, 2 lower-level seats, and one day roaming outside the stadium on LA Day 3 due to a ticket scam. Not a single one of those concerts was lacking.
There were so many memorable moments from each one.
Tampa gave me the excitement of the first concert. What I remember most is Jin suddenly sitting right next to us, carefully looking at each and every ARMY's face. Since it was the first show, my hands were shaking, and I sang along to the fan chants and songs at the top of my lungs while waving the Korean flag I had brought.
A month later at the Las Vegas concerts starting May 23rd, I saw three days of soundchecks. The most memorable moment was doing a "cheers" with Taehyung as he drank water while I was in the 4th row by the center stage. Ah, I was also there to share the moment they won the Grand Prize at the AMAs. For a week, the whole city operated under the "CITY OF ARIRANG" theme, and I felt so proud and excited.
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BTS LA Concert Stage |
Then came the start of the resumed US tour two months later, the August 1st-2nd NJ concerts. It was the first time I got to connect with the boys from the 1st row at soundcheck. I brought my Korean flag and received greetings from Jimin, Taehyung, Jin, and Hobi. They came so close that I couldn't even record a video. I just cheered until my voice went hoarse, singing along completely out of tune and off-beat. We were three obvious Korean middle-aged women, and we got a warm smile from Jimin and a 90-degree bow that felt like a gesture of respect. Those moments felt as surreal as a YouTube video.
Next was the unplanned August 6th Boston concert. Since it was a weekday, I drove 5 hours from home to Boston with my fan friends for a day trip, with a schedule to go straight to work the next day. The resale ticket I thought included soundcheck didn't, so we had to watch it from afar through the open main gates. But because it was a small venue, the 13th row on the floor felt really close. And this was the day my Korean flag was perfectly caught on screen during ARMY Time.
Canada was the most memorable concert. Actually, the Toronto concert was supposed to be my last one. It rained all day, so we entered soaking wet, but being with my fan friends made it such a fun day. On the first day, I had a seat right in front of Jungkook's tornado dance, so I finally saw it in person. His energy felt like a wild puma, wolf, or tiger. On the second day, we had the highly anticipated 3rd row by the center stage. I dressed up with the sole intention of being funny; Jungkook smiled at my costume, and when I called out Jimin's name, I actually heard him reply.
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| BTS LA Concert |
That was supposed to be the original plan... but I wanted to go to the final concert of the US tour so badly that I made a sudden decision, bought an expensive flight and concert ticket, and went impulsively.
I bought a scam ticket for the first time and couldn't get in on Day 3, but I roamed outside the stadium, did a traditional Ganggangsullae circle dance with the ARMYs gathered there, and enjoyed the night like a festival. Fortunately, for the final concert, I got to watch both the soundcheck and the main show perfectly. I saw Jungkook's insane abs, we did a birthday event for Namjoon... it was two hours that flew by like 10 minutes.
The LA concert was especially special because I met up with about 50 fan friends. Group photos, freebie exchanges, the after-party... I was happy every single moment.
I just liked BTS, but as a bonus, I ended up meeting such warm and wonderful people.
I'm a strong "T" personality type so I don't cry easily, but on the flight back home, I couldn't believe the US tour was really over and ended up ugly crying. Maybe I'm just crying because of menopause, who knows.
Nothing lasts forever, but I hope our encounter is eternal.
My passionate summer has ended, but I will live on, ruminating on these memories until the day we meet again.
I was happy, and happy again.