It’s Friday once again here in Korea. After several days of high heat and humidity, the weather has finally cooled, and as I made my way home after dinner with former students, recently returned from the United States and now anxious about whether they’ll be able to go back amid Trump’s latest turmoil, a gentle rain began to fall. At that moment, my thoughts turned to the ARMY in Goyang for J-Hope’s concert.
As soon as I came home, I nearly finished a can of Goose Island IPA in one go to quench my thirst. Well, here’s my analysis and translation of the letter RM wrote today. On the surface, his words seem bright and bubbly, but as I read, I couldn’t help but sense a current of sadness running beneath. You’ll feel it too, I think, as you read my thoughts below. I’m off again to a friend’s place for some late Friday night drinks and conversation. Cheers, my friends!
In the short first paragraph where RM greets everyone, he doesn’t simply say that June 13th has come around again. Instead, he uses the word “기어코 (gih-uh-ko)” to give this renewal a special emphasis. This word is a nuanced Korean adverb that can be translated as “in the end,” “after all,” “no matter what,” or “inevitably, as always,” and it often carries a sense of determination, inevitability, or even stubborn persistence. It suggests that something was bound to happen despite difficulties or obstacles, or that someone saw something through, come what may. (e.g.: 기어코 해냈다. “(They) finally did it.” / “(They) pulled it off after all.”)
In the second paragraph, RM repeatedly expresses his amazement that the day has finally arrived, using rhetorical questions like “이라니 (ih-lah-nee),” which add a tone of disbelief or wonder. He also attaches “거죠 (guh-joh)” after the verb 온 (on) (came), which serves to express a final thought or explanation, not expecting an answer but rather using it as an interjection, almost like saying, “It came, hasn’t it?”
The third paragraph is classic RM at his most creative and playful: he treats the 12th anniversary as if it were a “조카 (jo-kah) (nephew/niece),” almost anthropomorphizing the number itself. I also love how he describes the anniversary as “무럭무럭 (moo-luhk-moo-luhk) (healthy and strong),” suggesting relief that this milestone arrived in good shape, on the heels of their continued success. The reference to parents is delivered with dry wit; in Korea’s still-Confucian society, age twelve falls within those years when elders and teachers often urge children to listen to their parents. I especially appreciate his use of “부쩍 (boo-jjuhk) (suddenly)” to convey that all these silly thoughts unexpectedly bubbled up in his mind.
In the fourth paragraph, RM shares that he wrote this letter after celebrating his real younger sibling’s birthday. He mentions breaking the tip of his pencil as he wrote, emphasizing just how excited he was, and refers to his message as “이상한 (odd, peculiar, strange),” though here he uses the word to mean “silly.”
The fifth paragraph might be the most poignant. RM reflects on the past, describing how everything from the last twelve years now feels so distant, choosing the beautifully poetic word “아득했어요 (ah-deuk-haet-s(uh)-yo) (distant, lonely, helpless, daunting).” He reminisces about BTS making music, performing, and defining themselves, but after a year and a half away, he confesses he can’t recall it at all, underscored by the adverb 도무지 (doh-moo-jih) (at all), highlighting just how long his military service felt.
In the sixth paragraph, ever the avid reader, RM mentions a book to offer insight into his state of mind. The book is A True Experiment of Love (정확한 사랑의 실험) (정확한 – true, precise, accurate/ 사랑의 – of love/ 실험 – experiment, trial), written by Shin Hyung-chul, a writer and cultural critic. It’s a collection of his literary criticism (originally published for Cine 21 magazine, which is also one of my favorites. Although Cine 21 is mostly about film, its writing is top-notch—reminiscent of The New Yorker). With precise language and delicate sensibility, the book explores the nature of love, desire, ethics, and growth through twenty-seven films, offering readers a rich array of perspectives.
