The earthquake caused by the announcement of separation or temporary rest of the bts music group it was felt on the Seoul Stock Exchange, with the company that represents the gang plummeting 24%, and throughout South Korea, where admirers and authorities are left orphans of what until now was their main cultural ambassador.
The announcement came in the most unexpected way, in a video posted Tuesday around 9:00 p.m. South Korean time (12:00 GMT) on the YouTube platform in which its seven members were seen having dinner together on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the bandwhich had just been fulfilled the day before.
During the recording, framed in BTS Partythe annual online event with which the group celebrates their anniversaries, the seven recalled their experiences together and, little by little, they began to underline how exhausted they are and to drop that they need to focus on their personal projects.
The message has in fact generated enormous confusion that has forced Hybe, the communication company that created and still represents the group, to step out, succinctly assuring a statement that “BTS are not taking a break. Its members will be focusing more on their personal projects”.
This cryptic communication suggests that the band would abandon joint musical projects for the time being but would continue to produce audiovisual content for websites and social networks or participate in promotions.
Hit on the Stock Market
In any case, the price of the company founded by the producer and composer Bang Si-hyuk closed today 24.7% below its closing on Tuesday and during the day it reached its lowest historical valuation, 140,000 won per share.
When Hybe -which at the time operated under a different structure and under the name Big Hit Entertainment- went public in October 2020 many analysts expressed doubts about an asset whose billing depended on more than 90% of one of the few bands that represented at that time, BTS.
Proof of this is that the corporation’s shares reached their peak in November last year, coinciding with the release of “BE”, the band’s latest studio album, and since then, waiting for BTS to announce a new work or a global tour, have fallen by 63.8%.
It is true that Hybe has greatly diversified its activity in the last two years, that it has acquired new labels and has in its portfolio bands with apparent great potential, such as the recently launched girl group Le Sserafimin addition to having started a global audition last week to find a new male ensemble.
And above all, the company has continued to explore new ways to monetize its product beyond the traditional avenues of the industry.
Still, a horizon without BTS (or without BTS at 100%) seems to cast for investors too much uncertainty.
Happiness and sadness
Apart from the confusion generated, the video of the anniversary dinner has brought sadness and joy at the same time among ARMY, the official group of band’s supporters mainly made up of women.
Joy because, as many fans have commented on networks like Weverse, the seven will be able to take a break and stop devoting themselves body and soul to something that, according to several members, seems to have stopped making them happy.
The level of sincerity shown in the video by RM, Jimin, V, J-Hope, Suga, Jin and Jungkook was unusual for the K-Pop industry and also for BTS themselves, who in the last five years have granted a in-depth interview with a media outlet.
Although the message came edited and controlled by Hybe, the seven recognized how different they are and how difficult it has been to live a decade between them, admitted to suffering from creative exhaustion, the feeling of no longer controlling what they produce or the pressure to please millions of followers around the world, and affirmed suffering from something that most of their countrymen suffer from; exhaustion due to overwork.
The months that remain ahead can, yes, serve to solve a thorny issue that has planned on the group during the last two years; the need for them to complete military service, which lasts between 18 and 21 months and is mandatory for all able-bodied South Korean males.
Meanwhile, South Korea may lose its top ambassadors for now (its seven members have, in fact, been issued special diplomatic passports), converted today into a symbol of the extraordinary economic growth that the Asian country has experienced and of the enormous projection that its so-called “soft power” has today. (AND)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
