South Korean President Moon Jae-in recently appointed RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—collectively known as the phenomenal K-pop group BTS—as Special Presidential Envoys for Future Generations and Culture.
According to various news outlets, BTS is set to represent their country in major upcoming global conferences and meetings. One such meeting is the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September. As envoys, they will send messages of consolation and hope to the youth, and they will also weigh in on pressing issues like environmental problems, inequality, poverty, and respect for diversity.
A spokesperson for the Blue House—the executive office and residence of the Republic of Korea's head of state—issued a statement regarding BTS’s appointment, part of which said, “President Moon appointed them as a special envoy to lead the global agenda for future generations, raise awareness for certain causes, and strengthen South Korea’s diplomatic power across the world.”
It is expected that President Moon’s pick of the K-pop sensation—which recently set another milestone on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with back-to-back No. 1 hits—will help South Korea establish itself as a leading nation in the post-pandemic era.
In other news, BTS’s name came up during President Moon’s meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, which took place during her first trip to South Korea.
President Moon recalled that South Korea and the US agreed to continue working together to achieve total denuclearization and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. He asked Sherman to play a more active role in the resumption of talks between Washington and Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea.
Referencing BTS’s latest single, Sherman replied, “The song ‘Permission to Dance’ by K-pop stars BTS is popular all over the world, and Korea and the United States are allies, so we don’t have to give ‘permission’ to each other.”
The fact that a high-ranking political figure from the US saw fit to talk about BTS in a meeting with the South Korean president says a lot about the septet’s impact.
