BEYOND THE STORY

The first 10 years of one of the world’s most popular acts.

RM, SUGA, j-hope, Jung Kook, V, Jimin, and Jin. If these names are immediately familiar, no review is going to dissuade you from buying—or persuade you to buy—this book. If, however, you have no idea who these people are, read on. They are BTS, a boy band that, as of 2023, are the bestselling recording artists in South Korean history. Their fandom is massive and international. This vibrant, full-color book is a detailed account of their journey from young K-pop hopefuls to global megastars. Myeongseok Kang takes readers inside the idol–making system of K-pop and intersperses his narrative with quotes from BTS members. The text is studded with QR codes that take readers to official videos and vlogs, blog posts, the official BTS Twitter feed, and other digital content. There are also countless photos—no surprise given the highly visual nature of K-pop, whose albums are often packaged with a photo book, photo cards, and posters, in addition to being issued in multiple editions with different packaging. From the Monkees to the Backstreet Boys, it’s always been easy to mock boy bands as superficial and sappy, but this book makes it clear that BTS take their craft seriously. When SUGA joined Big Hit Entertainment at 17, he was already making money as a songwriter in his hometown of Daegu. Jimin was planning to attend a high school for the arts so that he could continue to study dance. Even while they were enduring the punishing hours of practice required to have a shot at stardom, they were pushing back against their producer’s wishes for a more commercial sound. The fact that BTS redefined what “commercial” sounds like for a generation of fans around the world suggests they were right to insist on their vision.

A must-have for the BTS ARMY and a deep dive into South Korean culture and music.