letter to ARMY<\/a> on Weverse. \u201cMaking something \u2018together\u2019 with these friends,\u201d he wrote of his bandmates at the time. \u201cI\u2019m going to commit myself to this moment. I\u2019m going to thank you \u2026 I\u2019m looking for what I\u2019ll become. Something I\u2019ve forgotten for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tRead RM\u2019s full speech at the 2025 APEC CEO Summit below.<\/p>\n
\n\tHello. I\u2019m RM, the leader of BTS.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tIt\u2019s an honor to be here and to meet the leaders of APEC here in Korea, where I was born and raised. I\u2019m honored to tell you about myself, and to share my message. I\u2019m proud and excited that this year, for the first time, the \u201ccultural industry\u201d was chosen as a key agenda for APEC.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tI\u2019m not sure how familiar you are with K-culture or K-pop. But I\u2019m sure you all agree that the cultural industry has great economic value and growth potential. But I\u2019m just an artist. I\u2019m not a business leader. I don\u2019t think you want to hear any numbers or figures from me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tSo, today I want to speak to you as a creator and an artist. I want to share my thoughts on how K-pop crossed borders to move the hearts of people. It\u2019s not something we can calculate or measure. It\u2019s a bridge that connects worlds, and I want to bring your attention to how we can work together to build this connection for tomorrow\u2019s creative cultural ecosystem.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tI\u2019m a very lucky person. I\u2019m lucky to have met the six other members of BTS. I\u2019m lucky that I met our producer \u201cHitman\u201d Bang, who gave us his full support that we could make the music we love. And most importantly, I\u2019m lucky I met ARMY, who accept our music not just as a diversion, but as our shared language of life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tOh, by the way, ARMY is the name of the official BTS fandom. Further information, the army is where I just finished my military service. I was there for 18 months. Just wanted to make sure.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tARMY\u2019s support and passion crossed all borders and opened up brand new paths for me. They gave me a voice that was heard at the Billboard Music Awards, at the Grammys, at the United Nations and even at the White House. At such historic and symbolic events, like right here at the APEC.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tBTS first started to go outside Korea about 10 years ago. Back then, we didn\u2019t dream of what we see today. Nothing was like this. Did you ever turn on your TV or radio and hear a song that\u2019s not in your language or English? Probably not very often. I felt how hard it is to ever hear a Korean song in an English-speaking country. I saw how high a cultural barrier could be.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tAt that time, the music of BTS was quickly called \u201cnon-English, foreign culture.\u201d Trying to get on mainstream media through our music was like doing an experiment and a huge challenge. It was a test to see if \u201cmusic in Korean can work on the global stage.\u201d We tried to get on TV to show the world our music, but the doors were closed and would not move.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tBut, as you know, we couldn\u2019t just sit around and wait. We tried to make our own opportunities. we danced in the streets. We handed out flyers to free shows. But there was something even more difficult than those. When we said, \u201cWe are artists from Korea.\u201d They didn\u2019t ask us about our music. They asked, \u201cAre you from North Korea or South Korea?\u201d \u201cWhere on Earth is Korea?\u201d So, we had to explain where Korea was before we could even talk about music. And that was reality.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tBut we overcame those barriers, and now I\u2019m here today sharing this precious moment with you. ARMY was the force that broke down those barriers. They use our music as the medium to carry out conversations that cross borders and languages. They were inspired by the message in the music of BTS to give to charity, to run social campaigns. And finally, the world was amazed. Back then, ARMY was seen as \u201csupporters of a minority culture from Asia.\u201d Now, they shake the world as a new community and a fandom culture.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tEven at this very moment, they are crossing borders and breaking down barriers through the pure power of cultural solidarity. Solidarity and tolerance that know no borders. And it\u2019s an endless source of creative inspiration for me as well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tThere is so much cultural content around the whole world. But why K-pop? Why is it so unique? Why does K-pop create this powerful and inclusive community?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tIt\u2019s because of the special principle of unity of K-pop. This is what enables people from such diverse backgrounds to come together, just through the medium of K-pop.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tI like to compare K-Pop music to bibimbap. Bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish. You have to taste it. You take \u201cbap,\u201d which is rice. Then you put all kinds of vegetables, meat and flavorings on top, and mix it all up. That\u2019s the \u201cbibim.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tK-pop is much the same. You take Korea\u2019s unique aesthetics, emotions and production system. But you don\u2019t turn away elements of Western music, like hip-hop, R&B and EDM. Just like bibimbap, these parts all keep their unique identities but mix together to make something new and fresh and delightful. K-pop is not just a genre of music. It\u2019s a 360-degree, total package of music, dance, performance, visual style, story-telling, music video and even social media.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tK-pop\u2019s success didn\u2019t happen because one single culture was better. K-pop\u2019s success came from respecting diversity and embracing world cultures, but still holding onto Korea\u2019s unique identity. When cultural barriers come down and different voices harmonize together, there\u2019s an explosion of creative energy. This is where ARMY\u2019s borderless solidarity came from. And this is why K-pop is loved everywhere.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tCulture is like a river. It flows freely, different streams sometimes coming together in harmony, just like K-pop. Coming together to carry itself far away and create something new. I would like to see this creative flow of culture happen everywhere around the world. The Asia-Pacific region has incredible dynamic cultural diversity. K-pop\u2019s shining success is proof that cultural diversity and creativity are the greatest human potential \u2014 a force with no borders, no limit to growth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tLadies and gentlemen, leaders of APEC, let me ask you a question: What is your favorite song? Do you remember seeing a painting that took your breath away? A book you read over and over again? We all know, we all love culture and art. And we are connected by the emotion and resonance that they awaken in us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tAs a creator and an artist of this generation, I would like to use this opportunity to make a request to the leaders and distinguished guests of APEC. There are creators all around the world. Please help them. Give them the financial support so that their own creativity can bloom. Give them the opportunities so that their talents can really shine. When you think about investing in tomorrow\u2019s generations, think about culture as well as economics. Culture and art are a powerful force that moves hearts. They are the fastest messengers that carry diversity and resonance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tAs the leaders of APEC, your policies and support will be the canvas and playground for all the creators. The foundation for creators all over the world to pour out their creativity. When creators flourish, other elements of culture gather to form some brand new aesthetics. Their content will go beyond all kinds of \u201cdifferences.\u201d They will blaze a road of true understanding and tolerance. They will create the power of solidarity for the future.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tI, too, stand by the vision of APEC. A vision that will drive diversity, inclusion and growth through culture and creativity. As an artist, I promise that I will also let my imagination fill the canvas you will create. I will play my heart out in the playground you will build for us. I promise that I\u2019ll do my part by sending a message of courage and hope and a lot of emotions through music. A message of embracing our differences to make something better together.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tI would like to ask for your support for this future. I believe you can make this happen. Your support can make creators let their creativity soar. With your help, their creations will resonate around the whole world.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tThank you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tWant to see everything that BTS has said about its upcoming reunion? Click on the image below!<\/p>\nBTS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nowadays, BTS is the biggest boy band on the planet, K-pop or otherwise. But not too long ago, the genre was seen as niche in the Western world, a mindset that group leader RM credits ARMY with changing. Related BTS\u2019 Jung Kook Shows Off Washboard Abs in Smoldering Campaign for Iconic Brand: \u2018Good to Be\u00a0Back\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-199318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199318\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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