Whether you’re a fan of BTS or not, you might have already seen these adorable characters everywhere. Starting from stickers on messenger apps, to merchandise like dolls, pillow, pajamas, and so much more. The characters were born back in late September 2017, when BTS joined LINE Friends’ Creators initiative, a project where the brand works with global artists on characters and product ideas. You can find the video of BTS designing the characters below (total 13 episodes):
If you have finished watching all of the episodes, you must have already felt familiar with the character, but if you’re not, don’t worry because this article will give you an introduction to BT21 characters!
Meet TATA
Tata is a huge heart-headed character that is said to be an alien which can change its body into anything. His limbs can bend and stretch into weird lengths and shapes. It’s a character that V has been imagining for a while. He said he wanted the character to be unique but still have cute characteristics. Tata is known to be very curious.
Meet MANG!
Mang is a character made by J-Hope. He is a horse that can dance like a pro. However, he keeps his face hidden by wearing a mask. He has a heart-shaped nose, because J-Hope’s lips form a heart when he laughs. In addition, Mang’s name can be interpreted into several meanings in Korean. Although the other members teased J-Hope about it because it can be understood as ‘a horse’, ‘to fail’, J-hope believed that it’s derived from the latter part of the word ‘hope’ which is huimang.
Meet CHIMMY!
Chimmy is the cheerful and passionate puppy in yellow hoodie that is supposed to represent the band’s overall image, according to Jimin. He said “The animal that goes best with BTS is a puppy,” “We love to hang out, and we’re active, which reminds people of puppies.” Jimin also commented that Chimmy’s chubby cheeks is intended because that’s how he looked like when BTS first debuted. He also added that Chimmy always tries hard at everything just like himself.
Meet RJ!
RJ is an alpaca who often wears a parka, because he easily gets cold. The other members said that Jin looks like an alpaca, especially when he eats, which is why Jin is inspired to create RJ. Jin mentioned that RJ is super kind and also polite. RJ name comes from the abbrevation of AL (ar –> R) paca and J from Jin.
Meet Koya!
Koya, created by RM, is a blue koala who likes to sleep. RM wants to add unique ability to this cute koala so he made Koya to be able to remove his ears. Koya also has a purple nose because V once made a comment that purple represents love, which is why BTS now often says “I Purple You” instead of “I Love You”.
Meet Cooky!
Jungkook created Cooky as a rabbit with that resembles himself. Just like Jungkook who is known for his love of working out to maintain his six-pack, Cooky also works out a lot and Jungkook said imagines that when he gets angry, Cooky will transform into a huge bunny with muscles. In his original sketches, Jungkook drew a rabbit with a six-pack. He also wanted Cooky to have obsession with cookie so that the name mataches.
Meet Shooky!
Shooky is inspired by Jungkook’s Cooky. Suga created Shooky as a cookie with a strong attitude. He’s friends with Cooky although Cooky often times wants to eat him. Shooky hates milk because people eat cookies with Milk. Originally, Suga drew his dog, Holly, but it looked too similar to other characters. Jin especially said that Suga copied his drawing. Thus, Suga drew lots of different expressions inspired by Holly instead and voila Shooky was born!
Meet Van!
This character is created by LINE Friends’ designers. It is a space robot that protects BT21, and it’s said to represent ARMY. Now that you got to know everyone, which one is your favorite character? Let us know!
