People won’t say you’re a weak person if your physical condition is not that good. Many pretend to be okay, saying that they’re not ‘weak,’ as if that would make you a weak person. Some days you’re in a good state sometimes you’re not. Based on that, you get an idea of your physical health. Sometimes you’re in a good condition sometimes you aren’t. “What does being masculine mean? People’s conditions vary day by day. I’m not fond of these expressions,” Suga tells me. “There is this culture where masculinity is defined by certain emotions, characteristics. This article appears in the Winter 2020/21 issue of Esquire. It’s right there in the name: BTS stands for “Bangtan Sonyeondan,” which translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts,” but as their popularity grew in English-speaking markets, the acronym was retrofitted to mean “Beyond the Scene,” which Big Hit has described as “symbolizing youth who don’t settle for their current reality and instead open the door and go forward to achieve growth.” And their affection with one another, their vulnerability and emotional openness in their lives and in their lyrics, strikes me as more grown-up and masculine than all the frantic and perpetual box-checking and tone-policing that American boys force themselves and their peers to do. Since the start of their careers, BTS have shown a certain confidence in their aesthetic, their performances, and their music videos. “Why did you hit me so hard?” he says, before mimicking Jung Kook’s response: “I didn’t hit you that hard.” And then they start hitting each other. Jin agrees and recounts what their arguments sound like. “It all starts as a joke, but then it gets serious,” Jimin says. V replies, “We haven’t fought in three years!” They tell me this distinction now belongs to Jin and Jung Kook, the oldest and youngest members. Suga jumps in, sharing that Jimin and V fight the most among the group. Jimin turns his attention to V, explaining that he is “loved by so many” and describing him as one of his best friends.
“Thank you for saying all these things about me,” Jimin responds. “Despite all the things he has accomplished, he still tries his best and brings something new to the table, and I really want to applaud him for that.” “Jimin has a particular passion for the stage and really thinks about performance, and in that sense, there are many things to learn from him,” J-Hope says. When they speak about one another, it is with kindness. Lounging with their arms around each other’s shoulders, tugging on each other’s sleeves, fixing each other’s collars. They are relaxed in the manner of family. Tension has a way of making itself evident-even over Zoom, even through a translator. What jumps out at me as I connect with the members of BTS is their level of comfort with one another. There is something about complete world domination that can really cement a friendship. On Jimin: Coat, shirt, and earring by Bottega Veneta. On Jung Kook: Coat, sweater, and turtleneck by Berluti. On Suga: Jacket, shirt, and turtleneck by Berluti. Their next album, Be, is weeks away from being released, and speculation about the record, the tracklist, the statement, is rampant across the Internet. And groggy.īefore I’m done speaking with them for this story, BTS will have the number-one and number-two songs on the BillboardHot 100, a feat that’s been achieved only a handful of times in the sixty-odd years the chart has existed. At this moment, they’re seated inside Big Hit Entertainment headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, the house they built, dressed mostly in black and white, ready to answer my questions. In a few days, the biggest musical act in the world will perform in the live-stream concert that, for now, will have to stand in for the massive tour they spent the first part of this year rehearsing.
Instead, Jin, 28 Suga, 27 J-Hope, 26 RM, 26 Jimin, 25 V, 24 and Jung Kook, 23, are working.
IT IS THE MORNING OF CHUSEOK, A KOREAN HARVEST FESTIVAL akin to Thanksgiving, and the members of BTS would normally be spending it with their families, eating tteokguk, a traditional rice-cake soup.