Writer, Hannah Park
At this point, everyone has listened to “Dynamite”. The first song by a Korean band to achieve a Grammy Award nomination. “Dynamite” was on the Billboard Hot 100 for 32 weeks in a row and became the longest-charting song by a Korean act in history. Their musical style includes a wide range of genres with lyrics that are meaningful and connected to the themes of mental health, the troubles of loss, and the journey toward loving yourself.
As BTS achieved more fame, they gathered together and made an official fandom name. They named their fans A.R.M.Y which stands for Adorable Representative M.C for Youth. The name itself carries quite some meaning. Given that “Army” is associated with the military, and BTS originally means body armor, the fandom name basically means that fans will always be together with BTS.
There are 7 members in BTS. RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. RM is the leader of the band. In an interview, RM claims that he is the leader because he was the first member to join. He added that he was also the one who came up with ideas for their songs, cementing his leadership status. As a leader, RM is the spokesman of the group and makes sure the guys stick to their schedules and makes sure the others get things done.
The second member to join was Suga. Suga started as a producer for Big Hit Entertainment after he auditioned for a rap competition. The stage name of Suga comes from the first syllables of the term shooting guard, the position he played in basketball as a student. Currently, Suga is the second in BTS to have the highest net worth. Suga was actually born into a poor family. In a comeback, he said that when he was in his high school days, he often had to choose between eating and transport. When he bought a bowl of noodles, he would then have to walk home.
The third member to join is J-Hope. J-Hope is part of the rap line and he became a trainee after a failed audition with JYP Entertainment, another management company. The reason why BTS’ three rappers, J-Hope, Suga and RM, were the first to join was that the band was originally supposed to be a hip-hop group. Until the CEO decided that BTS would be better to be a traditional idol group that fans could look up to, the band was reorganized with the addition of four more singers.
Jin, the eldest, was scouted as a young high school student walking down the streets of his hometown. He was approached by a representative of SM Entertainment to join the company. Jin thought it was a complete scam and never got back to the representative. Many years later BTS was captivated by Jin’s looks and was scouted by Big Hit Entertainment. Back then, Jin had no background in music and was studying acting. After a long talk, Jin decided to join and became the 4th member to join BTS.
Jungkook was the fifth member to join BTS. When he was around 13, Jungkook auditioned for a show called Superstar K. He did not win the show but he caught the attention of 7 entertainment companies. Jungkook is known to be the “Golden Maknae”. The word “maknae” in Korean means “youngest person”. Despite being the youngest member, Jungkook has lots of skills. He is a talented athlete, artist, gamer, and filmmaker.
V was the sixth member to join BTS. V used to play saxophone since he was 3 years old. V originally went to the audition to support his friend who wanted to be a trainee at Big Hit. While he was waiting for his friend, he met an executive at the competition and the executive encouraged him to try out. Once V performed, he was the only auditionee from his hometown who passed.
The last member to join BTS is Jimin. Jimin, was already a trained dancer when he first auditioned in Busan, Korea. After passing the auditions, he moved to Seoul and started training around 2012. He was 16 at the time and was the only BTS member with the shortest amount of time to train as a trainee. Jimin also has a nickname like Jungkook. His nickname is Mochi. Fans started calling Jimin “Mochi” because his cheeks resemble the squishiness of a mochi. Another reason is his cute and adorable persona.
BTS has made K-pop history and they also met the president of South Korea when the president, Moon-Jae In, handed them their appointment papers. They greeted each other with fist bumps and photos went viral on social media. BTS were officially named the Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture. For the big change they have set for Korean culture.
A few days before their big announcement, the band released their most recent album. It is Yet to Come released in 2022. On the day of the big announcement (Tuesday, June 16), the band sent social media into a frenzy after airing their Real Bangtan Dinner 2022. During the virtual event, the group announced they would take a temporary hiatus to focus on solo projects. They all decided to do the mandatory military service and announced that they will be returning in 2026.
BTS has not just changed K-pop history, they also changed the lives of many people. ARMYS’ are always looking forward to each one of their new albums, and they will all patiently wait until all the members safely come back from the military.
So, what will be their next chapter? That, everyone is a moment Yet to Come.
