At the United Nations, BTS touched the stars

Original Source: https://bts101media.wordpress.com/2018/09/28/at-the-united-nations-bts-touched-the-stars/

In BTS’ speech for the United Nations, Kim Namjoon (RM) said he “used to look up at the night sky in wonder” and imagine he could “save the world.”

It’s not too far from the truth.

Sometimes I find myself thinking about astronomical probabilities, probabilities so unlikely that it would take something, whether it be fate or destiny or a higher being or just sheer willpower of karma, to make it possible. To me, that’s BTS. BTS is that astronomical probability.

I’m sure that if I sat down after a few more years of education (I’m a Statistics major!), I could create a model that could literally calculate the odds of BTS becoming what it has become. But I don’t need a model or a S.T.E.M. degree to know that when people say BTS touches the stars, they mean it. Maybe not literally, but people who touch stars expand limits.

Imagine this: you’re twenty-four years old, speaking in front of the United Nations, a platform so pertinent that the President of the free world will speak to the exact same people just one day later, and you’re delivering your remarks in your second language, and literally no other person on the planet knows exactly what you’re feeling and the pressure you might be under.

You’re Kim Namjoon. You’re the leader of a group of worldwide powerhouses that have become the heroes you’ve dreamed of being.

I said BTS was an astronomical probability. If one were to think about every single thing that could have easily changed to divert BTS from what they are now, astronomical likely still isn’t big enough of an adjective.

“These faults and mistakes are what I am, making up the brightest stars in the constellation of my life.”

It’s not enough to say that BTS breaks barriers. It’s not enough to say they trailblaze. When you think about it, really, really, think about it, BTS is far past the limits of K-Pop. They’re far past the expectations of the music industry, even, because although some artists may chart higher or longer, those same artists aren’t speaking to the United Nations and aren’t acting as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors for Generation Unlimited.

Don’t get me wrong, the music industry is great; it benefits the economy, all that great capitalistic jargon. People live their lives to make music. It's not a bad things. But the awards, the records, the fortune, the fame, it all means nothing if there isn’t a decent human being behind them. BTS is lucky. Instead of one, they have seven.

BTS’ United Nations address solidifies what I’ve suspected for a while: the world is beginning to recognize that BTS is more than a septet of trophy idols from Korea. Though it took five years, people are realizing there’s more to Bangtan Sonyeondan than what one might first suspect. Behind the glamour of the music videos and the vibrant hair colors, there is sincerity. There is substance. By giving them a platform, the United Nations showed they saw that. They trust others to see it, too.

Simply saying 'the United Nations' doesn't encapsulate all the good work that the organization does. The UN is bigger than a unity. Its name runs in a similar vein to BTS: those three little letters, how can they contain the extensivity of what the band is?

I suppose that's what part of aiming high is. When what someone was before can't contain what they were before, they have to come up with a new way of defining themselves. BTS has grown from solidifying their status with Daesangs to characterizing themselves as men with soul and care for others.

They'll keep on growing. The United Nations was the kickoff to the Generation Unlimited initiative, not the only segment of it. The stars are out there, waiting, for BTS to come and collect them, in both musical endeavors but also the humane ones.

I think the members of BTS are still on the margin of burgeoning in the Western world but one day they won't be. One day they'll be names that people associate with miracles.

One day, the sky won't be big enough and the stars we know will turn into constellations, permanent legacies in the history of humanity and the heroes of mythology. I can't wait to see it.