"I Was in a Fairy Tale": 67-Year-Old BTS Fan from Perm Makes Dream Trip to South Korea
Irina Chirkova is a 67-year-old woman from Perm who is literally in love with South Korea, its culture and music, an interest sparked by the K-pop group BTS. Three years ago, the popular boy band helped Irina cope with grief after her mother«s death, and now she not only enjoys their music but is also learning Korean and has even started a small blog. In March of this year, Irina shared her big dream with 59.RU—to travel to South Korea. Recently, that dream came true. We spoke with Irina about how her trip went and what has changed in her life over these months.
The South Korean group BTS was assembled in 2013 by the music label BigHit, now part of the large conglomerate Hybe Entertainment. After a long training period, the group included seven young men: 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. The group gained popularity in Korea in 2015–2016 and then began conquering the world.
Fell in Love with BTS and Changed Her Image
Once, in the comments of our Telegram channel, Irina Chirkova shared that she loves the South Korean group BTS, even though she herself is already a retiree—that«s how our 59.RU correspondent met her. We spoke with Irina, learned more about her and her passion, and wrote an article that sparked a lively response from other fans like her—the post about the Perm woman gathered over 100 comments. It turned out many had similar stories—the work of the young Korean group helped them cope with loss, find themselves after retirement…
Back then, Irina was 66, and now she has turned 67. She has been retired for a long time but worked part-time in a clothing store. Irina is married and has three adult children: a son and two daughters—the youngest is now 25—and three grandchildren. Irina discovered BTS in 2022 by chance: videos of the group started popping up in her social media feeds.
«They showed up I don»t remember where, either on TikTok or YouTube,« Irina shared. »But I remember very well that I was struck by their incredible dancing, how they moved. And their beauty. And I remember Jungkook in a beautiful blue suit… But at first, I was very shy to talk about them.«
At first, Irina, of course, had no idea who these guys were, so she asked her younger daughter—the girl helped her find more information. That«s how the retiree learned that the handsome dancing boys she had stumbled upon online by fate»s will were the South Korean group BTS. Since then, Irina began learning more about the musicians: listening to their songs, watching their music videos, TV shows, interviews, and concert broadcasts.
The Perm woman began studying Korean, watching Korean TV dramas, learning about Korean culture, and cooking Korean dishes. At first, Irina was shy about telling her family about her sudden passion, but later confessed—her relatives were understanding. Her younger daughter even suggested she start her own blog.
Helped Her Cope
BTS had a big influence on the Perm woman«s life, but most importantly—they helped Irina cope with the loss of her mother. Her mother was ill for a long time, was hospitalized due to a stroke, and lived with her daughter for a year and a half so Irina could care for her. In September 2022, Irina»s mother passed away. It was a very difficult time for our protagonist.
«Mom went to the hospital in June, and that»s when I had some kind of peak [of stress],« Irina shared. »And I lived only for them, distracted myself with them. I even sometimes felt guilty that my mom was suffering, and I was watching BTS, being happy. My conscience was eating at me.«
Amid her passion for BTS and specifically for Jungkook, who became her «bias» (favorite member of the group), Irina decided to change her image. She dyed her hair, shaved a side of her head, got an eyebrow piercing, and got several tattoos. And a trip to Korea became a big dream for her, for which she started saving money.
Grand Tour of Korea
In the six months that passed since our first meeting with Irina, not much has changed in her life, she says, but there is some news. After the 59.RU article, Perm«s ARMY—the name for the group»s fandom that organizes events dedicated to BTS—contacted Irina. That«s how Irina attended BTS Festa—a celebration dedicated to the anniversary of the group»s debut.
«You could say something else is going to happen soon,» Irina shares with a smile. «In January, I»m going to Krasnodar to my youngest daughter—she«s going to give birth. So I»ll have a fourth, the youngest grandson, from my youngest daughter.«
And the third piece of news, which the Perm woman shared enthusiastically: her dream came true—she traveled to South Korea in October 2025. Irina prepared for the trip in advance: six months prior, she found and paid for a tour and obtained permission to enter the country. This cost $3,000—which included booking and payment for hotels, transfers, and subway fares. From Perm, she flew to Moscow, from Moscow to Beijing, and from Beijing to Seoul. The flight with all connections was paid separately from the tour.
Irina created a small chat-blog, calling it «Fan of South Korea.» There she communicates with other fans of the group and Korea, shares facts she«s learned—even greets people in Korean. In this chat, the woman recounted how her trip was going.
The group Irina traveled with was small—only six people including the organizer. And all of them were women. The retiree shared that she quickly found common ground with her travel companions.
«All the girls were very nice, good,» says Irina. «They treated me very well, with understanding. I immediately said we could use the informal »you.« And it was just very comfortable, good.»
The group visited five cities: Seoul, Sokcho, Busan, Jeonju, and Suwon. Of course, the journey began in the South Korean capital, Seoul. The tour organizer, Saida, met Irina and the girls and showed them how to use the transport card and Seoul«s subway.
A Visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace
In Seoul, Irina visited one of the city«s main attractions—the Gyeongbokgung palace complex. This is the main and largest palace of the Joseon Dynasty. Irina shares that you can get in for free if you wear traditional clothing (hanbok), and her group already had a photoshoot in hanboks planned on the palace grounds. The girls went to a rental shop to pick out outfits.
