“If you have a girlfriend, you can’t call it a real date.”

Even when there is a girl who has feelings for him, Min Yoon-gi (aka BTS’s Suga) is skeptical that they can have a romantic relationship. Compared to One Direction, who is both famous and comfortably in love, “changing lovers is like changing clothes” or having children is not a problem, BTS’s life is more constrained.

BTS appeared on the cover of The Times magazine (UK) before their performance in London.

At the age of 25, Suga and the other 6 members of his band don’t have much time for things outside of work. They wake up before 6am and start their day’s work. They met a reporter from  The Times  at 8pm. After that, BTS worked a few more hours, until after midnight, the working day ended.

Days off with BTS are now rare. Their most recent vacation lasted 3 days, in February this year, when the whole group went out of town for a barbecue.

“If you were in our position, you would understand,” Suga told the reporter. The Times recalls that this K-Pop star once suffered from depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder . “We simply don’t have time . Like today, for example. We finish work at midnight and then work again early tomorrow morning.”

Jimin, another member, added: “I don’t think anyone would date us. We don’t have time to meet our own families, to be honest. We don’t have a birth schedule. We act like normal people. Even if we have girlfriends, we can’t call it a real date.”

And clearly, BTS are not single guys because they are victims of social policies that cause gender imbalance, or because they are too ugly or too poor… On the contrary, they are successful young people. The richest, most famous and most desired today, not only in Korea but also in the world.

 BTS performed at London’s O2 Stadium, England on October 8. (Photo: DIY)

Over the past few years, BTS has visited 16 countries, performing in 32 major cities. Their world tour has just gone through Seoul, California, Texas, Chicago, New York, Ontario, London and soon Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo.

In August, BTS’s album Love Yourself: Answer reached number one on the Billboard chart (USA). Idol , their latest MV, broke Taylor Swift’s record for most views in the first 24 hours (MV Look What You Made Me Do ).

Most recently, BTS received the award for Favorite Artist on Social Networks at the American Music Awards (AMAs). They achieved achievements that any American star could dream of.

Huge pressure and history of mental illness

But because they are so famous, the group’s schedule is increasingly packed with performances (all the most prestigious stages), TV shows (the shows with the most audiences), and advertising shoots. consecutively (all giant brands), leading to a life of knowing almost nothing other than work.

The magazine also emphasized that the 7 members of BTS still live in the same apartment, with 2 people in each room, rather than living separately like adults in Western countries . They eat together, live together and are also supervised by managers, assistants and maids.

 The busy work schedule in many countries around the world is something BTS has become accustomed to in the past 2 years. (Photo: The Times)

“BTS is not only a collection of music artists, but also a brand, a force on social networks and will soon have their own TV show. It’s no surprise that they don’t have time to time for girls,”  The Times  wrote.

“I think there’s a unique pressure on K-Pop stars,” said leader RM, “It’s sad, but it’s also the reason people get excited about K-Pop stars.” to that extent, because we live together and do everything together. We practice so hard that we hardly sleep. We have that pressure by choice. And I think that makes us become should be special”.

However, RM also emphasized that despite the pressure and strict rules of being a K-Pop star, BTS will still stay in the profession for a long time because they love their work.

Becoming the most famous boy band in the world, BTS also endured more hardship than other K-Pop idols. In the photo is member Jin. (Photo: Allkpop)

“Basically, like every other great artist, we love what we’re doing and we understand what we’re doing,” the group leader said, “We always try to send stories and messages to society.” about the lives of young people, both teenagers and adults”.

That is the “thread” that runs through BTS’s music from the beginning of their career until now, and the story they tell is very popular with the Western public.

The story of member Suga, who once suffered from serious mental illness, is an example. Suga has put his experiences into BTS’s lyrics, from having his dreams imposed on him by his parents and society, to having days when he was so afraid of people that he hid in the bathroom to avoid meeting anyone. Who.

Depression is a common disease among young people in Korea and many Asian countries today, and Suga wants people to be more aware of it and not avoid it.

Even so, The Times said that a career as a K-Pop star seems like a bad choice for someone with a history of depression.