BTS Tearfully Announces "Indefinite Hiatus" From Group Activities

K-pop sensation BTS has announced that the group will be taking an indefinite hiatus from group activities in order to focus on their individual growth.

On June 14, BTS wrapped up the group's annual '2022 BTS FESTA' by releasing an hour-long video in which the members casually having dinner and making an important announcement.

SUGA began the conversation, saying, "Should we talk about why we haven't made much new content? We have to talk about the direction we're taking."

Then, the group's leader RM opened up about the struggles that BTS has been facing in recent years.
RM said, "Up until 'ON' and 'Dynamite', I felt like the group BTS was within our hands. But as we did 'Butter' and 'Permission to Dance', I didn't really know what kind of group we were anymore."

He continued to explain, "Honestly, there weren't much time for me to think. From a certain point on, I haven't been sure what kind of group we are."

JIN said, "Just like you said earlier, doing group activities for such a long time made me feel like I've become a machine. I have my own hobbies and things I want to do on my own."

He shared, "I wanted to be an actor. After experiencing many things as a singer, however, I think I don't have any feelings left for the job. But we never know what will happen next in our lives."
V said, "Honestly, I'm a type of person who has a lot of things to do. I hope there will be an opportunity to present my music, and I want to show what's inside me other than music."

He carefully added, "I think such idea itself was portrayed as if it was something wrong. So I was always careful to say what I wanted to do. I want to show many things other than V of BTS." 

RM then announced that the members will begin dropping their solo albums, and focus on their individual activities for a time being.

He stated, "When people hear our group name, they're like, 'Wow, BTS.' But they don't really know who each of the members are. Since we're all singers, I think it would be the most impactful for us to show (who we are as individuals) through our music and performances. So from now on, we're going to release official solo albums instead of mixtapes."
While the members emphasized that this doesn't mean BTS' disbandment, J-HOPE further explained, "I think we all need to spend some time apart to learn how to come together again. I think this moment is very important to us, so I hope you don't take this in a negative way."
Debuted in June 2013, BTS became a global sensation with many hit songs including 'DNA', 'Spring Day', 'FAKE LOVE', 'Dynamite', and 'Butter'.

The group released an anthology album 'Proof' last week, wrapping up a grand chapter of the group's career.

You can watch the full video with English subtitles below:
 
(Credit= BIGHIT MUSIC, 'BANGTANTV' YouTube)

(SBS Star)