«They picked out hanboks for the girls,» recalls the Perm woman. «And they ran into the issue that I, well, am large. Korean women are all slender. Especially the little, thin grandmothers. And while they were picking for the girls, a man approached me, apparently the senior person in that shop. He looked at me and immediately told someone to find my size. And they found me a pink skirt—took me to the fitting room and helped me dress. They even did hairstyles for the girls, but my hair is short. But they picked out a beautiful hairpin for me.»
In the palace, Irina shares, there were many people in traditional Korean clothing—of different races, cultures, and religions. While their group was having their photoshoot, the Perm woman noticed an elderly Korean couple. They, of course, were also in hanboks, and Irina couldn«t help but note that they looked as if they had stepped right out of a historical K-drama.
Much of the trip consisted of walks. Irina shares that they walked a lot—through Seoul, its center, shops, and little streets. They also had a picnic on the Hangang River flowing through the city. The Perm woman noticed that Koreans calmly sit on essentially any surface when there are no benches nearby—curbs, grass, stones.
The tour program also included three full meals a day, but Irina shares that, despite the active schedule, they barely sufficed for two visits to cafes and restaurants each day. But the Perm woman notes she did try the must-have dishes: ramyeon, fried chicken, so-tteok (rice cake skewers), bungeo-ppang (fish-shaped pastry), and also visited establishments with traditional Korean barbecue—samgyeopsal (pork belly).
Incident on Mount Seoraksan
The next stop on the journey was the city of Sokcho. There, Irina and the group were only for one day—they returned to Seoul for the night. In Sokcho, they visited Seoraksan National Park and climbed the mountain of the same name. Irina recalls that she let the other girls go ahead and asked them not to wait for her—the ascent was steep and the retiree was aware of her capabilities. Although in conversation with our correspondent, she noted that many elderly Koreans go hiking.
«I was struggling, I was fighting, I wanted to climb, but I did manage about one and a half thousand steps,» shares Irina. «But it»s not just steps, there are also passages, bridges. At some point, I felt my head starting to spin, my heart was about to jump out, I looked and saw I was really close. But then there were such steep steps ahead… I realized I wouldn«t make it. There»s no point, as they say, in playing the hero.«
Irina warned the girls in the group chat that she would be descending. When the Perm woman started her way down, locals apparently noticed she wasn«t feeling well—one man offered Irina a bottle of water. The retiree refused, showing she had her own, but thanked him in broken English. Descending further, Irina fell and twisted her ankle.
«I needed to sit for a bit to understand what was what,» says the Perm woman. «I got up, of course, my foot hurt, but I understood it was nothing serious, that I had apparently sprained it a little. I continued to slowly descend. But I didn»t tell my group anything, so as not to worry them.«
But the girls, of course, noticed Irina«s foot was swollen and told the tour organizer, Saida. They offered to take Irina to a hospital, but she refused. For the rest of the trip, Irina used a special stabilizing bandage. The retiree shares that due to frequent walks and the generally very packed schedule, her foot couldn»t really rest—only at night during sleep. Irina limped a little but managed.
A Gift for Park Ji-min from Perm
The next stop on the journey was Busan—a major resort city in Korea on the coast of the East Sea. The group was there for three days. During this time, another girl, Angelina, who also turned out to be a BTS fan, joined the travelers. The girl wanted to visit the cafe owned by the father of one of the boy band members—Park Ji-min. He is from Busan, as is Jeon Jung-kook—Irina«s bias.
The Perm woman decided to go with Angelina. Even though a visit to this cafe wasn«t on the program, Irina still hoped to go there, and therefore bought a small souvenir from Perm—ARMY has a tradition of bringing gifts to this cafe. The retiree brought a small bell in the shape of a teapot, painted with a girl in a kokoshnik (traditional Russian headdress) and the word »Perm.«
«When we approached the cafe, we saw the remains of large bouquets at the entrance that had been brought for Jimin»s birthday (October 13), « Irina recounts. »Of course, there was some nervousness when we entered. Inside, a table with gifts stood like an altar. The only thing is, they clearly don«t tidy it up, but that»s okay. I took out my gift, wrote a note. And now my personal souvenir is in that cafe.«
Irina shared that among the cafe«s decorations were group merchandise, a painting of Jimin, and awards. The Perm woman bought herself a cookie in a jar with the cafe»s logo, to have something as a keepsake. In Busan, the group also visited one of the Buddhist temples.
During the trip, Irina and her companions visited two more small cities, Jeonju and Suwon. Jeonju is also a resort and port city—in the nearby village, there are many fishing shops. There, Irina tried bungeo-ppang—a fish-shaped pastry with sweet red bean paste inside. It«s a classic Asian dessert.
Irina calls Suwon a very cozy city—small, calm, with lots of souvenir shops and workshops. There, the company visited Hwaseong Fortress.
Future Plans
Irina returned to Perm via a slightly different route. From Seoul to Tashkent, from there to Moscow, and from Moscow to Perm. A month after the trip, the Perm woman is still under the impression and says she is already planning to go to Korea again.
«In a word, I was in a fairy tale,» says Irina.
She is already looking at options for a second trip but plans to arrange it so that her peers can go with her—that way they can all walk at their own pace.
Earlier, we spoke with three K-pop fans from Perm—they told us why they were drawn to this genre (and it«s not just about handsome boys).
