BTS appointed ‘special presidential envoy’ to represent S Korea, group to attend UN General Assembly

PTI, Jul 22, 2021, 8:14 AM IST

Seoul: South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday appointed the Grammy-nominated music group BTS as the ‘Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture’, carrying forward their work in ”spreading hope and positive energy” through music.

According to a series of tweets posted on the verified Twitter account of Office of the President, the Republic of Korea, the septet will also attend the 76th UN General Assembly in September as part of their duties.

The band — comprising RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — will lead ”the global agenda for future generations, including sustainable growth, and to expand diplomatic power in line with Korea’s elevated status in the international community”.

”BTS will attend major international conferences such as the 76th UN General Assembly in September to deliver messages of comfort and hope to young people around the world as a ‘special envoy for future generations and culture’. We also plan to carry out various activities to promote international cooperation to solve global issues such as environment, poverty, inequality improvement, and respect for diversity,” the tweet read.

BTS — the full name is Bangtan Sonyeondan (meaning Bulletproof Boy Scouts) or Beyond The Scene, their English branding — is one of the most popular all-male groups in the world courtesy hit songs, like ”Boy in Luv”, ”ON”, ”Dope”, ”Black Swan”, and their Grammy-nominated ”Dynamite”, which was their first full-fledged English track.

BTS’ participation at this year’s UN General Assembly will be their third, following an in-person appearance in 2018 and their second, a pre-recorded video message in 2020 owing to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The group, whose music underscores the themes of identity, self-growth, healing and togetherness, has been in constant touch with their fans, collectively called ARMY, during the pandemic through several online concerts and interactions on social media.

Known for their relatable lyrics, seamless choreography, and creative concepts in videos, BTS recently released two back-to-back English songs ”Butter” and ”Permission to Dance”, the latter imagining a pandemic-free and inclusive world in near future.

”The activities which BTS who has been spreading hope and positive energy will carry out as a special envoy to the president are expected to greatly contribute to enhancing Korea’s national status as a leading country in the post-corona era,” read another tweet from Office of the President, the Republic of Korea.