1: Familiarize yourself with each member first

​

If you're a new ARMY, you should familiarize yourself with each member first (their names, their faces, their overall personality, etc.). Doing so will help you better understand the overall story of BU later on. Even though the BU characters' background stories and personalities may not be correlated or necessarily match the boys' personalities and stories in real life, the BTS Universe does still reflect some aspects of the boys in real life in regards to certain traits and characteristics. Once you have familiarized yourself with each member, it will also become a lot easier to understand who does what, and what happens to each member in different MVs.

​

​

2: Watch every MV in order

​

The best way to start understanding and learning about the BTS Universe and storyline is definitely by watching the MVs! We suggest that you go on YouTube and watch this "Every BTS MV in order" playlist and watch each MV at least 2-3 times. It's very difficult to catch every little detail in an MV just by watching it once, so the more you watch an MV, the more unexpected little details you might discover later on! (Please note that not every single BTS MV is related to the BTS Universe. Only MVs with "BU content certified by Big Hit Entertainment" written under the MV in the description box officially a part of the BTS Universe. Any MV that has not been BU content certified, can only be speculated as a part of the BTS Universe.

​

​

3: Read 'HYYH The Notes' and 'SAVE ME' Webtoon

​

'The Notes 1' book contains most of the contents from The Notes included in albums (excluding Map of the Soul: Persona & 7 notes) in chronological order. *If you would like access to PDF versions of The Notes 1 (in English or Spanish), please DM us via Twitter*. Please note that 'The Notes' is not finished yet. So far only part 1 of The Notes have been released. Part 2 will be released somewhere in the near future. 'SAVE ME' Webtoon is an online comic series created by BigHit and released in 2019, which essentially portrays the BU storyline in the form of comic episodes. (*Trigger Warning: The webtoon contains images of blood, mentions of death, suicide, depression, and various mental illnesses*)

 

The webtoon comic episodes helps to reveal different answers and aspects of the BTS Universe that had previously been merely speculations or theories. (Disclaimer: It is important to note that certain events that are portrayed in The Notes, SAVE ME webtoons, and the MVs may vary slightly from one another. This is due to the fact that every time Jin travels back in time, a different sequence of timeline occurs depending on the actions he makes).

​

​

4: Watch VCRs from different tours and award shows

​

If you really want to enhance your theorizing experience and gain more understanding and knowledge about BU, we suggest that you refer to the "Every BTS Tour & Award Show VCR" section of this website. There are always certain hints and new information displayed throughout the concert VCRs, which is always very helpful for any theorists looking to gain a deeper understanding of the BTS universe and storyline!
 

​

5: Read BTS suggested books

​

Want to go one step further? We suggest that you read the books that we've listed in our "Book List" section of this website. Each book that we've listed have in one way or another been referenced in certain MVs or short films. These books can help you better understand the psychological aspects and references behind the BTS universe and storyline.

​

​

6. Organize your theories

​

Once you've started making your own theories, it's important to organize them! No matter where you post or write your theories, no matter if it's on paper, online, etc., remember to archive all of your theories in a folder, or bookmark certain theories you know are especially important to you! This way when you want to find a specific theory you've made before later on, you can easily find it.

​

​

7. Read other ARMYs' theories

​

Reading other ARMYs' theories can open your mind to new ideas and theories! Often times, we've found that reading other ARMYs' theories or discussing different theories with other ARMYs can really help establish your own ideas and theories. Sometimes you might have a writers' block while trying to come up with a theory, but perhaps once you read someone else's theory or discuss your idea with someone else, it can help break your writers' block.

​

​

8. Additional research

​

The last thing you should do, if you really want to make some mind-blowing theories, is to do additional research outside of the information already provided to you by BigHit through MVs, highlight reels, etc.. Some things, such as understanding the human psyche, understanding the difference between certain psychological terms and ideas referenced throughout BTS' MVs, requires additional online or in-person research. If you ever want to understand more about the psychological aspect of BU, we suggest that you listen to Laura London's podcast,
"Speaking of Jung" on Spotify.