BTS split! The band shares they are on a ‘temporary hiatus’

The massively successful K-Pop boy band BTS is going their separate ways for now.

The popular South Korean band shared that they are on ‘temporary hiatus’ to purse solo careers, but they promised to ‘return someday.’ 

They announced the news during their annual FESTA dinner which celebrates the band’s nine years together as bandmember RM said it was time for them to work on their own.

Several of the members broke down in tears as they talked taking time off. 

The members are Jungkook, 24; Jin, 29; RM, 27; V, 26; Suga, 29; J-Hope, 28; and Jimin, 26.

Breaking the news: The K-Pop boy band BTS are going their separate ways for now. The popular South Korean band members were in tears when they shared that they are on ‘temporary hiatus’ to purse solo careers, but they promised to ‘return someday’

All here: The members are Jungkook, 24; Jin, 29; RM, 27; V, 26; Suga, 29; J-Hope, 28; and Jimin, 26. Seen in November

‘I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature,’ RM said at the event.

‘You have to keep producing music and keep doing something.’ 

And Jimin added, ‘We can’t help but think of our fans no matter what, we want to be the kind of artists that are remembered by our fans. 

‘I think now we’re starting to think about what kind of artists we each want to be remembered by our fans.

Breaking the news: They announced the news during their annual FESTA dinner which celebrates the band as bandmember RM said it was time for them to work on their own

So many tears: Many of the band members had to wipe tears away at the dinner

Sad news: ‘I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but 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,’ RM said

Hard for the fans: And Jimin said, ‘We can’t help but think of our fans no matter what, we want to be the kind of artists that are remembered by our fans

‘I think that’s why we’re going through a rough patch right now, we’re trying to find our identity and that’s an exhausting and long process.’ 

V insisted this is not a split adding that they will get back together ‘later when we gather again as a group that synergy will be like no other.’

J-Hope then said, ‘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 it as a healthy plan. I think BTS will become stronger that way.’

A sad time: J-Hope then said, ‘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 it as a healthy plan. I think BTS will become stronger that way’

So much emotion: Several of the band members cried and tried to comfort each other and cracked the occasional smile

Waterworks: Eyes were red and faces grim as they sat at a long wood table with wine and appetizers on it

It took a while: Each band member spoke during the hour long video shared with fans

Individual members already have plenty of going on by themselves: Jung Kook released a solo single Sunday, called My You and J-Hope has been announced as a headliner of Chicago’s Lollapalooza festival in July.

It is their first extended break in their nine-year career. 

BTS is a South Korean boy band that was formed in 2010 and debuted in 2013. 

They are also known as the Bangtan Boys.

This is not the first time they have taken a break. In December 2021, they said they needed some down time to recharge. And they also took a mini break in 2019.

US visit: BTS was seen at a White House press briefing with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in May in Washington, DC

In 2021, the group’s management company Big Hit Music said in a statement: ‘We would like to inform you that BTS is planning to take a second official extended period of rest since their first in 2019. BTS stayed active in order to engage with fans in 2020 and 2021 amidst the Covid-19 situation, and achieved dazzling results to cement themselves as top global artists.’

In 2019 it was also announced the band needed some time.

‘This period of rest will be an opportunity for the members of BTS, who have relentlessly driven themselves towards their goal since their debut, to recharge and prepare to present themselves anew as musicians and creators,’ it was shared at the time.

‘This will also provide them with a chance to enjoy the ordinary lives of young people in their 20s, albeit briefly.’

New tune: Earlier this month they released released the music video for Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment) from their compilation album Proof. Seen in April

On Friday the group released its latest album Proof, a compilation pairing some of their biggest hits with rarities and unreleased songs.

Accompany the new hits package was a video for the newly released single Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment), which features the members in a serene desert setting. 

The cover for BTS’ new album features the group’s logo, two trapezoid’s shaped like half-open doors, though they were flanked by several more abstract white shapes against an all-black background.

‘The BTS anthology album that embodies the history of BTS will be released as they begin a new chapter as an artist that has been active for nine years to look back on their endeavors,’ read a statement released by BTS’ management group Big Hit Music last month.

‘The anthology album Proof that consists of three CDs includes many different tracks — including three all-new tracks — that reflect the thoughts and ideas of the members on the past, present and future of BTS,’ it concluded.

The septet previously hinted at the album’s release date at its Las Vegas residency shows in April.

New and old: On Friday the group released its latest album Proof, a compilation pairing some of their biggest hits with rarities and unreleased songs

In nature: The South Korean group also released a video for Yet To Come featuring the septet out in a desert last week

Colorless: They’re introduced in matching white suits while sitting in chairs in the middle of the desert. They stay seated while singing English and Korean over the mid-tempo ballad

During the shows, the release date flashed on video screens, along with the phrase, ‘We are bulletproof,’ according to People. 

In the video for the new Proof track Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment), the group are introduced sitting in the middle of a desert on chair while wearing matching white suits.

They initially stay seated as they sing a mix of English and Korean while staying seated for the mid-tempo ballad.

Need for speed: Next, a pickup truck is seen barreling through the desert with the band

Next, a pickup truck is seen barreling through the desert, signaling a change as the singers and rappers switch into different outfits while emoting in cinematic slow motion against sand dunes.

During a rap break, Suga is seen standing atop a red upright piano in an oasis filled with colorful flowers.

J-Hope takes over then as he struts around an abandoned train that leans precariously on its rails. 

The video ends on an odd note after the music concludes with a coda showing all seven members sitting on a school bus in the desert to soft ambient music.

People reported on Friday that pop-up shops in Los Angeles and New York will offer an immersive experience to the band’s lucky fans located on the coasts.

‘The Los Angeles and New York City pop up stores are official company activations designed to honor the fans and to give them another outlet to celebrate the June 10th release of BTS’ anthology album Proof,’ read a statement about the shops.

Award winners: Seen at the American Music Awards in November in Los Angeles