With over 29 billion streams on Spotify and 47.4 million followers on Twitter, Bangtan Sonyeondan, BTS for short, are, undeniably, the biggest group in the world (BTS Graphs). The group consists of rappers RM, SUGA, and j-hope and vocalists Jin, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. They debuted with a near-bankrupt company and single-handedly raised it to become one of South Korea's greatest economic contributors. Evidently, they struggled a lot during their 10-year-long career; yet, through their dedication, determination, and growth, BTS are life-impacting role models for many fans, including myself.
BTS have extremely admirable stories; all members fought tooth and nail to ensure they could follow their dreams of being an artist and being happy. One of the stories that has had the greatest impact on me is SUGA's; his parents would burn his lyric books to discourage him from following his dreams, he was scammed several times and he even had a serious injury but didn't say a word in fear of being forced to abandon his dreams. However, no matter how hard things got and how many people attempted to discourage him, he put himself first and fought; now, he has the most album streams, compared to any other Korean soloist (SUGA News). Through his actions, he taught me that putting myself and my happiness first is crucial. This teaching allowed me to change my mindset so that I prioritised myself. Earlier, I would let others walk over me in an attempt to make them happy; now, I stand my ground in conflicts and ensure that my happiness is a defining influence in my everyday actions. Through hearing how BTS fought for their happiness and dreams, my mindset has completely changed.
Evidently, being a South Korean group dominating the Western music industry means facing a lot of discrimination and racism. From having their Korean songs ignored by radio stations to being publicly mocked for the way they looked, BTS' immense popularity results in them being victim to many racist remarks and a ton of discrimination. Regardless, they never let the remarks discourage them from succeeding. Through their actions, they became role models for many people of colour, like myself. I know that, living in Canada or anywhere in the Western world, I, a bisexual woman of colour, face oppression. So, I can either give up, or be like BTS and fight. Seeing BTS fight through the oppression and succeed, inspired me to take challenges head on and fight for what I want. Honestly earlier, I would have fought, and eventually given up. I allowed oppression to be an excuse but by seeing people I look up to fight, my eyes opened and I viewed oppression in a different light. This has made me more determined and stubborn, which are two prominent traits of mine.
In 2014, BTS faced what was, in my opinion, their biggest scandal; they had been accused of writing misogynistic lyrics with their song War of Hormone. With lyrics such as "a woman is the best present," fans were quick to hold writer RM accountable. RM, taking those criticisms as a lesson, began "[getting his] lyrics reviewed by a women's studies professor" (Kim). He often mentions how this mistake was an opportunity that allowed him to self-reflect, learn, and grow as a person. Taking your mistakes and using them as an opportunity to grow and shine had always been a foreign concept to me; as an "academically gifted child," I had a tendency of ignoring the existence of any mistakes I made. However, seeing people I look up to be accountable and use their mistakes as an opportunity to grow has allowed me to open up my mind to accept my own mistakes. The whole "failure is disgraceful" mindset I was brought up with has slowly been destroyed as I saw people I viewed as successful open-heartedly accept failure. It has led me to grow into a better person with a strong sense of self-respect, as I now no longer bash myself for making mistakes and instead welcome them, and morality, as I now hold myself accountable. My whole thinking process has changed solely to the exposure and ideologies BTS have shared with me.
As children grow older, the people they surround themselves with have a great impact on their personality, their character, their values, every aspect of them. I am in that stage; the character of the people I surround myself with is going to greatly impact my own. Thus, having good role models is crucial; Thomas Menson once said "We tend to become like those we admire." Therefore, I need role models who I am proud of being like. And honestly, I don't think there is anyone I would want to be like more than all the members of BTS.
