The K-pop megastars BTS have released their much-anticipated memoir. "Beyond the Story: 10 Year Record of BTS", was released to mark the 10th anniversary of the group. This is the group's first official book and contains a chronological summary of their decade-long musical career.
The septet which debuted in 2013, announced the book in May. Over the course of their 10-year-long career, the seven-member boyband has become a cultural phenomenon, selling out stadiums and dominating charts around the world.
In the last five years, the five-time Grammy-nominated artists raked in over 4 billion US dollars each year to the South Korean economy. While talking to AFP a fan of the group said, “Thank you for saving me when I needed it,”.
“I wish I could say more, but I am going to cry now,” she added.
The book, which is also being released in the United States, is co-written by the South Korean journalist Kang Myeong-Seok and members of the band and has been translated into English by Anton Hur, in collaboration with Clare Richards and Slin Jung.
Even before the release, the book shot to the top of the Amazon bestseller list in May with pre-orders.
The members of the band including RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are currently focusing on their solo activities while they finish their mandatory military service.
All able-bodied men in South Korea must serve at least 18 months in the military and, after a years-long debate about whether BTS deserved an exemption, Jin, the oldest member of the group, enlisted last year.
His bandmate J-Hope started his mandatory service in April, South Korean media reported at the time.
Before the break, BTS bagged six No1 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 and seven No1 on the Billboard 200 making them the only artists in history to do so.