BTS, LINE FRIENDS and eight characters they drew themselves
Not mascots modelled on idols, but the idols’ own drawings. Seven characters from seven musicians — and an eighth for the fans.
Crayons, not avatars
Most K-pop star merchandise works the same way: a designer takes an idol’s face, shrinks it and rounds it off. BT21 came about the other way round. In September 2017, LINE FRIENDS — the company known for its LINE messenger stickers starring Brown the bear — invited BTS to its new FRIENDS CREATORS project. The band spent a day at the LINE FRIENDS store, and each member drew a character of his own: its look, its personality, its favourite things, even what it can’t stand.
LINE FRIENDS designers refined the sketches, but the ideas remained the members’ own. The whole process can be seen in the video series Making of BT21, in which the musicians show one another their drawings and — as bandmates do — instantly become each other’s critics.
Why 21
The name was Suga’s suggestion. He felt the characters should connect BTS with the 21st century — so that they could live on for the next hundred years. Hence BT + 21. A curious detail: officially, the BT21 characters have no gender.
Not miniature idols, but their imagination rendered in plush — which is precisely why fans recognise their favourites in them.
The prince from planet BT
BT21 has a story of its own. Tata, a prince from planet BT, travels through space with the robot Van and crash-lands on Earth. Enchanted by the stars he sees here, he decides to form a band of his own. One by one he recruits Koya, RJ, Shooky, Mang, Chimmy and Cooky — together they want to become the greatest stars in the universe: UNIVERSTAR.
Who drew whom
From stickers to a universe
BT21 stickers arrived on LINE in October 2017 and were downloaded eight million times straight away. Then came plush toys, LINE FRIENDS stores in Asia and the US, pop-ups, animations and brand collaborations around the world. In 2022 LINE FRIENDS changed its name to IPX — and BT21 remains its most important IP.
For collectors, BT21 is a rare case: a pop-culture character with a genuine artist’s hand behind it — except that the artist is a musician, not an illustrator.
BT21 pieces are waiting for you at our store — find your favourite.
See the products →Read also: Cinnamoroll · Kuromi · Follow: BT21