SHORT STORIES (A life-changing one)

NAMJOON'S SPEECH

My name is Kim Namjoon also known as the leader of the group BTS.It is an incredible honour to be invited to an occasion with such significance for today's young generation. Last november, BTS launched the love myself campaign with UNICEF, building on our belief that true love first begins with loving myself.

We've been partnering with Unicef's End Violence Program to protect children and young people all over the world from violence and our fans have become a major part of this campaign, with their action and with their enthusiasm. We truly have the best fans in the world.And I'd like to begin by talking about myself. I was born in Ilsan, a city near Seoul, South Korea.

It is a really beautiful place with a lake, hills and even an annual flower festival. I spent a very happy childhood there, and I was just a naughty little boy. I used to look up at the night sky and wonder, and I used to dream the dreams of a boy. I used to imagine that I was a superhero who could save the worldAnd in an intro to one of our early albums, there is a line that says "my heart stopped when I was maybe 9 or 10."

Looking back, I think that's when I began to worry about what other people thought of me and started seeing myself through their eyes. I stopped looking up at the night skies, the stars, I stopped daydreaming. Instead I just tried to jam myself into the molds that other people made.

Soon I began to shut out my own voice and started to listen to the voices of others. No one called out my name and neither did I. My heart stopped and my eyes closed shut. So like this I, we, all lost our names. We became like ghosts.But I had one sanctuary and that was music.

There was a small voice inside of me that said, "Wake up man, and listen to yourself." But it took me quite a long time to hear music calling my real name. Even after making the decision to join BTS, there were a lot of hurdles. Some people might not believe but, most people thought we were hopeless, I sometimes I just wanted to quit. But I think I was very lucky that I didn't give it all up. And I am sure that, I and we, will keep stumbling and falling like this.

BTS has become an artist performing on those huge stadiums and selling millions of albums right now but I am still an ordinary 24-year-old guy. If there's anything that I've achieved, it was only possible that I have my other BTS members right by my side and because of the love and the support that our ARMY fans all over the world made for us.And maybe I made

@MinnieKimPark