BTS memoir: Members were ‘mocked,’ ‘ignored’ at music shows – Insider

• BTS members recalled the struggle of promoting their 2014 single “Danger” on South Korean music shows. 
• At that point, the group still hadn’t earned their first win on a music show — an important milestone.
• V said that in one, the group was “ignored” or “mocked” for not being a contender for first place.

Several members of Korean septet BTS reflected on what it was like attending Korean music show broadcasts prior to getting their first win on one of them, saying that they were treated poorly by other artists at the time. 

The group opened up about their early days in “Beyond the Story: 10-year Record of BTS,” a memoir written by the members and journalist Myeongseok Kang. Before the group became one of the biggest musical artists in the world, they had to fight their way up in the Korean idol music scene, where a first win on a weekly music program is a crucial marker of success.

V, whose given name is Kim Tae-hyung, and j-hope, whose given name is Jung Ho-seok, reflected on one live broadcast when they were promoting their 2014 single “Danger.”

j-hope said that after “about twenty music show pre-recordings,” the group was called to attend the live broadcast for the announcement of first place. When they got there, the group was shocked that they weren’t even a contender for the top prize. 

“It’s fine if other teams are named as candidates for first place. We just need to work harder. But at the broadcasting stations, we’d always be the first to say hello and greet everyone, the sunbaes and hubaes alike,” V said, referring to senior and junior artists. 

“But some people just ignored us and passed right by,” he continued. “Or mocked us for not even being candidates for top place.”

BTS eventually went on to notch their first music show win in 2015 with the single “I Need U,” and numerous other global milestones in the following years. But the tension at that time in 2014 was high: The group was in the throes of preparing for a performance at the Mnet Asian Music Awards that year, was promoting “Danger,” and had come close to its first win with preceding single “I Need U.” 

According to V, the members felt “unspeakable disappointment” and “tear-jerking emotion” in the van after the broadcast when they didn’t win. 

“That’s when we thought, ‘Hey us, let’s do really well. So that no one will ever look down us again,’” he said.