‘Namjooning’ in the Bay Area: A BTS ARMY Guide, as RM x SFMOMA Opens

RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me, a new exhibit co-curated by BTS bandleader Kim Nam-joon (better known as RM) opens Saturday at San Francisco’s SFMOMA, presenting almost 150 works from the singer’s personal art collection.

It’s the next chapter in the singer’s relationship with visual art that the BTS ARMY fandom has been eagerly following — and been inspired by — for years. 

As RM hosted a preview of the exhibit on Tuesday, a group of fans stood outside the side entrance of the SFMOMA — eager not only to see the singer himself, but for the chance to actually interact with the very artworks they’ve until now only caught glimpses of in the background of photographs of RM’s home life.

A group of fans handed out bags full of “freebies” — a time-honored creative tradition among BTS fans, trading and gifting out DIY BTS tchotchkes at concerts and meetups. Inside were colorful, cute fan-made pieces including illustrated postcards, stickers, keychains, zines and even a door hanger that read: “Do Not Disturb: Namjooning In Process.”

RM became known for his love of the arts within the BTS fandom as the singer began to publicly document his rising curiosity in museums, after a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago eight years ago. Now, the word “Namjooning” means taking a cue from RM and approaching life in a slow, mindful way: Think walking through parks, admiring nature and viewing artwork in museums. 

While accounts of the word’s exact origins differ, one story comes from the man himself in 2019. When asked by a fan about his vacation plans on Weverse, a K-Pop social media platform, RM’s reply was: “I’m namjooning.” But the definition of the phrase and its evolution is all BTS ARMY. 

“I love Namjooning wherever I go,” Jessica Denis of San Francisco, one BTS fan outside SFMOMA, said. As an existing SFMOMA member, Denis said she was excited to get to know the collector side of her bias (meaning: her favorite member of BTS).

“It brings you a sort of connection — in a way — to him,” Denis said.

The local fandom already intends to embrace Namjooning to its fullest extent during the SFMOMA exhibit’s run. For example, there’s the Namjooning Collective, a group coordinating and tracking multiple BTS-related events here in the Bay Area — many of them related to art, literature and nature.

One of the fans involved is Thanya Suwansawad of Albany. She said the idea for the Collective started in a Facebook group as people shared ideas to mark RM’s arrival in the region. And then, as happens when ARMYs get together, things started moving.

“We all want to come together,” she said. “Sometimes we can be really unserious as a fan base, but then sometimes people get really passionate about their ideas.” 

“BTS doesn’t really have to be around for ARMYs to entertain themselves,” said Jamila Hyatt of Daly City, who also helped with the Collective. “ARMYs love being with other ARMYS.”

“I also love that this is also an opportunity that we get to introduce ARMYs all over the world to San Francisco,” Hyatt said.

Meanwhile, Namjooning is even the basis of a course being taught this semester at Stanford University by James R. Jacobs, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

After the announcement of SFMOMA’s exhibit and BTS’s performance on the Stanford campus, “all of a sudden it just kind of came together in my mind that I could take advantage of the moment of BTS’s presence in the Bay Area and combine that with wellness,” Jacobs said. 

The class takes aspects of Namjooning — such as visiting museums and reading books favored by RM, like Han Kang’s Human Acts — and pairs it with what Jacobs called “a component of quantitative reason.”

“Who’s gonna argue with the potential benefits of going to a museum? But is there any data to support that is actually good for you?” he said. “And the fact is that there is.” 

Jacobs pointed to a U.K. study conducted by researchers at King’s College London showing that the physiological effects on heart rate and cortisol levels “are much more dramatically improved if you go to an exhibit and look at a piece of art in person, compared to watching that same piece of art in a book or on a digital format”.

“Much has been written and said about the dangers in our current society of being tied to our phones,” he said. “I’m encouraged and impressed that BTS fandom would embrace aspects of Namjooning.” 

From RM-inspired art shows to places to read in parks and open spaces, keep reading for ideas for how to enjoy some Namjooning of your own around the Bay Area right now.

Yvette Wohn of New York, who goes by Kiru in art spaces, is the curator of this RM-inspired San Francisco exhibit that explores the idol as a performer and as an observer of art. The exhibit is only running for a few days through Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Little Raven Gallery near the SFMOMA.

“I really focused on artwork that is less about a literal depiction of his face, and more reflects the artist’s own emotions,” she said. “When I was selecting artwork for this exhibit, I tried to focus on artists who had their own distinctive style.”

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Her foray into these types of exhibits started during the COVID-19 pandemic: In Korea, there is a tradition where fans celebrate an artist’s birthday by, for example, taking out advertisement space with art and wishes.

During the pandemic, Wohn set up a digital museum of paintings and art of RM by fans, and over the weekend, thousands of people visited the website from all over the world. 

