The 2022 BTS Festa dinner was expected by fans to be the usual annual celebration of the KPop superstars’ founding. Yet the video—which premiered Tuesday morning in the U.S. and Tuesday night in Korea, because time is a bizarre construct—additionally shared some huge news. BTS is going on a hiatus for an unspecified amount of time. The supergroup’s millions of fans might be tempted to panic. But, from a personal point of view as a musician (and a BTS “appreciator”), I might have a hot take here: This sounds like a very brave, well-thought-out, and healthy decision.
In the video, the seven members of BTS—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—take time to reflect on their careers and, talking directly to the ARMY (their fans), discuss their reasoning and hopes behind the hiatus. By taking time off from BTS, each member hopes to release solo material and take time to grow individually, as artists and as people. “We promise we will return one day even more mature than we are now,” Jungkook summed up. In the words of J-Hope, “I think we should spend some time apart to learn how to be one again. I hope you don’t see this as a negative thing, and see it as a healthy plan. I think BTS will become stronger that way.”
Watching the video, it’s clear how dearly the members of BTS love their fans. The concern over disappointing the ARMY looms heavily over each member’s reflections. This is why I honestly see this decision as nothing short of brave. Many of us have experienced some iteration of this phenomenon during the pandemic era: that creeping suspicion that a job, a project, a relationship, or something else is taking up too much space in your life and inhibiting your personal growth. To use a tried-and-true therapy term, you realize that you need to draw new boundaries, which might mean getting space for a time. It’s hard enough when that “thing” is a project you’ve invested any amount of your emotions and time in. Now, imagine that project is a multi-million-dollar enterprise that’s an international success with millions and millions of devoted fans. Adds a bit more pressure, doesn’t it? “This timing should’ve come to us earlier,” Jungkook said, “but I guess we held it off.” (This prompted every other member to verbally agree.)
RM said it in perhaps the most honest, emotionally wrenching way: “We have to accept that we’ve changed.” Change isn’t bad, but it is change. To maintain a healthy relationship with your collaborators and yourself, it needs to be reckoned with. RM went on to say that he lost grasp of what he wanted to communicate through his music. RM further reflected that, the way the Kpop idol industry works, they “don’t give you time to mature. You have to keep producing music and keep doing something.” I think the idea of putting off—or being forced to put off—personal growth and reflection because work is getting in the way is something many of us can relate to.
This is all to say that I one hundred percent believe the members of BTS when they say being apart and focusing on themselves for a while will make them a stronger unit in the end. As an (ahem) professional musician myself, I’ve seen this happen to friends and collaborators, and within me. If someone doesn’t take the space they need, the group suffers—relationships become strained, the music-making flows less easily, and the longevity of the project is cut dramatically short. There’s a lot of wisdom in stepping back. Musicians are humans, after all—even (perhaps especially) the superstars. So please believe me when I tell you that every member of BTS realizing they need to take this space for themselves right now is good news for the group in the long run. And the BTS members emphasized they are not breaking up.
And further on the consolation train, J-Hope, Suga, and Jungkook all said their solo releases are imminent. J-Hope will even be one of the headliners of Lollapalooza this year—the first South Korean act to headline any major U.S. festival, which, given the fact that Kpop has been wildly popular for years, seems problematic. But better (very) late than never, I guess? (I’m also not sure how J-Hope is listed behind Green Day in the year 2022, but okay.)
So, BTS ARMY, I genuinely hope I’ve made you feel a little better. These beautiful boys have been working so, so hard for nine years. Hell, they’ve now become men. These beautiful men deserve a well-earned break.
(featured image: BTS)
