VIDEO: BTS Talks About Pressure, Positive Impact & ARMY

BTS Global Press Conference 'MAP OF THE SOUL : PERSONA'
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul

Q. BTS' positive impact & ARMY?

SUGA: How should I say this... I think we began from a state of innocence.

Seven friends who wanted to make music and perform had gathered. The period of hardship was very long, and throughout that period, we underwent repetitive instances of bracing ourselves, failing, and starting over.

I think people find courage in seeing that side of us. They are so proud of us, and in thinking about how we should give back to the fans, we were able to resolve the expectation of such influence positively.

As we are in a position where we can be influential, we all thought that we would like to spread a really positive influence. We spoke a lot about such things with our company as well.

We believe that by having such special fans, we were able to be such a positive influence and connect it to our albums(music).

JIMIN: Speaking of our positive influence, I think the foundation of such positive impact is the fans themselves.

The reason we were able to reach this high was because of the fans' support and the strength of their love. So, no matter how difficult and wearisome it is, we think that we must do it for our fans.

I've said this regularly to our fans, "Because we have you, who make us so happy, we want to make you all happy too."

As SUGA said, it's the idea of giving back.

Rather than saying it's all derived within us(BTS), I think we(BTS and ARMY) are creating a positive synergy together.

Q. Pressure, shadow, and emptiness portrayed on the album?

RM: I've talked about this in the past, but I think it's inevitable to have these feelings to be happy.

As we go up high and grow in height, the shadow gets longer.

For instance, one day I was so afraid of spotlights.

They were too bright, I was worried about my eyesight, and the weight... Everything was just so overwhelming.

I have journalists in front of me today, but usually I have my audience in front of me. And I was afraid of the audience from time to time.

The lights were so bright I could not even see the audience but they could see every part of me.

At that very moment, all things overlapped and I wanted to run away just like the lyrics.

But we have plenty more things that we want to achieve and we have this energy that we receive from our fans, that are much bigger than the fear and pressure that we have.

It's hard to say that I've overcome those feelings, but because I have something greater and more precious than that, I am grasping a good balance.

RM: It was truly an honor to host this new form of press conference for all the journalists here today.

In our title track 'Boy With Luv', I used an expression "wings."

We're sincerely grateful for your words and articles being part of our wings. 

Out of gratitude for the wings you have put on us, we will work hard to fly high.

Thank you for sharing your precious time for this event. Thank you for coming, very much.

▶ [SBS Star] VIDEO: BTS' Thoughts on Being a Scandal-free Group & 'the Next BTS'

(Video Journalist: Kang Dong-cheol, Video Editor: Lee Eunkyoung, Translator: Yoo Jiwon)

(SBS Star)