BTS are going on an extended hiatus. The South Korean pop septet — RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — say they’ll be using the time to explore individual work.
The news arrived from the BTS members themselves in a “family dinner” video shared as part of their annual FESTA celebration, which marks the group’s nine year anniversary. In the video, which spans over an hour, the members reflect on their journey together so far before discussing their plans to pursue solo work.
“I think we should spend some time apart to learn how to be one again,” said J-Hope. “I hope you don’t see this as a negative thing, and see it as a healthy plan. I think BTS will become stronger that way.”
“It’s not like we’re disbanding!” SUGA interjected, providing a ray of hope for the BTS ARMY.
According to the members, tentative plans include solo releases from J-Hope and SUGA, who have both shared solo mixtapes in the past, followed by a solo album from Jungkook, a first for the youngest member of the group.
Following the announcement video, V took to Weverse to share his thoughts in a brief letter. “For the last ten years, we never stopped looking up towards what awaited us…Now, this is just the beginning, the first foosteps we are taking to ensure that we remain together as Bangtan for a long time. The purple string that ties ARMY and Bangtan together is strong, and will not ever break.”
While there is no official timeline yet for how long solo activities will run, the confirmation of new music from J-Hope coincides with his upcoming solo performance as a headliner at Lollapalooza.
“This version of the universe is the best version I can possibly think of,” RM shared through tears. “I always want to be RM of BTS.”
Watch the full video detailing the hiatus period below.
Last week, BTS released their anthology album, PROOF, which contained music from the group’s back catalog as well as several new songs.