BTS RM Opens Up About Leadership: "A Leader Is Someone Who Does the Chores Nobody Wants"

RM, the leader of the group BTS, has shared thoughtful and honest thoughts.

Appearing in an interview with British fashion designer Bella Freud released on the 22nd, RM opened up candidly about everything from BTS's leadership to reading, art, and the philosophy behind his solo album.

Confessing that he never initially dreamed of becoming a global star despite the worldwide success of BTS, he shared his perspective: "In the pop industry, it is easy to get bogged down by charts, numbers, and influence, but I try to distance myself from those things and find inspiration in nature and real life. Shorts and Reels constantly pressure you to do something. I am most afraid of an era that moves too fast."

Having debuted with BTS in 2013, RM has served as the anchor and leader of the group. Reflecting on his role as a leader, he said, "Imagine a situation where everyone is lying on the sofa and the window is open, making it cold. Someone has to close the window, but everyone is too comfortable and no one wants to move. I think a leader's role is being the person who gets up and closes the window in that moment. If someone has to do it, I thought I should be the one."

He explained, "For the first eight or nine years, I had a very strong and somewhat dogmatic leadership style. As the group grew and the members built their own names and careers, that approach no longer worked. Since then, I've changed the way I communicate. When the members tell me, 'We know how hard you're trying. It's really great to have a leader like you,' all the stress from the past melts away. That is the beauty of a team."

He also showed special affection for his second solo full-length album, "Right Place, Wrong Person," released in 2024. He stated, "Since I've always lived with the mindset that I 'have to do well,' for this album, I focused more on becoming more comfortable and breaking away from a state of constant tension."

Wing Shya, a photographer who has collaborated extensively with film director Wong Kar-wai, participated in the album's visual work.

Relating to the album title, he shared, "I think most people living in 2026 can feel that way. Even at work, you might feel like, 'Am I the only one who is wrong?' or 'Am I the only one thinking or acting this way?' Everyone has experienced feeling like 'I am in the right place, but I feel like the wrong person,' or conversely, 'I am the right person, but I'm in the wrong place.' Thanks to mobile phones and media, people are getting more and more connected, but paradoxically, more people are suffering from depression and loneliness."

The conversation continued with a discussion on reading. Remembering his childhood when his parents took him to the municipal library every week, RM maintains a deep affection for books and art. He picked Hermann Hesse's "Demian" as a book that changed his life.

Expressing his gratitude, he said, "Through that book, I discovered the nature and reality of jealousy within myself for the first time. It allowed me to reflect on the jealousy I felt toward friends in class who were tall, handsome, good at studying, good at sports, and popular with the girls. I've read this book four or five times. Thanks to it, I gained the opportunity to naturally encounter the great wisdom left behind by senior generations."

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)