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Members of BTS pose for a photo at a press conference held in Seoul for the release of their new single “Butter” on May 21. (Yonhap News)

What marks the beginning of the history of BTS, the K-pop boy group? BTS’ first official performance is recorded as taking place on June 13, 2013, though individual members had performed in songs by other groups in the label prior to that. June 13 was when they held their debut performance on M Countdown on Mnet, one day after releasing their first single. This article takes a brief look at what has happened to BTS over the past eight years, focusing on notable changes in its members.

Jungkook, born in 1997, was still in middle school at the time of BTS’ debut. That’s where he got his nickname “Golden Maknae” (“maknae” is a Korean word meaning the youngest person in a family or group). As a natural consequence, Jungkook has undergone the most physical changes of any BTS member.

In his journey from adorable boy to gorgeous man, Jungkook has gone from a kiddo that the other BTS members helped parent to the strongest guy in the group. By now, he’s made his name as the group’s main vocalist.

Given his broad vocal range, Jungkook sang in a low register on the early album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life.” But in the recent track “On,” he displayed a surprising command of an extremely high register with a falsetto. He’s demonstrated impressive vocal chops, easily handling difficult songs while sitting down or dancing in a live show.

While Jungkook handles the main vocals, the group leader is and always has been RM. Jungkook has seen rapid growth with the group, but RM has been a sharp and reliable leader since the very beginning.

As can be seen in his speech to the UN General Assembly and his raps about the contemporary struggles of young Koreans, RM is more than a leader: he feels responsibility and concern for the young generation as a whole.

V is pictured with his curly perm. (V Live screenshot)

RM has an unusual knack for language. In addition to a keen understanding of Korean, his mother tongue, he’s at a native level in English and has considerable facility with Japanese and Chinese as well.

But no one can be perfect at everything. One of RM’s nicknames is “God of Destruction,” a nod to his habitual clumsiness. He’s infamous for frequently losing or breaking things.

In addition, RM’s dancing skills used to be somewhat lacking, but lately, he’s been improving by leaps and bounds.

In a way, that’s a shame – because that basically leaves RM without any flaws that we can tease him about.

Jin, the oldest member of the group, is the one who attracted me to Army, as the BTS fanbase is called. I was drawn to his beauty like a moth to the flame. That was the moment my BTS obsession began.

Jin’s singing ability has steadily progressed. He has built up his innate talent for high notes, enhancing his appeal. Reaction videos show that it’s Jin’s vocals that most often bring his listeners to tears.

Jin’s vocal capacity shines at the moment of epiphany. I strongly encourage you to look up videos of live performances in which he’s accompanying himself at the piano. Early on, there were times when Jin seemed to lose his place in up-tempo songs, but recently, he’s overcome that limitation.

Many think that Jin’s talent has been underestimated because of his good looks. That’s true, and I kind of wish people would say that about me!

V, who’s regarded as BTS eye candy along with Jin, often changes his hairstyle.

As usual, his latest hairstyle has made waves. It’s a curly perm, a favorite of middle-aged Korean women. I was shocked to see how attractive that hairstyle could be.

But there should have been a warning message on the screen: don’t try this at home, kids. For ordinary people, the hairstyle looks like a practical joke.

V’s vocal timbre is a rare treat. He often handles the mid- and low range, and his appeal is most evident on the song “DNA.”

But in “Butter,” BTS’ latest single, V easily handles the same vocal range as Jin. The moment I saw V start the second verse, wearing an orange suit in the elevator, I realized he was the star of the song.

There’s nothing I can add about J-Hope’s dance skills. Nicknamed the “choreographer,” J-Hope has been a talented dancer since the very beginning, and he’s still soaring at a level I don’t dare to evaluate.

When J-Hope shows off his dance moves, all the action on the stage seems to disappear, and I can only see him dancing in midair. Rather than dancing to the beat, it’s as if he is the beat.

Though he got started later than RM or Suga, J-Hope has made remarkable improvements as a rapper. His growth culminated in his solo song “Chicken Noodle Soup” in 2019. From the beginning of his song, he spans a wide range of vocal registers and raps skillfully and confidently, even weaving in some dialect words from his home of Gwangju.

In the music video, which is approaching 300 million views, J-Hope dances circles around street dancers from around the world.

Jimin is the BTS member who shows what happens when you combine genius with diligence. His dancing and vocals have always been on another level, but now they’re nearly beyond explanation.

Watching a video of Jimin performing his solo song “Filter,” I’m confronted with several shocking facts. One is just how many kinds of men’s clothing there are. Another is that it’s apparently possible to change one’s clothes in three seconds flat. Finally, I didn’t realize how blurred the boundary was between art and pornography.

After seeing the rather risqué dancing in the “Filter” concert, many fans warned Jimin he should stop — if only to keep all his fans from dying of a heart attack.

My recommendation is that you watch the full video and then stream the official song with your eyes closed. It’s incredible to think that Jimin is capable of belting out such a difficult song live while also handling the choreography.

I’m going to omit the bildungsroman for Suga, my BTS bias since I’ve already dealt with that in my previous columns. Plus, I have a hard time getting off the subject once I get started talking about him.

I get teary-eyed when I think of the vast amount of time I’ve wasted because of “Minsuga.” I’m thinking about filing a class-action lawsuit with other Army members.

Stay tuned for my last column, which will include a list of what you should make a point of checking out if you’re new to BTS.

By Lee Jae-ik, radio producer at SBS

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]