BTS, the notorious K-pop boy band, has become a global cultural phenomenon, selling out stadiums and dominating charts around the world while raking in billions for South Korea’s economy.
Even on hiatus, BTS knows how to stay predominant in the news. From solo launches to updates about their days in the military, they ensure that the ARMY doesn’t miss them too much. And soon enough, fans will be able to read a book about them.
In fact, it was revealed on Friday that they would be releasing their first book Beyond The Story: 10 Year Record of BTS on July 9, 2023.
According to the publisher, the book was co-written by South Korean journalist Kang Myeong-seok and members of the band. Beyond The Story is meant to be a tribute to a significant date in the septet’s history: the megastars’ loyal international fan base known as ARMY came into being that day, 10 years ago.
Fans are also aware that Beyond The Story: 10 Year Record of BTS will be quite an emotional read. Since it’s expected to have the members narrate their journey from debut to their current standing, fans anticipate quite a few sob-worthy moments.
Initially, the release of the memoir was July 13, the group’s debut date in 2013, but July 9 is meant to signify the day when BTS’ devoted fan base (Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth aka ARMY) was formed. The group deciding to make that the official release date for the book feels especially symbolic as its members get ready to embark on their military enlistment this year — yet another acknowledgement to fans that BTS wouldn’t be where it is without them.
It was also mentioned that the U.S. edition of the BTS book will contain 544 pages and will include exclusive photographs, anecdotes and the history of the boy band. According to Flatiron, they will first be printing only one million copies of the book.
The latest announcement finally puts an end to the frenzy of speculation about the book which many fans at first thought was going to be about Taylor Swift. The rumor was that Flatiron was going to publish a nonfiction title about a global pop phenomenon this summer, and given its release date, July 9 (an important date in Swiftie history), many Swifties assumed it would be penned by the “Love Story” singer. Without knowing the actual title or author, Swifites then sent the mystery book to the top of the pre-order charts on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
However, now that the cat is out of the bag, the BTS ARMY is more than excited to see what’s in store for them. But the new book is only a part of a flurry of content BTS is expected to release this year. There’s still the aforementioned upcoming Disney+ documentary on the way — and just today, Friday, May 12, BTS dropped a new song called “The Planet” for the animated series Bastion.
