In jubilation, Seoul celebrates 10 years of the group BTS

Seoul is celebrating the 10th anniversary of BTS, the star group that popularized K-pop around the world and brought billions of dollars to the South Korean economy this week. Qualified as “icons of progressive globalism”, these artists have also served as presidential emissaries or even promoted the actions of Unicef. Here's everything you need to know about BTS.

The group of seven young men, who debuted on June 13, 2013, became the first South Korean outfit to top the US and UK music charts, raking in billions of dollars by building a global community of fans, called " ARMY".

South Korean hits like Psy's heady Gangnam Style had certainly already enjoyed international success, but it is generally accepted that BTS has brought K-pop into American mainstream culture, to the point of establishing itself as the rank of the most influential boy band on the planet. "As a South Korean idol group, BTS broke a lot of misconceptions and obstacles in the (music) industry to rise to the top of the music charts and be nominated for the Grammy Awards," says 'AFP Jeff Benjamin, who writes the K-pop column for Billboard magazine. “Most importantly, they didn't do this by adjusting their viewpoints, perspectives, or language to appeal to a larger market, but by fully asserting themselves as the K-pop musicians that they are.”

Outside of music, the band has a long history of supporting progressive causes, from the Black Lives Matter protests to the fight against anti-Asian racism in the United States. Its members have spoken at the United Nations and have been received at the White House, while remaining one of the most popular groups in the world on social networks.

Before BTS, K-pop “was seen as a niche (phenomenon), separate from international culture,” Sarah Keith, a media and music specialist at Macquarie University in Australia, told AFP. “The global popularity of BTS has led to a reversal of this perspective. It's safe to say that BTS has changed the way the world views South Korea."

Paradoxically, the training is currently on hiatus while two of its members perform their compulsory military service after a years-long debate over a possible exemption. Jin, the oldest of the group, joined the army in December, and J-Hope in April. For its anniversary, however, BTS released a single last week, Take Two, as a nod to the new chapter that opens after a prolific decade. "Each of the seven members participated in 'Take Two,'" their agency Hybe said. “The song expresses their gratitude to ARMY, for all the love they are showered with.”

High tourist sites in Seoul, such as the Namsan Tower or the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, will be illuminated for the occasion in purple, the color of ARMY. RM, the group's leader, will take part in the culmination of the celebrations, an event at Seoul's Han River Park on June 17.

The group had invoked the exhaustion and pressure caused by their stratospheric success when announcing a hiatus in 2022, explaining that each of the members would take a break to focus on their solo careers. RM then claimed that the K-pop sector, known for its fierce competition, did not allow him to mature as an artist. The group “must constantly produce music and do something”, he had described, explaining that they “need to think and have time for me”.

Since the announcement, Jimin released a six-track solo album, Face, in March, whose single Like Crazy is the first by a South Korean artist to hit No. 1 in the United States. Suga is on his first solo world tour.

According to local media, their break could last up to seven years if the group decides to wait until the end of the military service of each member before returning to the studios together. The requirement for all seven artists to join the military is slowing K-pop's global growth, producer Bang Si-hyuk said in March, highlighting the latest numbers including global charts and sales. of albums. “It remains to be seen how the group will be able to reform as a group of seven members once their military service is finished, because it is usually a difficult period for groups of male artists”, judges Sarah Keith.

But the current break could be “a period of growth for BTS as a whole, as its members pursue solo projects and add more diversity” to the group, believes the specialist.