One of these online visitors was a teenage girl from a rural area in Vietnam who said this was her first time ever being in a museum space.

It gave Wohn the idea that fan art could be a bridge between the fine art world and people who haven’t yet had the chance to interact with it.

“For the majority of people, art is a very difficult and privileged domain that many people would not consider engaging in,” Wohn said. “When people are talking about Namjooning, I think RM has played a very major role in also lowering that barrier.” 

“In some ways I feel like art is the most universal of languages,” she said.

Hyatt, one of the Namjooning Collective organizers, is by day a library assistant at SFPL where she’s now coordinated two BTS fan exhibits — both on public display until January.

Hyatt said the Collective initially made the callout for submissions and received up to 300 entries from all over the world, from India and Poland to the United Kingdom and Ukraine.

The response was so positive that it led to these two exhibits: A collection of portraits of BTS “through ARMYs’ eyes” at the Western Addition SFPL branch and art at the Main Branch inspired by the release album Arirang, which is also the name of a traditional Korean folk song. 

The Main Branch’s display includes bright and bold graphic prints, intricate watercolors and physical vinyl album covers painted by fans. Several of these also represent their artists’ culture, said Hyatt, pointing to a cover sporting mehndi designs sent by a woman from India.

“Everything is very real in our world of ARMY in the circle, but it doesn’t feel a lot of times that that realness escapes that,” Hyatt said. “

To have it seen in the library, in a place like San Francisco, seeing it put in a physical place, it’s really, ‘Oh, you see what we’re about.’ ‘This is real, and thank you.’ It’s acknowledgment.”

SFPL also has more programming until Jan. 31 called “Ride the Hallyu Wave,” dedicated to celebrating Korean art and culture. In fact, this year marks the 50th anniversary of San Francisco and Seoul becoming sister cities.

Read more about these SFPL events exploring the Korean language, dance, film, art and local history and immigration to the Bay Area.

This free online school from Larkspur BTS fan Tida Beattie promises “a beginner-friendly fan guide to the artists, histories, and questions surrounding RM x SFMOMA.” Along with the online materials, there’s an in-person opportunity at the San Francisco Public Library on Nov. 7 to learn about artists Yves Klein Blue and Kwon Okyun Grey.

Beattie said that STURDY BRIDGE’s name is inspired by RM’s own words when announcing the SFMOMA exhibit: “My only hope is that this exhibition can be a small but sturdy bridge for many.”

“I was so struck by that turn of phrase,” said Beattie, who described her creation of this beginner’s art school as a way for fans to “meet his collection with thoughtfulness and intention, and not necessarily walk into the exhibit just kind of cold.” 

The organizers behind the Namjoon Collective recommend you check out a series of BTS-inspired murals for fans in Oakland, including:

• A display of V alongside Ohgane Korean BBQ 
• A mural depicting Jungkook and V at Judoku Sushi.

For those hoping to indulge in the nature and literary side of Namjooning, KQED has a thorough guide to the best literary spots in the Bay Area, featuring some of San Francisco’s best bookstores within walking distance of Golden Gate Park that include:

• Gardens of Golden Gate Park has its own bookstore in the park, near Lincoln Way and Ninth Avenue. The Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture is also nearby.
• Green Apple Books on the Park is around a minute walk from the Ninth Street entrance to Golden Gate Park.
• Borderlands Books (science fiction and fantasy focused) is around a 3-minute walk from the Stanyan Street entrance to Golden Gate Park.
• Blackbird Bookstore and Cafe is around a 6-minute walk from the closest entrance on Lincoln Way to Golden Gate Park.
• The Booksmith is around a 7-minute walk away from the closest entrance on Stanyan Street to Golden Gate Park.
• Globus Books is around a 7-minute walk away from the closest entrance on Fulton Street to Golden Gate Park.
• Bound Together Bookstore is around an 11-minute walk from the closest entrance on Stanyan Street to Golden Gate Park — but is just around the corner from Buena Vista Park, too.

In case you’re hoping to grab a group of friends to recreate BTS’s own photo opp in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, keep in mind that Golden Gate Park is not super walkable from the Golden Gate Bridge — and is more like a 10-minute drive.

Check out the full list of San Francisco bookstores near the city’s parks.

Not quite Namjooning but still very relevant for fans: At Sports Basement in San Ramon on Sunday, Oct. 4, there’ll be vendors, a watch party for that night’s Los Angeles concert and freebie trading for BTS fans. The event will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

And if you are looking to partake in a little bit of shopping, there are a lot of K-Pop-themed stores throughout the Bay Area, including: 

• KPOP NARA in San Francisco
• Moonlly Fashion in San Francisco
• K-Pop Nation in Oakland
• 12KST Shop in Concord
• Confetti K-Pop in San Leandro
• Kloud K-Pop in San José