BTS members share stories from tough trainee period to massive success on Korean talk show

BTS guests on 'You Quiz On The Block'. Photo: Handout

World phenomenon BTS guests on the 99th episode of the Korean talk show You Quiz On The Block, reports various Korean media.

Malaysians can catch You Quiz On The Block’s BTS Special on March 30 at 10.30pm on tvN (Astro Ch 395).

Talking to hosts Yoo Jae-suk and Jo Se-ho, BTS members touched on their early days, their recent worldwide success as well as future goals.

Jimin, Jungkook, and J-Hope spoke about the challenges they faced during their trainee period, when the seven of them shared a small apartment with a large number of other hopefuls, all vying for a place in the K-pop industry.

Jimin recalled (as translated by soompi.com): “I was the last of the members to arrive as a trainee. I went in with such high hopes. But when I went to the dorm, there were shoes all the way to the kitchen. I wasn’t in the dorm with the status of a ‘BTS member', and I didn’t live in Seoul, so I was always apprehensive about when I’d have to leave.”

Talking about BTS current success, Yonhap reports J-Hope saying: "There's nothing that lasts forever. Suga once said, 'I want to wrap things up with a soft landing rather than a nosedive.' I really relate with that."

With every global success BTS achieves, the members confess to feeling the pressure and having doubts.

Suga shared on the time when BTS first penetrated the American market: “We went to these American awards shows and I was so scared. There were no senior artistes we could ask about what to do. I was the most nervous during our first performance in the United States.

“I went to the hotel and cried because this wasn’t what I had wanted, I hadn’t wanted such a high-pressure situation. I was really scared because I knew this was just the beginning. Of course, it was an honour and we were grateful, but I wondered if this was the right place for us and if we had really wanted to come this far.”

Although they had plans to disband at one point, they did persevere. And together, they went on to create new achievements for a Korean group including being the first Korean act to debut No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 to the first Korean nominee to perform at the Grammys.

"Being nominated itself was great,” V said of BTS’ recent Grammy nomination. “But I guess I wanted to win an award. Not winning somehow refreshed me. I think it will be a driving force for becoming better."

Even with the group’s enviable records, the members are still humbled by the generous acts of their fans, the ARMY.

Jimin said: “They’re the people we love. I can’t think of any other way to say it. They’re the ones who make us feel a lot of different emotions. Even though we’re young, they helped us grow and told us it was OK when we made mistakes. They’re the ones who make me think of the reasons for love.”

As for how the seven of them have found the balance to co-exist as a strong unit, Suga revealed: “A lot of people ask us how we get along so well. I tell people that it’s because we fought a lot. We really fought so much. But we always resolved them within 24 hours. That was the rule we set for ourselves.”