In a world intoxicated by the sweet aromas of rose, lilac, and lavender, Kim Isaac — who you may have seen teaching BTS how to work with flowers this week — has a favorite flower that faces a dilemma: it does not have a scent. This makes the anemone an anomaly among its fragranced peers; it makes it unique. Isaac knows what that feels like. In a way, the 29-year-old florist is the anemone of his own industry in South Korea , where he says “any job associated with flowers” is often thought of as “women’s work.” In the six years since he took over his parents’ floristry business and combined it with his own, he has attained a license to teach nationally, been named the flower director for Korea’s Ultra Music Festival, and collaborated with brands like Nespresso. But because he doesn’t look or act like a “traditional” florist , he struggles to feel accepted by Korean culture. “If you’re a little bit different from the norm, people overseas might label you as ‘unique,’” he says cheerily, talking to Teen Vogue via translator from his shop in the Gangnam district of Seoul. “But, in Korea, people see you as ‘weird.’" It was this “weirdness” that enabled him to cross paths with global superstars BTS , who were once considered “weird” themselves. In 2013, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook debuted with a message, sound, and attitude that stood out from other acts. They were an anemone of the K-pop world, eventually beloved for the same qualities that made them different. Last summer, the production crew of BTS’s reality show Run BTS! reached out to Isaac anonymously, claiming to represent a new, 10-member idol group. The producers explained that they liked everything that made him different from […]