Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS

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The many quotes from the members themselves work well to support and legitimize the narrative, but what's really intriguing here is how the book navigates the K-Pop-typical adoration of the fandom (here: ARMY) and the downsides of this very fan service and superstardom in general: Often, the members talk about loneliness, exhaustion, depression, pain (both physical and mental), they address relentless bullying online and the loss of privacy which leads to alienation (also a huge topic of the book).

The book would have benefited from heavy editing and as it is, could have gotten the message across in half the length or less. Their genuine love and respect for one another, their passion for their music, and their devotion to ARMY fully come through in the pages of the book. This is an artist that constantly ekes out plenty of audiovisual content, and to me the challenge of a book is to prove the necessity of this written medium, when BTS have already bared their souls before in multiple documentaries, movies, vlives, youtube livestreams, etc. Throughout its 544 pages, the book features never-before-seen photos of the band, and over 330 QR codes for readers to explore trailers, music videos and more, bringing the key moments of BTS’s history to life.This could be nice in theory, if it wasn't so ceaseless that in the end the descriptions blur together and just become irritating.

For a memoir, the book is very clean and lacking in personality, and despite the fact that it repeats the word "genuine" and all its synonyms like a mantra, it remains feeling inauthentic. This might sound quite cliché because literally every ARMY says this, but BTS truly came into my life when I needed them the most. There’s also a big emphasis on explaining their thought process behind different songs and their lyrics, which I really appreciated.

In this respect, BTS and Big Hit, without even realising it themselves, were in the process of tearing down boundaries. Complete with a timeline of all major milestones, BEYOND THE STORY is a remarkable archive-truly everything about BTS in one volume. BTS are one of the most genuine, kindest, smartest, funniest, most talented people alive and they deserve to have true and dedicated fans forever. Beyond the Story chronicles BTS’s rise to global stardom in seven chapters, starting prior to their musical debut in June 2013 and taking readers through their decade-long journey to today.

In individual interviews that have been conducted without a camera or makeup, they illuminate their musical journey from multiple angles and discuss its significance. Through personal, stripped-back interviews conducted away from the cameras, BTS share personal, behind-the-scenes stories from their musical journey so far and discuss its significance for the first time.

Still, it would have been nice to explore some humanizing aspects more in detail — for example, when RM had to confront that his great hip hop influences had a culture of misogyny and how he in response worked to improve his perspective — but the book merely mentions and moves on from these in-depth moments of development, as though it’s afraid to acknowledge the members as having any flaws at all. Biography: BTS, an acronym of "Bangtan Sonyeondan" or "Beyond the Scene," is a boy band from South Korea that debuted on June 13, 2013. But also, this isn't a book of 'stories that go beyond what you already know about BTS' either, which is a phrase directly from the back cover.

From the first album 2 cool 4 Skool 2013 to their recent album Proof of 2022, BTS tell a story of the growing pains of a teenager and the transition to an adult, who whilst still learning, is happy with who they are with a couple of other stories mixed in the middle. Through interviews, images and behind-the-scenes information, Beyond the Story charts the meteoric rise and immense influence of Korean boyband BTS and is an absolute must-own for all fans of the K-pop megastars. I wouldn't go into it expecting to learn much (more) about them personally, or in any way unrelated to the band, though. If you know BTS well some things will already be known to you, but they also have included some new elements from the members' perspectives and also quite a lot of backstory for what happened during their most challenging and difficult years as a group. Complete with a timeline of all major milestones, BEYOND THE STORY is a remarkable archive -truly everything about BTS in one volume.In the decade since their global debut in 2013, BTS have broken world records, earned Grammy nominations, gained international recognition for their self-produced music and unmissable performances, and amassed millions of fans globally (a. I had to admit there were moments that made me laugh a little (see: Joon nearly having a mental breakdown at the 2017 America interviews), and I loved several segments on Yoongi and Namjoon (and even Chim) that accurately showcased the kind of introspective people they are. Lots of things were happening, which overlapped with things like our standing at the time, and I think I was trying to hide.