A bus stop 3 hours outside Seoul, an iconic BTS album cover, and finding reconciliation with my teenage self

• The famous BTS bus stop is featured on the cover of BTS's album "You Never Walk Alone."
• The bus stop is a replica built in 2018 by Gangneung City Hall to promote K-pop tourism.
• The writer traveled 3 hours to visit the BTS bus stop in the summer of 2023. 

It's the year 2017. K-Pop megastar BTS has just dropped the album of the year "You Never Walk Alone," and its title track "Spring Day" is playing on virtually every speaker and radio station. A sense of longing permeates the space whenever the song is on, and it feels like the soundtrack of my life as someone struggling with her imminent transition into adulthood.

Even back then, I never called myself an "ARMY" — the official name for a BTS fan — as I always felt like the title carried too much weight. But having listened to and watched BTS in my significant years of teenage development, all seven members of the band hold a special place in my heart. 

And so I've partaken in a couple of fan-related activities during my three trips to South Korea. In the winter of 2015, I bought my first few BTS albums in a small underground records store at Myeongdong station. And in the spring of 2019, I bought a few more for my younger brother, who had just recently become an ARMY.

Most recently, in the hot summer of 2023 at 23 years old, my five-day trip to Gangwon Province served as the perfect chance to visit the famous BTS bus stop featured on the "You Never Walk Alone" album cover.

The funny thing is, BTS never went to the BTS bus stop.

While doing some research before my trip, I discovered that the bus stop that currently sits at Jumunjin Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, is a replica built by Gangneung City Hall in 2018 — a year after the album's release — per The JoongAng. 

And the sole purpose of the replica was to serve as a photo spot for BTS fans and tourists, per The JoongAng.

In 2019, over a million foreigners visited South Korea specifically to consume goods and experiences related to K-Pop, according to a tourism industry analysis report by the state-run Korea Tourism Organization, per Yonhap. 

Though the location is indeed the spot where the shooting of BTS' album cover took place, the seven singers have never set foot in the bus stop that fans currently flock to every year.

Regardless, the iconic bus stop is just one of many BTS pilgrimage destinations that local governments have popularized as a form of "BTS place marketing," per The Korea Times.

Another spot is the Maengbang Beach in Samcheok City, Gangwon Province, featured in the album art for BTS' hit single "Butter." The photo-zone comprises a replica of the shooting set — bright orange beach umbrellas and colorful striped beach chairs set against a blue sea backdrop. As well as Dae Jang Geum Park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the music video shooting location for BTS' Suga's second mixtape "Daechwita." Built in 2005, it's the largest outdoor historical film set in South Korea, featuring historical buildings from various periods of Korean history.

The bus stop is almost three hours away from the center of Seoul.

There are several ways to get to the bus stop. But according to Naver Maps — a popular navigation tool in South Korea — the fastest route from Seoul Station takes around three hours. 

It involves a two-hour ride on the Korea Train Express from Seoul Station to Gangneung Station for about $21, then a transfer onto a one-hour bus ride to Jumunjin Beach's nearest bus stop. At the bus stop, there's a blue sign directing visitors to the BTS bus stop.

When we arrived, there were already other fans waiting to take pictures at the bus stop.

To the unaware, it would've been quite the sight. 

In the middle of nowhere sat a plain-looking bus stop by the beach, and around it stood small groups of people with their phones out, excitedly snapping pictures of the bus stop. 

We went on a Monday to avoid the crowd, and fortunately, the wait was short before we took a few — or maybe more than just a few — commemorative photos at the bus stop. 

The weather was thankfully cooperative. It had been scorching hot or raining non-stop the previous week, so we considered ourselves lucky for the occasional breeze.

Though it's just an ordinary bus stop — also rather inconvenient to get to — I'm still glad I made the trip.

Some may not see the appeal in a three-hour trip to some random bus stop just to take pictures, but my friends and I all felt a sense of contentment. Despite the heat and trouble, none of us regretted going.

Although it's just a plain bus stop, it represents something special in the hearts of every BTS fan. For some, it stands for the happiness BTS has brought to their lives. For others, it symbolizes hope for their dreams and aspirations.

For me, it was a reconciliation with my younger, afraid self — the 17-year-old who was filled with apprehension for the future. 

Both back then and now, BTS' "Spring Day" provided a sense of much-needed comfort, promising listeners that better days are ahead, as "no darkness, no season can last forever."