BTS are a K-pop (Korean pop) group made up of seven members. Bangtan/BTS stands for ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts’ in Korean, but they translated it into English as ‘Beyond The Scene’. Their fanbase is called A.R.M.Y., which stands for Adorable Representative M.C for Youth. They also explained the significant meaning behind it: ARMY is military in English. The body armour and military are always together, so it means that the fans will always be together with the Bangtan Boys.
Members:
Kim Namjoon (김남준), whose stage name is RM (랩몬스터), is the leader and the main rapper. He was born on September 12th, 1994 in Ilsan, Gyeonggi-d. His hobby is surfing the web.
Kim Seokjin (김석진), whose stage name is Jin (진), is a vocalist and visualist in the group. He was born on December 4th, 1992 in Anyang, but since he was about 1 year old, his family moved to Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do. His hobbies are cooking, playing video games on Nintendo devices and taking selcas (selfies). He is the oldest member of the group.
Min Yoongi (민윤기), whose stage name is Suga (슈가), is the lead rapper in the group. He was born on March 9th, 1993 in Buk-gu, Daegu. His hobbies are ‘doing nothing’ when he has free time, taking pictures and avoiding having to do work.
Jung Hoseok (정호석), whose stage name is J-hope (제이홉), is the main dancer, a rapper and a sub-vocalist. He was born on February 18th, 1994 in Gwangju. His hobbies are listening to music and window shopping.
Park Jimin (박지민), whose stage name is Jimin (지민), is the main dancer and the lead vocalist. He was born on October 13th, 1995 in Busan. His hobby is relaxing whenever he gets a chance to.
Kim Taehyung (김태형), whose stage name is V (뷔), is the lead dancer, a vocalist, sub-rapper and a visual. He was born on December 30th,1995 in Daegu. He was raised by his grandmother, who was like a parent to him, for 13 years because his biological parents were busy. When BTS got their first award for their song Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Taehyung wanted to surprise her on TV; unfortunately, she passed away before Taehyung could do so. His hobbies are searching for unknown music and playing video games.
Jeon Jeong-guk (전정국), whose stage name is Jungkook (정국), is the lead dancer, main vocalist, sub rapper, and the maknae (youngest member). He was born on September 1st, 1997 in Busan. His hobby is drawing.
The LOVE YOURSELF Album:
There are four LOVE YOURSELF albums. During an interview, the members were asked what LOVE YOURSELF means and Namjoon answered:
“Love is complex. There are sides of it that make us really feel bad or depressed. There could be tears, there could be sadness. So, this time we wanted to focus on some of the parts of love that we want to run away from. So the name is Tear.”
But he also made sure to emphasise that love isn’t just between two people but is more about truly loving yourself before loving others. Namjoon went on to say:
“We want to say that if you won’t be true to yourself, the love won’t last. The love could be between one person and another, but it could also be between me and myself.”
Namjoon also revealed that they give back love to their fan,s who continually shower them with overflowing love.
“Sometimes, we truly feel like we’re getting so much love – even more than we deserve. So it’s important to give back to people who give us so much love. Because, you know, love isn’t a resource. You can’t keep giving it back and back and back all over the world. So we think it’s really important to give back.”
LOVE YOURSELF (THE FINAL)
After three albums and over a year of touring, BTS’ LOVE YOURSELF era ended a few weeks ago with the LOVE YOURSELF: SPEAK YOURSELF (THE FINAL) in Seoul. The band delivered outstanding performances during their three last concerts of the era. The members bid farewell to their era with emotional speeches.
Although BTS and ARMYs are excited about what the Bangtan boys have planned next, they are not ready to say their goodbyes to the unforgettable and marvellous era. BTS assured that the message of the LOVE YOURSELF era lives on. During the last concert of LOVE YOURSELF: SPEAK YOURSELF (THE FINAL), Namjoon delivered an ending that brought himself and the audience to tears. In the speech, RM talked about his journey of learning to love himself. He encouraged fans to continue learning to love themselves even though the LOVE YOURSELF era is over. He told ARMYs to use BTS to love themselves because BTS used ARMYs to love themselves.
“ARMY, you helped me and my fellow band members to love ourselves, we used you to love ourselves and we want you to do the same. We want you guys to use us to love yourself, just like we used you. ”
It’s obvious that BTS have helped a lot of people love themselves before anyone else. Personally, Bangtan has helped me through a lot of stuff and has taught me to keep loving myself.
Even though the members have gone through a lot of hardships in life, they still manage to put a smile on their faces, work hard and make music for our entertainment.
Map of the Soul: 7
If you’ve decided that you will give the new album a listen, it will be released on February 21st, and pre-orders have started on January 9th. The album is called ‘Map of the Soul: 7’. BigHit released a new trailer by Suga “Interlude: Shadow” on January 9th. BigHit released the first single, “Black Swan”, on Friday, 17th January, alongside a music video featuring Slovenia’s MN Dance Company.
Theories about the new comeback (album)
Many ARMYs made theories about the new album. But, quite obviously, they are only theories, so they might not be 100% true.
Some fans thought that the ‘7’ was because they are 7 members and it’s been 7 years since they debuted. A fan tweeted
“2020 most likely will be the year that one or more of the members enlist for their mandatory military duty. ‘7’ seems to be BTS’s way of saying that no matter what happens, they are first & foremost a septet.”
South Korea requires all “able-bodied men” from age 18-28 to serve for at least 21 months in the military. BTS confirmed that they are going to the military, but we are still waiting for further information from BigHit entertainment (BTS’s Entertainment company). Some say it’s most likely that BTS are going to disband while others say they will probably just go to the military, comeback and continue with the band. Hopefully, they won’t disband forever.
Some fans thought that “Map of the Soul: Persona” (BTS’s previous album) was for ARMYs and “Map of the Soul: 7” (BTS’s upcoming album) is about BTS. A fan tweeted
“Remember how MOTS: Persona was about us ARMYs? What if MOTS: 7 is about them as BTS and the hidden part of their personality that we don’t see?”
