The group BTS announced their comeback as a full group for the first time in 3 years and 9 months and directly shared their thoughts with fans.
BTS held a live broadcast on their official fan community Weverse on the 20th to commemorate the release of their fifth studio album 'ARIRANG' (Arirang).
The new album 'Arirang' is an album that contains BTS's identity and universal emotions that many people can relate to. The new release includes the title track 'SWIM' among a total of 14 songs, and it shows "the current BTS" by putting the honest experiences and concerns BTS accumulated during their past journey into every track.
The members opened by saying that there were many predictions and curious people about the album title "Arirang" from the title itself.
Jimin said frankly, "When we heard the album title, we talked about it a lot to each other. Would it be okay? Because the folk song Arirang itself is familiar to Korean people and is a word and folk song with a very big meaning known since childhood, there were a lot of talks about whether we could use this word."
RM said, "We discussed it a lot, and to tie together our present, it seems the only common things are that we love each other and that we are Korean. I think what can bind the seven members together is that they are all Korean. So we carefully debated many concerns and chose this keyword."
Jimin added, "The thing we talked about the most was identity, what is truly ours, what is BTS-like, and then the idea came up that since we are all Korean, why not include something Korean."
V explained, "It is very Korean, but the word Arirang itself is lovely in meaning and very meaningful, so I thought there would be many things beyond that for us to express," and RM said, "Because it contains various sentiments, it can well encompass the diverse emotions we want to express."
J-Hope said, "Looking back, it seems like a cool decision," and added, "Choosing Arirang as the album title itself may be very bold and also very us," and RM explained, "While we were away, the world changed. Many great artists have emerged and juniors are doing very well in different ways, so while thinking about our roots we tried to make an album that contains the 고민 of needing to be new."
Lastly, RM said, "I think the fact that we all gathered together is itself so miraculous and something to be grateful for. It feels like I simulated tens of thousands of times us gathering together, releasing an album and talking about it. The fact that we reunited is very moving. This album came out of much conflict and 고민 between the desire to change and BTS-ness."
He added, "I think it is such a fortune that seven adult men in their 30s are moving toward the same goal together. I couldn't show my signature choreography because of my ankle, but I will do my best to prepare the stage tomorrow. We believed in you and have done this for 14 years. We will swim forward stronger and more beautifully, as much as the love we received."
Jin showed his affection for the team, saying, "After my discharge I carried out solo activities for about a year and a half and it was very lonely. Being with the members like this over the past few months has made me happy, and I hope it continues. I really like being active with my team. Please continue to support us."
V said, "I have waited a long time for this moment. It had been a long time since I performed on stage, so I was half excited and half worried whether the energy I had before could come out when I performed. Watching the members during practice, I thought they looked cooler than before. I want to show it as soon as possible. I will perform safely and impressively tomorrow."
Meanwhile, BTS will hold "BTS comeback live: ARIRANG" (BTS the comeback live｜ARIRANG) around Gwanghwamun Square at 8 p.m. on the 21st.
[Photo] BigHit Music, video capture
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