Although we all know that people in North Korea have very little access to K-pop. However, in recent years, K-pop groups like BTS are still well-known in this country, and they are even so popular that they have their own nicknames to evade the government.

Not only that, but some North Koreans mistook one of the BTS members for a real North Korean. Here is the Korean people's own explanation for this fun fact:

Currently, in North Korea, there are squads that specialize in checking everything related to the Hallyu wave to prevent access to Korean culture. However, in some ways Kpop or BTS fans have found a way to satisfy their passion for music and then more people in North Korea know about BTS.

However, when people in North Korea first started liking BTS, they didn't have a lot of material to study about the group, so there was even a misconception about the origin of BTS members in the country. It's even so popular that even South Koreans know this North Korean folktale.

In an episode of AYO's “Comment Defenders” series, North Korean defectors Kang Nara and Park Yoo Sung were invited to talk about Hallyu and BTS in North Korea. In it, they answered a question from a netizen who asked them if North Koreans have the impression that BTS is a performance team from their country.

The comment originally is that: "In North Korea, do people think BTS is a performing team of North Korea? Well, if you think about it, both ‘bulletproof’ and ‘boy scouts’ sound like war and military."

Park Yoo Sung explained that when BTS’s popularity was rising, many people believed that there was a member who came from the North: "In North Korea, when BTS first came out, many people said, ‘There must be a member from North Korea’ or ‘The person who produced BTS must be from North Korea‘."

Kang Nara agreed, further explaining that North Koreans often say “bulletproof”, which is a part of BTS’s name. She said that: "In North Korea, people would say words like ‘bulletproof’ a lot. Also, there’s Chosun Boy Scouts in North Korea, so it might come off that way. It sounds friendly."

Knowing how familiar the term “bulletproof” is to North Koreans, it isn’t very surprising that some would think BTS is from their country!

Not only that, this is also the way BTS fans in North Korea use to call BTS by name to bypass the government in North Korea. A fan in North Korea once shared that: "BTS is very popular in North Korea. They don't call it 'Bulletproof Boy Scouts' but often call it 'Bulletproof'. They will ask each other: " Have you tried the Bulletproof Backpack?" This is a way for people to talk to each other about listening to BTS's music."

Many ARMYs were surprised to learn that Koreans gave the Big Hit boy group a "alias" to bypass the North Korean government. People are even interested in BTS's popularity in this country but people have misunderstandings about the group's origins. It seems that the relationship between the two Koreas and the ban can't stop the heat of BTS from spreading to North Korea.

Watch the full video here: AYO‘s “Comment Defenders”