💜 An Important Update to Our BTS LA ARMY Community
What Happened to Our Previously Announced ARMY STOP Near SoFi Stadium
Hi ARMY,
This is James from K-ONESHOP.
Some longtime ARMY may remember me from COKOYAM during the 2021 BTS SoFi concerts.
Before anything else, I’m also a 10-year ARMY Grandpa. 💜
With BTS returning to Los Angeles in 2026, I wanted to create something special for fellow ARMY near SoFi Stadium.
Not simply a place to sell products.
I wanted to create an ARMY STOP — a place where fans could meet each other, take photos, share freebies, enjoy Korean food and drinks, rest for a while, and make another special memory before and after the concerts.
Unfortunately, we now need to share an important update about the location we previously announced.
Our planned ARMY STOP at the 7-Eleven near SoFi Stadium will no longer move forward.
Because many ARMY have already seen, saved, and shared the original announcement, we believe simply deleting the information without explaining what happened would not be right.
So we want to share the story clearly.
💜 Some of You May Remember COKOYAM from 2021
Some longtime ARMY may remember the name COKOYAM from the 2021 BTS concerts at SoFi Stadium.
During those unforgettable days, I was involved in creating a BTS-related Korean-culture experience near SoFi, where we met many ARMY and shared merchandise, Korean snacks, displays, photos, and the excitement surrounding the concerts.
The response from ARMY was incredible.
People came from different cities, states, and countries. They stopped to shop, take photos, talk about BTS, discover Korean snacks, and simply enjoy being around other ARMY.
Those are memories I still remember today.
But behind those wonderful memories, 2021 was also a very difficult business experience for us.
We provided products, staffing, displays, preparation, and significant operational support.
One of the major problems involved checkout.
The POS/scanner setup we had expected to use was not available as planned by 7-11, and eventually we had to rely on our own phone-based online checkout system to continue serving customers.
Despite the tremendous customer traffic, our side ultimately lost money on the project.
After the event, I later visited the location because I wanted to review the sales information and better understand the final numbers.
During that visit, the situation became unexpectedly uncomfortable.
I was told to leave the property and was warned that the police would be called if I did not leave.
That was a difficult experience, especially after the products, staffing, displays, and effort we had contributed.
At the time, I was simply trying to understand the sales information related to the event.
💜 So Why Did We Agree to Try Again in 2026?
That is a fair question.
If the 2021 experience had been so difficult, why would we consider working together again five years later?
Because this time, 7-11 store owner contacted us first.
He acknowledged the previous experience and apologized.
He also understood that while the store had benefited significantly from the heavy event traffic in 2021, our side had not had the same financial outcome.
Because of what had happened before, we understood that it may not have been easy for him to approach us again.
Still, he reached out and proposed that we work together for the 2026 BTS Los Angeles concerts under a more normal and structured business arrangement.
Unlike our previous experience in 2021, this time we agreed from the beginning to clearly separate our respective roles and responsibilities, with each side responsible for carrying out its own agreed portion of the project. Our side would serve as a product supplier/vendor while also separately planning, organizing, and managing the ARMY-related event activities, with the proceeds shared according to the agreed terms.
We appreciated the apology and the willingness to approach the project differently. More importantly, just as we had hoped to do in 2021, we once again felt that this could be a meaningful opportunity to provide something genuinely helpful and convenient for fellow ARMY during the concert days — a place to stop by, rest, meet other fans, enjoy food and drinks, pick up concert essentials, and share the excitement before and after the shows.
For us, once again, creating that kind of welcoming and convenient space for ARMY became one of the biggest reasons to move forward with the project.
And beyond the business side, we remembered the ARMY we had met in 2021.
That mattered to us.
So we decided to give the idea another chance.
And beyond the business side, we remembered the ARMY we had met in 2021.
That mattered to us.
So we decided to give the idea another chance.
💜 We Reached an Agreement — and Immediately Started Working
After discussing the operation, responsibilities, and business structure, we reached an agreement to move forward.
Once that happened, we did not simply sit and wait.
We immediately began preparing the project.
We started designing and ordering banners and promotional materials.
We developed the ARMY STOP layout and event concept.
We began Instagram and online promotion.
We worked on fan activities, giveaways, Korean food and drinks, K-pop products, concert essentials, displays, and inventory.
We also began securing products specifically for the multi-day BTS concert period.
In other words, this had already moved beyond a casual conversation or an idea.
Actual preparation had begun based on our agreement to proceed.
Our Instagram promotion went live, and ARMY began responding almost immediately.
The event information started spreading quickly.
💜 Then We Tried to Put Everything in Writing
Because of what happened in 2021, we wanted the 2026 project to be properly documented.
We believed that was better for everyone.
So as the project moved forward, we requested the legal company name and the name of the authorized representative so that the agreement could be put into writing properly.
