I have no doubt the reason everything presented in the book feels vetted (even cautious and vague) is because of the attacks BTS have been victim of since the beginning — who can blame them for being so protective of their personal relationships or unflattering moments?

Still, it would have been nice to explore some humanizing aspects more in detail — for example, when RM had to confront that his great hip hop influences had a culture of misogyny and how he in response worked to improve his perspective — but the book merely mentions and moves on from these in-depth moments of development, as though it’s afraid to acknowledge the members as having any flaws at all. SUGA’s thoughts, RM’s words, Jimin’s actions, V’s unique style, Jin’s cheerfulness, j-hope’s optimisim.Published in celebration of BTS’s 10th anniversary, Beyond the Story is the highly anticipated book from one of the world’s most successful bands. I’ve followed BTS since late 2017 and as such, few ‘revelations’ are new - still, I appreciate the effort to insert novel detail (or novel retellings of old details) for an old-timer like me.

And then one day, I randomly watched the Boy In Luv music video on YouTube and my ARMY journey started right there and then.I'm too blessed to have met them in this life" said by Jhope about the members perfectly sums up how I and millions of others feel too.

While reading this book, I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face because I kept being reminded of all the emotions I've felt while stanning BTS. Otherwise, BTS remains a multimedia endeavor that now has an official book that seamlessly blends into their overall oeuvre. The quotes from the members are nice too, if sometimes a bit repetitive and something we've heard before. I'm more than willing to wait for them and I promise to be there for them and cheer louder than any person on earth when they all eventually come back to us.All of these would have been fascinating subjects to dive into, even for a subchapter's length, but the book seems afraid of revealing anything too vulnerable, which wouldn't fit this hero narrative it has decided to structure itself around. It's written in an approachable way for fans and newbies alike, and the 300+ QR-Codes added make it easy to check out content the text refers to, from songs to MVs to variety shows to interviews. They have risen to the peak as an iconic global artist and during this meaningful time, they look back on their footsteps in the first official book.

Though the comic-y and adjective-wrought writing style isn't something I'd enjoy even in an article, it becomes overbearing and too noticeable in a longer form, which it is clearly not meant for. Myeongseok Kang is a longtime critic and former editor in chief for many media outlets whose writing focuses on Korean pop culture, including K-pop.They show gratitude to a fandom that has catapulted them into superstardom, while also making them lonely and robbing them of the right to privacy (God help them if they ever decide to publicly date a person).