BTS leader RM has responded to a question if ‘worship of youth, of perfection, of overstraining in K-pop’ are cultural traits of South Korea. In a new interview, RM compared the current situation of Korea to that of seven decades ago saying that people work ‘hard to improve themselves’. He also said that people in the ‘West just don’t get it’. (Also Read | ‘BTS and I were talking about this since 2018,’ says Bang Si-hyuk on group’s military service)
The K-pop industry is said to be a high-pressure entertainment industry. K-pop idols have to go through years of extensive training to survive the competition. Even after they debut, K-pop idols have a lot of pressure to give their best.
In an interview with El Pais, RM said, “People in the West just don’t get it. Korea is a country that has been invaded, devastated, torn in two. Just seventy years ago there was nothing. We were getting help from the IMF and the UN. But now, the whole world is looking at Korea. How is that possible, how did that happen? Because people are working f****** hard to improve themselves.”
“You are in France or the UK, countries that have been colonizing others for centuries, and you come to me with, “Oh God, you put so much pressure on yourselves, life in Korea is so stressful!’. Well, yes. That’s how you get things done. And it’s part of what makes K-pop so appealing. Although of course there are shadows, everything that happens too fast and too intensely has side effects,” he added.
BTS is a K-pop group comprising RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. The group made its debut in 2013 with the single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. BTS released their first Korean and Japanese-language studio albums, Dark & Wild and Wake Up respectively, in 2014. So far, BTS has released several albums such as Youth, Wings, Love Yourself: Tear, Map of the Soul: 7, and Be among others.
Last year in June, BTS released their album Proof. It was their last album ahead of the group’s decision to join the South Korean military. BTS’ eldest member Jin is currently serving in the Army while J-Hope has begun the enlistment process for mandatory military service.
Fans will see RM next collaborating with Se So Neon leader So!YoON!. Recently, So!YoON! teased that RM will feature on her upcoming title track Smoke Sprite from her second album Episode1: Love. Along with a photo teaser of the two standing back to back, So!YoON! also dropped a teaser for Smoke Sprite. Episode1: Love will release on Tuesday at 6 pm KST.
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