Fans send best wishes as hugely successful Korean group say they want to ‘recharge and refresh’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The hugely successful K-pop boy band BTS are taking an extended break from the music scene to allow their members to “enjoy their normal lives as normal 20-something young men”, the group’s management agency has said.

The seven-member band’s global fan base reacted sympathetically after Big Hit Entertainment said in a statement issued at midnight on Sunday that BTS would take their first official break from recording and performing since they formed six years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of fans – who refer to themselves as the “BTS army” – left messages of support on the band’s Twitter account, which has 21.3 million followers.

Feast from the east – why Britain is surfing the Korean culture wave Read more

“I love you very much and hope you enjoy your break to the fullest,” one wrote. Another said: “We are going nowhere and will be here to welcome you back with fanfares!” Some used the hashtags #RestWellBTS and #HappyVacationBTS.

The agency said it wanted the band’s members to use their “extended period of rest and relaxation” to “recharge and refresh as musicians and creators”.

It added: “If you run into BTS at an unexpected place, we ask for the fans’ consideration to allow the members to enjoy their private time.

“BTS will return refreshed and recharged to return all the love you have an continue to show them. Thank you.”

BTS – or Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates as Bulletproof Boy Scouts – have gained a huge following in recent years, becoming the first K-pop group to top charts in the US and Britain and playing a string of sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Paris and London.

Last year they became the first K-pop act to debut at the top of the Billboard Album chart with “Love Yourself: Tear.”

The agency’s statement did not say when the group would return to work, but they are scheduled to perform in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – to the anger of women’s and LGBT rights campaigners – and Seoul in October.

BTS’s phenomenal global popularity has been a bright spot in an otherwise difficult year for K-pop, with several musicians implicated in allegations of sexual misconduct.

BTS are worth more than $3.5bn annually to South Korea’s economy, according to the Hyundai Research Institute, and the band was the reason why one in every 13 foreign tourists visited the country in 2017.