However, after we requested that information, we did not receive what we needed to complete the document.
Then, on Thursday, without us having received prior notice that he would be away during this critical preparation period, we were told that 7-11 store boss had left for Chicago and would be there for approximately one month.
Shortly afterward, we were informed that he no longer wanted to move forward with the project.
From our perspective, the project ended abruptly just as we were trying to formalize the business arrangement in writing.
By that point, however, our preparation was already well underway.
Banners and promotional materials had been prepared.
Products and inventory were being secured.
The ARMY STOP concept had been developed.
And most importantly, the event information was already circulating among ARMY.
💜 We Still Tried One More Time
Even after we were told that the project would not move forward, we did not immediately give up.
Of course, there was a business side to this project.
But for us, ARMY STOP was never only about business.
We had spent a great deal of time thinking about how to create a welcoming place where ARMY could meet, rest, take photos, share freebies, enjoy Korean culture, and make memories before and after the BTS concerts.
We also knew that many ARMY had already seen and shared the announcement.
So we approached him one more time.
We asked whether there was still a way to preserve the ARMY STOP, even if the original business arrangement needed to be simplified or reconsidered.
Our hope was to find a reasonable solution so that the event we had already begun preparing for ARMY could still happen.
That final proposal was also declined.
At that point, we had to accept that the previously announced 7-Eleven location would no longer be possible for K-ONESHOP’s ARMY STOP.
💔 What Concerns Us Most Now
What troubles us most is not simply that a business arrangement ended.
Our event had already been publicly announced.
Promotional materials had been created.
Products had been secured.
And the information had already spread widely among ARMY.
Within only a few days, our Instagram announcement reached more than 10,000 viewers, generated more than 16,000 views, and was shared more than 1,000 times.
The vast majority of those viewers were people who did not already follow our account.
That means there is now a very real possibility that some ARMY may still arrive at the previously announced location believing that our ARMY STOP will be there.
We are also concerned that the store may still receive customer traffic generated by the promotion and awareness that our campaign created, even though our participation and the ARMY STOP itself were ended after the preparation and promotion had already begun.
From our perspective, that is extremely difficult to accept.
We invested our time, resources, inventory preparation, promotional work, and the trust of our ARMY community into this project based on our understanding that we were moving forward together.
That is one of the main reasons we are publishing this detailed update.
We do not want any ARMY to make plans based on outdated information.
⚠️ Important Information for ARMY
K-ONESHOP will NOT be operating the previously announced ARMY STOP, fan activities, or promotional event at the 7-Eleven location.
If you saw or shared our previous announcement, please let your fellow ARMY know that the location has changed.
Please do not visit the previously announced 7-Eleven expecting K-ONESHOP’s ARMY STOP activities.
💜 But ARMY STOP Is NOT Over
This is the most important part.
The 7-Eleven location is no longer happening.
But ARMY STOP itself is not over.
We are currently in discussions with several potential locations near SoFi Stadium.
Rather than rushing to announce another location, we want to be careful this time.
We want to choose a place that is convenient, welcoming, fun for ARMY, and properly confirmed before we announce it publicly.
We are exploring possibilities for an ARMY gathering area, fan-project pickup, photo zone, special drinks, giveaways, and other pre-show experiences.
Nothing regarding a new location will be announced as confirmed until the arrangements are finalized.
💜 Why We Still Want to Do This
When I think back to 2021, I do not only remember the problems.
I remember ARMY.
I remember people meeting each other.
I want to see you guys~~~~~~~
I remember the excitement around SoFi.
I remember people taking photos, discovering Korean snacks, talking about BTS, and simply enjoying being together.
We lost money.
We learned a lot.
We went through an experience that was difficult for us.
And yet, five years later, when BTS announced their return to Los Angeles, we still thought:
“ARMY, can we meet again?”
That is where this project came from.
I am disappointed that the original 2026 location did not work out.
But after 10 years as an ARMY Grandpa, I’m not giving up that easily. 😂💜
We are already working on the next plan.
And hopefully, very soon, we will have better news to share.
💜 2021 — WE REMEMBER.
2026 — ARMY, WE MEET AGAIN.
MEET • PLAY • EAT • SHOP • SHARE
Thank you to every ARMY who liked, shared, saved, commented on, or supported our original announcement.
And if you shared the previous location information with another ARMY, please share this update with them as well.
New ARMY STOP information will be announced after the new location and arrangements are fully confirmed.
See you in LA. 💜
— James
10-Year ARMY Grandpa
K-ONESHOP
Important Notice
ARMY STOP is an independently organized fan/community project. It is not an official BTS event and is not affiliated with or endorsed by BTS, HYBE, SoFi Stadium, the concert organizer, or 7-Eleven.