IShowSpeed Mistakenly Calls Stray Kids' Bang Chan 'BTS' During Stream

It appears IShowSpeed needs to brush up on his K-pop knowledge ... 'cause the popular gamer and YouTuber recently referred to Stray Kids member Bang Chan as "BTS" -- and the whole awkward moment played out in front of thousands of viewers.

18-year-old Speed -- who has tens of millions of followers across all platforms -- was scrolling through videos on his phone as his loyal fanbase tuned in to the stream earlier this week ... when he stumbled upon a clip of the popular group's leader discussing his admiration for the internet superstar.

"Speed is so funny," Chan said in the vid ... adding he has "mad respect for him."

"I feel like the effort he puts out to what he does is just phenomenal. I think it's just really, really cool."

Chan even revealed he watches Speed's vids with fellow groupmate Felix "all the time."

Speed was understandably pumped about the shoutout ... and asked those watching if Chan was a member of BTS before tracking down his Instagram page.

Speed then slid into the DMs ... leaving him a personal video as a "thank you" for the kind words.

"Yo brother Bang Chan, BTS, bro. I just seen the video that said you was a big fan of me, bro," Speed said ... also including some words of encouragement to "keep grinding."

Despite several people in the chat trying to correct Speed on his flub -- and the fact Chan clearly lists "Stray Kids" in his bio -- it was too late ... and he hit "send" on the video message.

STAY (the group's fanbase) quickly got wind of the mistake ... making jokes about Speed's confusion and how Chan would react to it.

Others didn't take it lightly ... pointing out the fact Speed assumed Chan was a member of BTS could be considered racist.

While BTS is undoubtedly the most famous male K-pop group to crack into massive mainstream success in the States, Stray Kids has gained momentum in their own right ... even performing at the Billboard Music Awards in November.