BTS (방탄소년단) Speech at the 75th UN General Assembly— Video Transcript from BANGTANTV
BTS, the seven-member South Korean boy band once again returned to the United Nations to deliver another message of hope during the times of COVID-19.
Exactly, two years ago BTS were invited in person to speak at the 73rd session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September 2018, delivered a similar message during the virtual commencement “Dear Class of 2020” by YouTube in June of this past year & most recently at Korea’s first-ever Youth Day.
During this year’s speech at the 75th session of the U.N. General Assembly, all the members, shared their difficulties from cancelling their world tour to not being able to see fans & rediscovering themselves.
BTS’ speeches, lyrics, & personalities are not only reflections of their individual and group messages but are the thoughts & feelings of what ARMY dreamed of telling the world.
This full written transcript is from BTS (방탄소년단) Speech at the 75th UN General Assembly — Video uploaded by BANGTANTV.
Watch the full video here.
TRANSCRIPT
1:02 to 2:17 — Namjoon, RM
Thank you, Representatives of the member states of Group of Friends of Solidarity for Global Health Security, UNICEF Executive Director, Excellencies and distinguished guests from all around the world. It is a great honour for us to have this valuable opportunity to speak in a session in the 75th UN General Assembly.
My name is RM, the leader of the group BTS.
Two years ago here, I asked your name. I urged you to let me hear your voice. And I let myself be filled with imagination. As a boy from the small city of Ilsan in Korea, as a young man standing at the UNGA, as a global citizen of this world, I imagined the limitless possibilities before all of us & my heart beating with excitement. But COVID-19 was beyond my imagination. Our world tour was totally cancelled, all our plans went away, and I became alone, I looked up but couldn’t see the stars at night.
2:18 to 2:47 — Jimin
I felt hopeless. Everything fell apart. I could only look outside my window, I could only go to my room. Yesterday, I was singing & dancing with fans around the world, & now my world had shrunk to a room. And then, my friends took my hand. We comforted each other & talked about what we could do together.
2:49 to 3:25 — Yoongi, SUGA
Life became simple, maybe for the first time. It was precious time, unwarted but welcome. I’m used to an entire world shrinking in an instant. When I’m on tour, I stand in bright lights and loud cheers, but at night in my room my world, becomes only a few paces wide. The room itself was small, but my world and our world, reached far and wide. In this world we had our instruments, our phones and our fans.
3:26 to 3:59 — Taehyung, V
But this time it felt different. It felt lonelier and smaller. Why? I thought for a long time. I thought, maybe because it became harder to imagine. I was frustrated and depressed, but I took notes, wrote songs, and thought about who I was. I thought, “If I give up here, then I’m not the star of my life. This is what an awesome person would do.”
4:00 to 4:30 — Hoseok, J-Hope
I don’t know who was first. We embraced all these emotions and the seven of us began to make music together. This is where the music came from, and this made us honest. Our lives are unpredictable. We don’t know all the answers. I knew where I wanted to go, but not how I could get there. All I did to get here was trust ourselves, do my best and love what I do.
4:34 to 5:12 —Seokjin, Jin
I found again the people I love. The other members. my family, my friends. I found the music I love, and I found myself. Thinking about the future and trying hard are all important. But cherishing yourself, encouraging yourself and keeping yourself happy is the most important. In a world of uncertainty, we must cherish the importance of “me,” “you,” and “us.”
That’s the message of “LOVE MYSELF” we talked about for three years, it’s the message in the lyrics of our song “Dynamite,” “I’m diamond, you know I glow up.”
5:14 to 5:44— Jungkook
One night we were working together. RM said he couldn’t see the stars anymore, but I saw my face reflected in the window. I saw all of our faces. Our songs became the stories we wanted to tell each other. We live in uncertainty, but really, nothing’s changed. If there’s something I can do, if our voices can give strength to people, then that’s what we want and that’s what we’ll keep on doing.
5:45 to 6:59: — Namjoon, RM
When I start feeling lost, I remember my face in the window. Like Jungkook said. I remember the words I spoke here two years ago.
“Love yourself, speak yourself.”
Now more than ever, we must try to remember who we are and face who we are. We must try to love ourselves, and imagine the future. BTS will be there with you.
Our tomorrow may be dark, painful, difficult. We might stumble or fall down. Stars shine brightest when the night is darkest. If the stars are hidden, we’ll let moonlight guide us. If even the moon is fark, let our faces be the light that helps us find our way.
Let’s reimagine our world. We’re huddled together tired, but let’s dream again. Let’s dream about a future when our worlds can break out of our small rooms again. It might feel like it’s night and we’ll always be alone, but the night is always the darkest before the first light of dawn.
7:01 to 7:11— BTS
Life goes on. Let’s live on.
END
Event: General Assembly: General Debate, 75th session
Speech by: BTS, Kim Namjoon (RM), Kim Seokjin (Jin), Min Yoongi (SUGA), Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung (V), and Jeon Jungkook.
Date and time: September 23th, 2020, 22:00 KST/9 A.M. EDT
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Written & Transcribed by Admin C.
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