How BTS Continues to “Conquer” the K-Pop Industry

BTS is back.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday, the K-pop stars opened up about what’s next for the group following their “extended period of rest and relaxation.” 

The boy band announced plans to take a vacation back in August—leading many fans to wonder if they were taking a “hiatus” à la One Direction. However, the group’s members—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook—insisted this wasn’t the case. 

“It’s not a big deal,” Suga told the magazine through a translator. “It’s literally a vacation.”

So, how did they enjoy their time off? At the time of the interview, a few singers said they planned on spending time with their family members, who they reportedly hadn’t seen in over a year. RM also expressed interest in taking a trip to Venice, Italy to check out the art. Still, they couldn’t escape the speculation around their holiday.

“I’m just a young man who likes to watch Stranger Things on Netflix and loves to eat and drink beer,” he said. “But I turn on CNN and BBC and they’re talking about our vacation. It feels like we’re living in a different world.”

However, the stars returned from their vacations in September—ready to continue their dominance of the K-pop industry.

“We have to consider ourselves not just better [than other K-pop acts], but the best,” RM said. “When we’re out there on that stage, we’re there to conquer. We think we’re the ones.”

The artists have already set the bar pretty high. They’ve had seven songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, including two top 10 hits. They also had three no. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart in less than a year. In addition, they’ve racked up a number of awards and earned millions of YouTube views through their music videos. Plus, they’re getting ready to start the next leg of their tour.

Overall, The Hollywood Reporter estimates that the “BTS ecosystem”—consisting of merchandise, tourism dollars and other revenue generators—accounts for $4.65 billion of South Korea’s GDP. 

“We’re not really compelling each other to keep this going,” Jimin told the outlet. “It’s nothing like that. We just have so much fun together singing and dancing that we want it to continue.”

The singers also have a few more goals they’d like to meet. For instance, when asked about their dream collaboration, the artists said they’d love to team up with Drake.

“As long as our bodies hold up, we’ll be doing the same thing in 10 years,” Suga said. 

To read their full interview, check out The Hollywood Reporter.