For many K-pop fandoms, celebrating their favorite K-pop idol’s birthday is one of the year’s most important events.

And BTS fandom “Army” is unlike any other. In celebration of V’s upcoming birthday, his fans went beyond, showering him with fan letters and pricey gifts, they also ran a global project to support endangered tigers.

On Wednesday, local media reported that BTS fans have been joining a relay project of making donations to the World Wide Fund for Nature in order to aid tigers in crisis.

It has been said that fans decided on the animal as the tiger is the BTS member’s spirit animal. V once identified the tiger as his favorite animal for the resemblance of character, and he often uses tiger emojis on social media.




Twitter soon overflowed with screenshots of certificates fans had received from the organization after making donations, while the WWF also released an official certificate to thank V and his supportive fans.

It read, “WWF would like to thank Kim Tae-hyung (V’s real name). You’re helping WWF to protect the future of wild tigers and to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges facing our natural world today. Thank you.”

Earlier this month, Peruvian BTS fans also adopted a 3-month old alpaca in celebration of Jin’s birthday and named it “RJ,” the character of BT21 that represents Jin, through a ceremony held in Cusco.

V turns 23 on Dec. 30.

By Hong Dam-young (lotus@heraldcorp.com)