BTS says they’re taking a break, label clarifies it’s not a hiatus

MANILA, Philippines – After almost a decade together, the members of BTS said they were taking a break to focus on themselves as they head into their next chapter.

The group made the announcement during a live stream of their dinner party on Tuesday, June 14.

Over food and drinks, the group discussed their last nine years together, opening up about feeling burned out from work.

“For me, it was like the group BTS was within my grasp until [their singles] ‘ON’ and ‘Dynamite’ but after ‘Butter’ and ‘Permission to Dance’ I didn’t know what kind of group we were anymore,”  said the group’s leader, RM.

“The problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature. You have to keep producing music and keep doing something,” he added.

The group shared that they will be taking a break from their activities as a group and focus on their individual projects.

“We could focus on our solo work this time and later when we gather again as a group, the synergy will be like no other,” said V.

After talking about each of their struggles and plans, the K-pop superstars were quick to reassure fans that they would be returning.

“We’re each going to take some time to have fun and experience lots of things. We promise we will return someday even more mature than we are now. So I just hope that you could give us your blessing,” Jung Kook said, addressing the fans.

J-hope echoed his sentiments, saying “I think we should spend some time apart to learn how to be one again…I hope you don’t see this as a negative thing and see that it’s a healthy plan.”

“It’s not that we’re disbanding. We’re just living apart for a while,” Suga stressed.

“I want BTS to go on for a long time. We have to go through this to do that,” said RM. “Right now, we might be stopping for a break and being lazy but that’s all for the future ahead of us.”

BTS’ management Hybe later clarified that they were not officially going on hiatus, and will continue to work together as a group as they focus on solo projects.

“BTS are not taking a hiatus. Members will be focusing more on solo projects at this time,” Hybe said in a statement as quoted on AP.

Ostensibly the biggest K-pop group in the world, BTS made their debut in June 2013.

They announced their break just days after the release of their anthology album Proof, 48 tracks of their greatest hits, demos, and new songs. – Rappler.com