Who is BTS?

As we're nearing the end of 2024, I’m not surprised that a number of individuals don’t know who BTS is. It’s especially a common question among those who have never listened to K-Pop before, I know this because 6 years ago that was me!

The first time that I had heard of BTS was because my sister had begun to listen to them in 2018, but even then it took me a solid 6 months before I myself began listening to them. But BTS has become such an important part of my life, that I wish to help share the knowledge I have gained since 2018.

For some individuals, the first time they might be hearing BTS name is because of award nominations, breaking records, or they’ve discovered the members during this Chapter 2 season.

My hope for this blog post is to help individuals who are first discovering BTS learn to answer the simple question of “Who or What is BTS?”

Background Information

BTS is a seven member boy band from South Korea, and no they are not related or were childhood friends before debuting as a group.

They debuted on June 13, 2013.

BTS is short for “Bangtan Soneyondan” or Bangtan Boys, and the original translation meant ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts’.

J-Hope once shared that, “’Bangtan’ means to be resistant to bullets, so it means to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that are aimed at adolescents like bullets. To preserve the values and ideals of today’s adolescents.”

Later in 2017, BTS and their entertainment company Big Hit decided to rebrand the meaning to “Beyond the Scene” along with changing the groups logo.

The new door-inspired logo “symbolizes youth who don’t settle for their current reality and instead are opening the door and moving forward to achieve growth”.

Now let's discuss the members.

There are seven members in BTS; RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Quick fact, but most of the members go by a ‘Stage Name’ instead of their real name when performing. Only two of the members decided to use their real names.

Time for some quick facts about the members!

RM

Real Name: Kim Namjoon

Born: September 12, 1994

Roles within BTS:

Leader

Rapper

Producer

Song Writer

RM first became a trainee at Big Hit back in 2010, and was the first original member of BTS. When BTS first debuted RM’s original stage name was Rap Monster until 2017 when he decided to change it.

Jin

Real Name: Kim Seokjin

Born: December 4, 1992

Roles within BTS:

Vocalist

Visual

Producer

Song Writer

Jin is the oldest member of BTS, but yet at times behaves as though he is the youngest. At the end of 2017 Jin established his own nickname within the fan base, WWH. WWH stands for ‘Worldwide Handsome’, a phrase that Jin has now mentioned on a number of occasions when doing interviews.

SUGA

Real Name: Min Yoongi

Born: March 9, 1993

Roles within BTS:

Rapper

Main Producer

Song Writer

Suga’s stage name stands for ‘Shooting Guard’, his favorite position he used to play in basketball.

j-hope

Real Name: Jung Hoseok

Born: February 18, 1994

Roles:

Dance Leader

Rapper

Vocalist

Producer

Song Writer

When deciding upon stage names, j-hope settled on his name in reference to the myth of Pandora’s box and how hope was the only thing left in the box. With that, the name j-hope also comes from his desire to represent hope for his fans, as well as for the other members of BTS.

Jimin

Real Name: Park Jimin

Born: October 13, 1995

Roles:

Lead Dancer

Vocalist

Producer

Song Writer

Jimin was the last member to join the group, and had the least amount of time as a trainee in comparison to the other members. Because of this, Jimin felt inadequate and was known for both practicing harder while being harder on himself when performing.

V

Real Name: Kim Taehyung

Born: December 30, 1995

Roles:

Visual

Vocialist

Dancer

Producer

Song Writer

V has shared that the meaning of his stage name is that the ‘V’ stands for victory. V was the last member of BTS that was revealed back in 2013.

Jungkook

Real Name: Jeon Jungkook

Born: September 1, 1997

Roles:

Main Vocalist

Dancer

Sub-Rapper

Center

Maknae

Producer

Song Writer

Jungkook is the ‘maknae’ of BTS, which means that he is the youngest member of the group. Within the fandom, Jungkook has earned the nickname of “Golden Maknae” because he is truly GOOD AT EVERYTHING! Don’t believe me, try looking up videos on Youtube to see for yourself.

Overview of Their Music

Originally when BTS debuted in 2013 they debuted as a Hip-Hop group, but as the years have passed their music style has changed. Which can be seen through their albums that have their own considered eras.

Those eras include:

School Trilogy

(Which include 2kool4Skool, ORUL82, and Skool Luv Affair)

Dark & Wild

Youth Trilogy

(Includes Most Beautiful Moments in Life pt 1, pt 1 & Young Forever)

Wings

Love Yourself

(A three part series beginning in late 2017 that included Love Yourself Her, Tear, and Answer)

Map of the Soul

(Includes Map of the Soul Persona and Map of the Soul 7)

BE

(BE is an album that BTS created due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Each of the members had a specific role in the production of this album, and it encompasses their thoughts and feelings during that time.)

PROOF

(Proof is the first anthology album released by the group that consisted of 3 cds. The first showcasing the changes in BTS musical styles over the years. The second shares some of the members favorites, and the last contains many demo versions of favorite tracks along with unreleased tracks.)

In their music, BTS is known for touching on a number of different topics including mental health, social justice, youth empowerment, and self-love.

Throughout the course of their career, BTS has stated that the inspiration for either their songs or album concepts comes from literature. A key example of this would be their Map of the Soul series that's based upon Psychologist Carl Jung's theory about the map of the soul.

Chapter 2 in BTS Career

If you're discovering BTS for the first time right now, then it's important to note that since June of 2022 the members have stepped back in group related projects to focus on solo projects. Though it’s important to know, this is not a disbandment or hiatus, just a break.

Back in June of 2022 there was a mistranslation that upset both the members and the fans about this period. But BTS is calling this the ‘Chapter 2’ of their life, and have been working hard at creating solo projects.

As of November 2024, all the members have released their own solo albums. Jin's solo album Happy being the most recently released as of November 15th.

During this time, the members are also completing their mandatory military service. (NOTE: In South Korea, all able-bodied men must complete at least 2 years of military service.) Currently as of November 2024, both Jin and j-hope have completed their military service. As where five of the members are currently completing their service; SUGA, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook.

This is an important moment in the members lives, and as fans we are supporting them all we can. But that's also not to say that we don’t miss them together, because the members have also shared that they miss one another.

But there's hope, BTS has promised to be back together in 2025 after they have all completed their military service. They also have renewed their contracts for another 7 years with Big Hit Music.

Final Thoughts

There is still so much that could be shared on “Who is BTS?”, it could be its own novel! But I hope that this helps some who are just learning about BTS know them a bit better.

Quickly, I would like to share that I enjoy listening to this group because of the message that their music sends. BTS faced many hardships before they gained popularity, and even now they still do. But through all of that they worked hard to overcome it, and stayed true to who they are.

BTS supports each other, but they also support their fan base called ARMY. They enjoy spending time connecting with their fans, and have been known to give fans gifts in their earlier days to show their appreciation. Constantly checking in on their fans, or writing songs specifically for them. BTS encourages ARMY to keep striving and doing their best in their daily lives, while also remaining safe.