by Myeongseok Kang, translated by Anton Hur, Slin Jung, and Clare Richards
First sentence: “Korea’s busiest crossroads is in Seoul’s district of Gangnam, near Sinsa station.”
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Content: There’s some talk of drinking and depression. It’s in the Music section of the bookstore.

At some point, maybe 5 or 6 years ago, one of my daughters got into BTS. She wanted to share with me, showed me tons of videos, and tried to get me to remember their names (I still get Jung-kook and Jin mixed up), and wanted to share her love of this K-pop group with me. I was more than happy to listen to and appreciate her enthusiasm. I think it’s faded over the past couple of years as she’s found other things to be enthused about (futbol, figure skating, Formula 1), but BTS has a special place in my heart because of all the time I spent with my daughter, who was gushing over them.

And, while I’m not sure you’d call me a fan, I can appreciate the work that these young men have put into their group. So, when this book came out, I thought why not see what the “official record” had to say.

First: it’s not an elegantly written book. I’m not sure if it’s the translation or if it’s the way it was originally written, but the sentences themselves are often clunky (and sometimes super fan-girly). But there’s a lot of interesting information there. It charts BTS from the beginning when all seven were in training to debut, and how Big Hit Entertainment struggled with their launch. It charted the rise of BTS and the role their fans played (they are very grateful to their and!). The coolest thing was the QR codes as footnotes, linking to videos, many of which you wouldn’t have seen unless you were a super die-hard fan. I watched a ton of them and was fascinated with the growth of the group.

So, why get this book? Well, for someone interested in learning their history, it’s honest and revealing, especially about the mechanics of a K-pop group. For the die-hard fan, it’s got interviews with the members of BTS (I’m not entirely sure if the interviews are original, but I suspect so), lots of photos, and is a lovely collectors edition. So, it’s a win for everyone.