The Korea Singer Association President Lee Jae Yeon fears the impact of BTS’s hiatus on South Korea’s music industry and the Korean pop culture.
Lee Jae released an official statement about the issue on Wednesday, June 22, begging BTS and HYBE to reconsider their decision to let the boy group go on a break. So, would they listen?
Korea Singer Association Reacts to BTS’s Hiatus
Lee Jae revealed her fears when BTS started their hiatus, from losing the BTS Hallyu Wave to finding the next boy group who would have the same fame and success they had.
"I'm overcome by my fear and concern that the 'BTS Hallyu Wave', a movement possessing the greatest cultural soft power that the world has ever witnessed, will vanish soon,” she said, via AllKpop. “In the years leading up to the birth of this movement, it was believed that finding the 'Next Beatles' would be a very difficult achievement, and now, we have arrived at a point where it is difficult to hope for the 'Next BTS' to emerge any time soon.”
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With that said, it raises great concern that the “heartbeat of Hallyu” will suddenly stop. For starters, Hallyu or Korean Wave is the term used to describe the global success of Korean pop culture.
Lee Jae continued that releasing this statement didn’t come easy, but she decided to do it anyway to beg BTS and its agency to reconsider their decision.
“Please, will you reconsider the decision to go on a group hiatus for the future of South Korea's music industry?" she asked.
The Impact of BTS’s Hiatus On Hallyu and Korean Culture
Lee Jae continued that if BTS went away, the missions of Hallyu and Korean culture, ARMYs, would also be gone.
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“South Korea's tourism industry will suffer, and it will be difficult to hope for a future for South Korea as a hub of culture in Asia,” she explained. “The special laws allotted to the sports and the classical music and arts industries for mandatory military service must be extended to popular culture as well.”
With that said, the need for action and attention to this issue is now pressing.
BTS Announced Hiatus
In the pre-recorded dinner for BTS’s ninth anniversary, the septet announced their “hiatus.”
However, Suga stressed that they weren’t disbanding. “We’re just living apart for a while,” he said, per The Guardian.
RM added he wanted the group to continue for a long time. “We have to go through this to do that,” Suga explained.
But as many seemed to take their announcement out of context, HYBE released an official statement to clear the air.
"BTS are not taking a hiatus,” it said. “Members will be focusing more on solo projects at this time."
Jungkook also set the record straight on the live streaming app VLive.
“There was so much news about BTS breaking up and stopping all activities and I wanted to clear that up,” he started. “I don’t want you to misunderstand, we are not disbanding.”
He even said it wasn’t really a hiatus. “We are still filming [our reality show] Run BTS,” he added. “BTS is forever.”
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