"On the brink of re-contracting, it was like hell, serious" BTS confessed about their 10 years

On the morning of the 9th at 9:20, in front of the Kyobo bookstore in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. Ten minutes before the store opened, three foreigners, including a woman with her face covered in a hijab, stood right in front of the door. They were foreign fans who came to buy the book 'Beyond the Story: Ten Year Records of BTS', where the group BTS, which marked its 10th debut this year, unfolded the stories behind their activities. Audrey (40), who came from Malaysia, said, “I've been liking BTS for three years, and I entered the country five days ago to spend my vacation in Seoul. I came to buy the book because I wanted to know how they prepared hard for their debut and how they worked in the early days," she said with a laugh. The book, which contains more than 500 pages of BTS's massive interviews, was published in 23 languages. The day the book came out was 'Army Day' (July 9), when the BTS fandom army was born.

Audrey from Malaysia (left) and Lakshi from Sri Lanka, who bought BTS's book at Kyobo bookstore in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on the 9th. 

From V's 'taxi fare scam' experience of paying 38,000 won for a taxi for just over 2km from the express bus terminal to Sinsa Station when he first came up to Seoul from Daegu in 2011, to the story of Chris Martin of the British rock band Coldplay crossing over to Seoul for work with BTS even during a one-week self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The book is packed with the 'bare face' of BTS, which has achieved dramatic success. 

The biggest crisis for BTS was just before re-contracting with Big Hit in October 2018. Jimin recalled that time as "There was talk of not making a new album," and "The team itself was in a dangerous situation." RM even called his parents and said that the next album might not come out. J-Hope also described the time as "like hell." The seven young men of BTS, who had run non-stop after their debut in June 2013, were literally exhausted. "We all became too sensitive, and seeing each other in such states, we began to contemplate our ongoing activities" (V). Jin even thought about leaving the entertainment industry if the other members did not renew their contracts. The first one to dust off the slump that could lead to a disaster and get up was Jimin, who was confined to a room of just 3.3㎡ in the dormitory. "I was drinking alone and saw a video of fans singing along to the song 'Epilogue: Young Forever'. I thought, 'I've been working hard for this.'"

One thing that sets BTS apart from other K-pop groups is the contemporaneity of their music. As soon as April comes, 'Spring Day' (2017) reappears on the music charts like a zombie. This song, which begins with "I miss you" and had a yellow ribbon blowing in the wind in the music video, was considered a memorial song for the victims of the Sewol Ferry disaster. Suga wrote the lyrics thinking about "a friend I really miss but can't see," from the time when he was a trainee thinking, "Hey, can I make my debut?" "Press them all 062 518." J-Hope rapped this way in 'Ma City' (2015). In the song, 062 is the area code of Gwangju, and 518 refers to the democratization movement that took place in Gwangju on May 18, 1980. J-Hope, who is from Gwangju, said, "I didn't know much about regional sentiments, but when I came to Seoul, I learned about it," and said, "I worked on it with the thought, 'Why do I have to hear such things and feel such emotions about the place where I was born'". This is the first time BTS members have opened up about the reason behind the creation of 'Spring Day' and 'Ma City'. Thus, BTS, which has consistently held hands with the world through music, stood on the podium at the UN headquarters in New York, USA, twice in 2018 and 2021. Speaking on behalf of the world's youth generation was "like dancing with a knife in front of people" (Suga) for BTS, a burdensome task.

In 2016, RM was criticized for some of the lyrics, including 'Joke' and BTS's 'War of Hormone', being misogynistic. It was a mistake to misunderstand the story of misogyny as the genre characteristic of hip-hop. RM reflected, "Looking back now, it's something I had to go through at least once, and there were things like the 'Gangnam Station incident' at that time, so I think women had no choice but to speak out. I was able to recognize such problems earlier thanks to accurate criticism and criticism of the rap and thinking I wrote."

BTS, which graced the cover of the American weekly magazine Time in 2018 (left photo). The photo on the right is Jimin speaking at an event at the High-level Meeting on Sustainable Development Goals at the UN headquarters in New York, USA in September 2021. Provided by UN.

After going through such growing pains, BTS topped the Hot 100 on the US Billboard chart with 'Dynamite' in 2020. J-Hope, who has stood tall in the global music market as BTS, has hung a picture of the seven members in a frame in his living room. It's a cover photo of the U.S. weekly magazine Time, which designated BTS as the next-generation leader in October 2018, and J-Hope got each of the other six members to sign it. 

"I think it's somewhat meaningless to talk about our goals anymore. I wonder what else we need to do. Being BTS for a long time is the biggest goal in our current situation. The team's overall goal is to continue making music even as we age." (Suga)