It’s Friday night here in Korea, closing another week where work took precedence over everything else. After finishing up in the late afternoon, I took the subway to Gangnam Station to gather with my former classmates from Seoul National University, where I did my master’s. We’ve known each other for over twenty years, yet whenever we meet—twice a year—it feels as if time stands still. Though the gray in our hair and the lines on our faces have deepened, I don’t see those changes when I’m with them. Instead, I see the same youthful faces and hear the lighter voices of our student days, recalling the nights we spent studying and researching, then sharing drinks together, almost every night.
Over makgeolli, kimchi jeon, and haemul pajeon at a traditional Korean restaurant, we talked about our work and, of course, our children, though I could only listen and nod sympathetically, being neither married nor a parent myself. But the main topic tonight was the presidential election. As most of you know, this election is happening two years ahead of schedule because the former ultra-conservative, maniacal president was impeached after a failed self-coup last December, which was thwarted only because ordinary citizens rose up to stop the military special forces from taking over the National Assembly, Korea’s Congress.
Everyone at the table had already voted for Lee Jae-myung, a former labor rights lawyer and candidate for the liberal Democratic Party, on the first day of early voting. Koreans set a new record for early turnout, so eager were we to take the country’s future into our own hands and tell the conservatives to step aside, placing our trust in Lee to steer Korea in the right direction.
I wished the night could have lasted longer, but family responsibilities called my friends home, so we said our farewells early, a far cry from our graduate school days, when we would often drink together until the sun rose behind Gwanak Mountain, its silhouette forming the backdrop of the campus. On the bus ride back, I listened to SUGA’s Agust D 2 album and watched the city lights blur by. “Set Me Free” always sounds so different with a bit of a buzz…
In less than a month, all BTS members will complete their mandatory military service. By all rights, we should be ready to celebrate without a care in the world. But I know it won’t be all smooth sailing. Let me share what I wrote about this potential problem about three weeks ago:
“When BTS reunites next month, an issue regarding our precious SUGA could resurface in Korea. As many of you may know, having seen me mention it often in the past, public opinion in Korea is largely shaped by online communities. These forums—many with memberships numbering in the millions—span every profession, age group, and ideology. Unfortunately, some of the most influential among young men, such as Ilbe and FMKorea, are breeding grounds for misogyny and disinformation. They spread hate not only toward women and LGBTQ+ but also toward liberal political movements and Korea’s progressive parties.
In contrast, I belong to a progressive community made up mostly of middle-aged professional men. We discuss politics and social issues with the aim of building a better, fairer Korea, often in support of the Democratic Party. For young women, the largest online space is theqoo, which many of you likely became aware of during the SUGA controversy last year.
Unlike the hate-based male community forums, theqoo is not founded on prejudice. It’s a massive and diverse space, including everything from anti-feminists to radical feminists. But at its core, it’s a community where young women can speak freely and safely. One of its largest subforums is dedicated to BTS.
And because of their size and coordination, when young women in Korea need to mobilize online, theqoo often leads the way. For instance, with a presidential election just two weeks before BTS’s reunion, theqoo is already working hard to support the Democratic Party, the party more aligned with women’s rights and progressive causes.
Now, let’s revisit what happened with SUGA. Many were shocked that the ARMYs on theqoo (some of whom have been BTS’s biggest champions in Korea) led the call for his removal from the group. But to understand this, you must know the cultural weight of drinking and driving in Korea. Alcohol is embedded in Korean social culture, with more drinking establishments per capita than almost anywhere in the world. Tragically, DUI-related accidents, injuries, and deaths remain stubbornly high, despite government efforts. And overwhelmingly, the offenders are male.
For theqoo—whose members hold progressive values, as I mentioned above—drinking and driving is a core issue. When the SUGA controversy erupted, their sense of justice overpowered even their loyalty to BTS. That’s why the media, heavily influenced by theqoo, pursued the story so aggressively. In the past year, some Korean television programs have excluded SUGA from the BTS group photo, fearing backlash from that community.
We all make mistakes. I’ve certainly had my share. When someone sincerely apologizes, as SUGA did, we need to accept and move forward. The “SUGA out” crowd frustrates me because they seem unwilling to acknowledge this simple truth of life, as if they’ve never made a mistake themselves.
When BTS reunites, there will be tough moments for BTS and ARMY. For now, all BTS and ARMY can do is weather the storm and show SUGA he is beloved, so that next year, when BTS spends more time outside Korea and things settle, the “SUGA out” voices will finally be drowned out, even in Korea.
We may not see SUGA perform for a while, but time will pass and, as always, BTS will overcome, as they always have. In the end, they’ll remain seven.
To show my support, I’ll be posting translations of SUGA’s solo songs over the next ten days, starting with “So Far Away” today. The night is growing deeper, but I plan to stay up a while longer, catching up on news I missed during my busy week. Happy Friday, everyone!
(update. June 9th, 2025): I’ve been following the BTS discharge updates in major Korean papers and TV networks, and all the photos and videos show the seven members together. Every outlet uses the word “완전체 (wahn-juhn-che),” which means “a united whole” or “the entire team,” and there’s not a single mention of the SUGA incident. I think this should embolden BTS and Hybe. In Korea, celebrities are held to unreasonably high moral standard, and whenever there’s any sort of incident, they’re pressured to lay low and stay out of the spotlight for a long time. Maybe BTS will be the first to say, “Forget that.”
(update. June 23, 2025): In the long-awaited letter from SUGA, he writes this line: 특히나 오랫동안 제가 해왔던 이 일들과는 잠시 거리를 두고 한 발짝 떨어진 자리에 있어 봐야겠다는 마음도 있었습니다.
특히나 — notably, especially
오랫동안 — for so long, for a long time
제가 — I
해왔던 — have been doing, have done, have worked on
이 일들과는 — with these works, with this work, from these activities
잠시 — momentarily, briefly, for a while
거리를 두고 — keep distance, take some distance, step back
한 발짝 — one step, a step
떨어진 — away, removed, apart
자리에 — place, position, spot
있어 봐야겠다는 — wanted to see, felt the need to be, thought I should be
마음도 — intention, thought, feeling
있었습니다 — was there, had, there was
In this line, SUGA expresses that he had considered stepping away from music—just for a while, distancing himself from the work that had defined him for so long. Yet the very fact that he writes about it in the past tense shows us that he’s moved through that uncertainty; he no longer intends to stay away. This is wonderful news for ARMY. (for my translation of SUGA’s letter, please visit here: https://koreamos.com/letter-from-suga/
