On June 16, 2021, someone from The University of Southern found something that shocked many American Korean pop (K-pop) fans.
BTS, a seven-member boy band, is known around the world as a shooting star of the K-pop industry. Their fan base is one of the largest ones in the music world. This is not that shocking, as they have achieved several world records over the course of their career with their latest three songs, “Dynamite”, “Butter” and “Permission to Dance”, all making number one on Billboard’s Top 100.
What was shocking to fans, especially to those from Mississippi, was what one member, V, wore in episode 142 of Run BTS. Run BTS is the group’s video show that can be found on YouTube, Vlive and Weverse, where the members gather together to do a variety of activities. In the opening of this particular video, as the members are all coming in to sit at a table, viewers saw V wearing what appears to be a USM Golden Eagles crew neck shirt.
While many saw this on in the original video, other fans found out through the official Southern Miss Twitter account. The post also added, “If the rest of the guys need a sweater, just DM us your shirt sizes.”
A lot of people were shocked that a popular K-pop superstar wore a shirt from a Mississippi college. But the shock was not bad. Many people who saw the post were extremely excited. Several commenters stated that they could not believe that V was wearing the sweater. Others said that seeing him wear something from their home state was amazing to see and that they wanted one, too.
However, there were some commenters that stated that the photo posted was fake or that the sweater was a knockoff. One commenter even claimed that the shirt was from an Italian design house series, as another BTS member, Namjoon, wore a fake Indiana State University from the same series. While the photo of V wearing the shirt is not fake, since it is in the whole video, there is no way of knowing if the sweater is really from Southern Miss or not.
Either way, one question remains: if the shirt is real, how did V come to own it? One way is that a student and fan of the group sent the shirt to them. Another theory could be that he found it while in the U.S. on one of their concert tours. Again, there is no way to be sure one way or another.
While there is no sure answer on a lot of things, as BTS has not acknowledged the post, one thing is very clear. Many fans that went to or are currently attending Southern Miss are proud that V possibly unintentionally gave the college a shout-out.
