By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
April 26, 2018
☆☆☆☆
One of the most bittersweet things I’ve experienced as an adult is that time goes by much too quickly. I blinked, and I went from being a college student to a middle-aged married woman with a young child. I am now much older than my parents were when they left everything and everyone — but us — behind in South Korea to start a new life in the United States.
In many ways, what I have accomplished with my life is the culmination of their hopes and dreams. Before my father passed away, he was able to see me earn a master’s degree from graduate school and win accolades in my professional life. He also was able to walk me down the aisle to marry a quality man.
It breaks my heart that he did not get to meet #SonOfJae. But that didn’t stop him from naming my future child before he died.
The men in BTS are still so young. But I get the impression that they are not oblivious to the passage of time. They know the half life of a musician’s career isn’t forever. Far from it. And while a part of me feels sad that they had to grow up so quickly in the music business, the other part is grateful that they appear to be making plans for the future, even as they are enjoying what they have today.
In this sixth episode of “Burn the Stage,” the group members talk about their roles in the band and how if affects them.
V says that he used to be envious of RM, J-Hope and Suga, because they were singing the songs that they wrote. When he got to perform “4 O’Clock” — a song he collaborated on with RM — he felt a true sense of accomplishment. The song works well with V’s deep, throaty voice. But just as important as the quality of the song, I liked that V visualized something he wanted and made it happen.
One of the recurring themes in the past few episodes has been Jimin questioning how good of a singer he is. Honestly, it surprised me, because he comes across so sure of himself in their stage productions. But then I remembered something that RM had said elsewhere — that of all the members, Jimin’s stage persona is the most different from who he is in real life.
Meanwhile, RM is grappling with the duality of being a regular guy and a superstar. He knows that K-Pop idols — heck, celebrities in general — are supposed to have a mysterious aura that separates themselves from the public. But that makes him uncomfortable. He refers to himself as stupid, for not being able to do this, but honesty and transparency is of utmost importance to him.
“People keep telling me that in the end, giving people room for controversy and interpretation is what makes a star,” says RM. “Many people have told me so. If I were clever and smarter, I’d do that. But I can’t be someone I’m not.”
He acknowledges that with all the wonderful aspects of his life with BTS, he misses the simple things that men his age do, like going out to meet friends for drinks or taking a walk by himself without being chased.
“I didn’t have enough time to live that life,” he says.
I interviewed RM around this time last year. He told me that he often took walks by the Han River in Seoul. Most celebrities don’t share their private haunts, because they don’t want to be hounded while they’re out and about. Heck, even my friends don’t like it when I write about their favorite restaurants, because they don’t want their local mom ‘n’ pop eatery to be ruined by tourists and looky-loos.
Before publishing my article, I asked him if he felt comfortable acknowledging this, because surely fans would go there seeking him out. He assured me it was fine to run in print.
This told me something important about RM: He trusted that his fans would not ruin a place that meant so much to him. But that if they did — and he could no longer go there because of safety reasons — he would be OK knowing that people were enjoying the beautiful scenery, because of his recommendation.
My favorite moment in this episode was near the end during their trip to Hong Kong. J-Hope and Jin are excited and talk about how delicious the food is there. Backstage, Jin is touched when he tells Jungkook to make him a ramen, and the latter does so. Jin is delighted that there’s a big mushroom with his noodles, until he realizes that it’s a chocolate ball that Jungkook put in as a joke. They cut to Jin eating … but was it the chocolate ramen? You tell me! (It reminded me of Rachel’s beef trifle in an episode of “Friends.”)
The most-talked about segment, though, surrounded RM and his injury. With two songs left to go, RM clearly is having difficulty walking and asks staff members for help. BTS could finish the show without him, but he says he’s fine.
Was I surprised by his decision? No. I think he would have had to have been unconscious for him to not finish the concert. Professionalism aside, he knows that this era of their lives won’t last forever. And when he transitions to life outside of BTS, it will be on his terms with no regrets.
Airdates: The eight-episode series premiered on March 28. The finale will air on May 9, 2018, on YouTube Red. Read more of my reviews of “BTS: Burn the Stage” here: Episode 1 & 2. Episode 3. Episode 4. Episode 5. Episode 7. Episode 8. My review of “Burn the Stage: The Movie” is here.
🇰🇷Was I surprised that RM chose to perform while injured? No. He would’ve needed to be unconscious to not finish the concert. My review of #BurnTheStageEp6.🤗If you enjoy it, please hit the LIKE button at the bottom of my blog post.💜⏯https://t.co/vvynAFNh3x⏮@BTS_twt pic.twitter.com/vsmHYxwOr0
— Jae-Ha Kim 김재하 (@GoAwayWithJae) April 26, 2018
© 2018 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
56 thoughts on ““BTS: Burn the Stage”: Episode 6”