BTS leader RM gets real about the struggle of the highly-competitive K-pop world: ‘Westerners don’t understand...’

Beneath the glitz and glamour, the K-pop industry is known for its cut-throat competition, a lack of privacy, online bullying, and relentless public pressure to maintain a wholesome image at all times and any cost. Bright and irresistible, K-pop provides the beat to South Korea’s youth culture. But behind the perfect smiles and dance routines are tales of sexism and abuse.

Many youngsters join agencies merely when they are 13, practise relentlessly day and night for over 9-10 hours, in hopes of making a debut. But working hard doesn’t alone guarantee their debut and most of them call it quits because of the overwhelming pressure. Now, in a recent interview BTS leader RM shared his candid thoughts when asked about the highly-competitive K-pop culture.



“My company doesn’t like it when I answer questions like this, because I do acknowledge parts of it. Some reporters are going to write headlines like, ‘RM calls it a horrible system that destroys young people!’ But I think that system has, in its own way, played a role in shaping this unique industry. A lot has improved over time, too, things like contract terms and training methods have changed significantly for the better,” he said as per Koreaboo.

When highlighted how Westerners judge and condemn their competitive struggle, RM replied, “Westerners don’t understand. Korea is a country that was invaded, devastated, and then divided in two. Just 70 years ago, we had nothing.

We were a country that needed help from the IMF and the UN. But now, we’re a nation the whole world is watching. How was that even possible? How did this happen? It’s because people worked like crazy to move forward.

Then people from countries like France or the UK, nations that colonized others for centuries, come here and say things like, ‘Wow...

you guys are way too hard on yourselves. Life in Korea is so stressful!’ The BTS member continued, “But those things are what it takes to make it. And they’re also what make K-Pop so captivating.

Sure, there’s a gray area when it comes to judgment, but anything that happens too fast or too intensely is bound to come with side effects.” RM is currently serving his mandatory military service. The K-pop idol is expected to be discharged in June.

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