Elderly BTS Enthusiast Starts Korean Culture Blog
In March 2025, the editors of 59.RU met a woman from Perm who became a fan of the South Korean boy band BTS at age 64 — the popular group helped Irina Chirkova cope with her mother«s death. Now Irina is 67, and over three years, her interest in the K-pop group has grown into a great love for South Korea itself and an even bigger dream to travel there — this autumn, the Perm woman managed to make it happen. Besides that, the retiree created her own chat — there she communicates with like-minded people, shares interesting facts about Korea and recipes that she uses herself.
The South Korean group BTS was formed in 2013 by the music label BigHit, which is now part of the large conglomerate Hybe Entertainment. After a long training period, seven boys joined the group: Kim Seok-jin (Jin), Kim Nam-joon (RM), Min Yoon-gi (Suga), Jung Ho-seok (J-Hope), Park Ji-min, Kim Tae-hyung (V), and Jeon Jung-kook. In Korea, the group gained popularity in 2015–2016, and then began to conquer the world.
In 2018, the group received the Order of Cultural Merit from the President of Korea. The youngest member is 28 years old, the oldest is 32. Since 2022, the members have been undergoing mandatory military service in Korea, but in the summer of 2025, they returned to musical activities.
Irina Chirkova worked at TPP-14 for 26 years and has been retired for a long time. The Perm woman is married, has three adult children and three grandchildren; her youngest daughter, who is 25, is currently pregnant. Irina learned about BTS in 2022 by chance: videos with the group started appearing in her social media feeds. Gradually, the Perm woman learned more about the musicians: she listened to their songs, watched their music videos, TV shows, interviews, and concert broadcasts.
Irina managed to fulfill her dream in October 2025 — she took a two-week tour to South Korea. With a small group, she visited five cities: Seoul, Sokcho, Busan, Jeonju, and Suwon. The Perm woman tried on a real Korean hanbok (traditional dress), walked through the courtyard of Gyeongbokgung Palace, climbed Mount Seoraksan, and even left a gift from Perm in a cafe owned by the father of one of the BTS members — Jimin.
After the March article by 59.RU, Irina was contacted by Perm ARMY — the name for the group«s fandom that organizes events dedicated to BTS. Thus, Irina attended BTS Festa — a celebration dedicated to the anniversary of the group»s debut. Moreover, with the help of new acquaintances, Irina created her own small chat blog, naming it «Fan of South Korea».
Initially, the blog was created so that Irina could conveniently share with all her acquaintances how her trip to Korea was going. Gradually, the Perm woman began sharing facts about Korea, greeting in Korean, and sharing Korean recipes that she tries herself. Now, there are 58 people in Irina«s chat.
So Irina started posting recipes, but she began trying Korean cuisine even before the blog appeared. Of course, first she made kimchi — fermented spicy cabbage. Irina notes that neither she nor her husband eat very spicy food, but the kimchi was very liked by her children, especially her youngest daughter and her husband. For herself, the Perm woman sometimes makes various versions of ramyeon — Korean instant noodles. Unlike the usual kind, it is boiled, not just poured with boiling water. Irina adds cheese, boiled or fried eggs, and dressings.
In her chat blog, Irina has already posted recipes for pickled daikon, gimbap (Korean rice rolls), and rice balls. She records her experiments on video to show the cooking process step by step — they turn out long, 20 and 30 minutes. But she admits that not everything turns out perfectly — for example, in the first batch of gimbap, she forgot to add pickled daikon, and the famous Korean crispy chicken didn«t work out for her the first time.
«I»ve only just started trying to do this,« says Irina. »On my own, as they say, at my own risk. I tried to make Korean crispy chicken, it didn«t work out, but I understood my mistakes and want to try again. But in principle, these are still just my first steps. But I want to continue.»
The small community that has formed around Irina supports her very much. The girls and women in the chat always sincerely thank the Perm woman for an interesting fact about Korea, a story about a trip, or a new recipe. Irina is very pleased with their support — it gives a lot of motivation.
«Even if a few people write that they like something, find something interesting, I»m satisfied,« shares the Perm woman.
Irina plans to continue running her chat blog and is thinking about making a full-fledged Telegram channel. In her distant plans is another trip to Korea, and in the near future — a trip to her youngest daughter in Krasnodar. Soon, Irina will have a fourth grandchild, and she wants to be with her daughter at that moment.
Earlier, we spoke with three Perm fans of K-pop — they told why this genre captivated them.
