PETALING JAYA, March 11 — BTS leader, RM, revealed his frustrations over the cancellation of the group’s four concerts in Seoul as the Covid-19 epidemic continues to worsen in South Korea.
Speaking during a live stream on the band’s V Live channel yesterday, he confessed to feeling “powerless” in the face of the virus outbreak which has heavily impacted the band’s promotion of their new album Map of the Soul: 7.
South Korea currently has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases outside China and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 242 new cases today, bringing the total to 7,755.
“It was very hard, and I felt so powerless. There were so many things we had prepared. We prepared for so long and we rehearsed for such a long time.
“So I felt dejected, really dejected. We were meant to show all these things to you,” said RM, as reported by Soompi.
BTS was initially set to perform on April 11, 12, 18, and 19 at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul but was forced to cancel the shows in late February due to health and safety concerns over Covid-19.
While the septet has continued to promote their single ON on music broadcasts in Seoul, performances are recorded without live audiences and many K-pop acts have chosen to limit in-person interactions with fans.
BTS, arguably the world’s most famous boyband at the moment, famously live streamed the press conference for Map of the Soul: 7 from an empty hall and answered pre-selected questions from journalists on February 24.
The virus outbreak has been a bitter pill for RM and his fellow members to swallow as they had been looking forward to sharing their new music with fans for a long time.
“We were announcing our return but there was no one there, only cameras.
“Of course, we received reactions about our comeback, but we didn’t have any direct interactions with people in person.”
Despite the challenges, the 25-year-old said he was still grateful for the opportunity to appear on music broadcasts and urged his fans to stay safe.
“I, at least, get to borrow the power of media and share my stories, because offline interactions aren’t possible these days.
“But we must keep moving forward. What else can we do? We have to keep moving forward, and I believe that if many in Korea wait, there will be good news.”