The seventh paragraph reveals RM at his most vulnerable. He wonders whether ARMY will walk alongside him again, even questioning how many are still with him. Yet he asks, earnestly, how many remain to walk this path once more, invoking “낭만 (nahng-mahn) (romance)”—not the romantic love of lovers, but that dreamy, sentimental quality, like when Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables describes the autumn morning as “so romantic.” It is a word for that wistful, imaginative spirit (for romantic love, Koreans use “사랑 (sah-lahng)”). After RM asks us to walk with him once again, he shyly writes, “같이 가주실??” The full expression would be “같이 가주실거죠?” but he trails off, ending with two question marks, as if timidly unsure if ARMYs would grant his request. Of course, RM should know that ARMY will walk with him always. (Oh, and the word “forever” always reminds me of this joke: A husband tells his wife, “I’m leaving you forever.” She replies, “Who’s Ever?”). After he invites ARMY to join him again, he writes, “한 번 더 청해봅니다.” This is such a tender line: 한 번 더 means “once more,” and 청해봅니다 means “to ask or seek, but in a deeply earnest way,” a word that, in the Joseon Dynasty, subordinates used when petitioning the king. RM, 한 번 더 말할게, 아미는 너와 영원히 함께 할거야. (Here’s my translation of my own words: RM, I’ll say it one more time; ARMY will always be with you.)
In the eighth paragraph, we encounter RM at his lyrical best. Every line is poetry. I could dissect each expression, but I’d rather you read my translation below and feel his words resonate in your own heart. Just for your information, when RM writes the lines of “Days of exhaustion, nights of insomnia, people who perplex me, endless trails of thoughts,” he’s talking about his life in the military.
The final paragraph is RM’s promise: that he finds it impossible to keep his words brief when writing to ARMY, and that this, too, is a sign of his love. BTS will, once more, strive for greatness with the chance they’ve been given, writing (저희 진짜 한 번 더 잘해볼게요) (저희 – us, we/ 진짜 – really, truly/ 한 번 더 – once more/ 잘해볼게요 – will strive to do well).
Full translation of the letter:
Hello, everyone!
Happy birthday,
BTS.
After all that, 613 has arrived again.
To think it’s June 13th again…
Last year’s 613 was truly tough…
Tell me, 250613 is here, right?
Believe me, I’ve been waiting way more than you have.
I waited and waited and waited, for real.
12th anniversary… Wow, twelve years old!
It’s like a nephew/niece existing in my multiverse.
Relieved that you’ve grown up healthy and strong.
Listen to your parents. Oh, no, don’t listen to everything.
Funny how such silly thoughts suddenly pop into my head.
Today is also my younger sibling’s birthday,
so after spending some family time,
before washing up, I’m here breaking pencil tips
scribbling these silly lines.
Seriously, I didn’t expect this day would arrive. (‘cry’ Korean emoji)
When I look back,
it was always daunting:
every album, every project, every comeback.
How did we ever dare to make art and confidently put our names out there,
while uttering things like, “This is love,”
and “This is us.”?
Staying dormant for a year and a half, I can’t recollect at all.
I still don’t know where to go.
I can only keep trying, continuously.
I like a book called “A True Experiment of Love.”
To be truly loved and to truly love,
which seems unattainable,
I’ve always wanted to realize it.
I’m probably the one who knows the least about
how truly you feel my love,
but I think I’ve also lived my life always trying to
analyze and match your love.
I’m planning to venture once more into the unknown.
I don’t know
how many are still with me,
who and where they are.
All I want is to walk together with you, sharing our dreams.
Let’s create many cherished memories!
You with me??
I earnestly ask you once more
Days of exhaustion, nights of insomnia,
people who perplex me, endless trails of thoughts, I’m determined to push through all that hardship toward tomorrow,
adventuring like Huckleberry Finn.
At every daunting crossroads,
it was you that kept me going, persistently.
I’m so grateful, truly.
Whenever I want to keep it short, my letters always get longer.
Perhaps it’s hard to be efficient when I’m still young and incomplete.
Having so much to say can be a sign of love, albeit awkward,
so I beg you to see it affectionately.
We’ll truly do our best once more.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Also, I love you.
It’s a lovely day.
Goodnight!