BT21 collection, co-produced by BTS and Line Corp., the Japanese subsidiary of Korea's biggest portal Naver, is witnessing an explosive growth in less than a year since its launch.

While BT21 may seem like eight fluffs of pure cutness on the outside, one should be careful not to underestimate the fictitious octet's star power.

Mang, Tata, Chimmy, Cooky, RJ, Shooky, Koya and Van have become some of the hottest names anywhere since their debut in September last year, landing projects with wide-ranging industry giants from Facebook to Converse to, behold, Incheon Airport. 

South Korea’s biggest airport operator announced its decision to embrace BT21 as the airport’s official promoters on July 10, a joint project which the airport corporation called “a historic collaboration with the very best names in the world.”

Some even say the avatars of the K-pop kings are just as big of stars as their creators.

Here’s how BT21 made the most of the preflight experience, as documented in videos by the airport for all of us to follow.


BT21's adventures at Korea's biggest airport

Tata and Cooky first decided they’d unburden themselves at the bag drop area. Incheon Airport’s self-service bag drop-off system was easy to operate even for these tiny fellas, although they did get some help from a kind lady.

Mang picked up the airport's transit tour brochure and glimpsed through it with Tata before the fun could begin -- you have to know your stuff before you can enjoy it.

RJ and Chimmy dined fancy at Villa de Charlotte, an Italian restaurant on the fourth floor of Terminal 2’s Center of Public Area.

One of RJ’s lasting passions is his love of food. The gourmet alpaca opted for Korean traditional tea to complement his Italian lunch. An unorthodox choice, but fancy nonetheless.

Koya caught up on some much-needed sleep with a nap at the Relax Zone, where passengers can unwind after a long-haul flight.

At the observatory, Cooky and Chimmy went for a virtual reality ride after enjoying the view of planes landing and taking off through the glass wall overlooking the runway.
Tata had the time of his life duty-free shopping, hanging at the Gucci shop -- one of his favorites -- just an extra bit longer.

Where are these superstars headed? The Korea Herald will keep you posted on BT21’s journey.

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)