BTS SPeech at UN General Assembly

NEW YORK, 24 September 2018 - BTS joined United Nations Secretary-

General António Guterres; President of Rwanda Paul Kagame; World Bank

Group President Jim Yong Kim, High Representative of the European Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, European Union, Ms. Federica
Mogherini; UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore; United Nations
Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake; Unilever
CEO Paul Polman; and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lilly Singh, among
other global, business, education and youth leaders to launch a new
partnership to get every young person into quality education, training or
employment by 2030, at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly.
Generation Unlimited will tackle the global education and training crisis
currently holding back millions of young people and threatening progress and
stability by focusing on three key areas of work: secondary-age education;
skills for learning, employability and decent work; and empowerment.
As prepared for delivery

"Thank you, Mr. Secretary General, UNICEF Executive Director,

Excellencies and distinguished guests from across the world.
"My name is Kim Nam Jun, also known as RM, the leader of the group BTS.
It’s an incredible honour to be invited to an occasion with such significance
for today’s young generation.
"Last November, BTS launched the “Love Myself” campaign with UNICEF,
building on our belief that “true love first begins with loving myself.” We
have been partnering with UNICEF’s #ENDviolence program to protect
children and young people all over the world from violence.
"Our fans have become a major part of this campaign with their action and
enthusiasm. We truly have the best fans in the world!
"I would like to begin by talking about myself.
"I was born in Ilsan, a city near Seoul, South Korea. It’s a beautiful place,
with a lake, hills, and even an annual flower festival. I spent a happy
childhood there, and I was just an ordinary boy.
"I would look up at the night sky in wonder and dream the dreams of a boy. I
used to imagine that I was a superhero, saving the world.
"In an intro to one of our early albums, there is a line that says, “My heart
stopped…I was maybe nine or ten.”
"Looking back, that’s when I began to worry about what other people
thought of me and started seeing myself through their eyes. I stopped looking
up at the stars at night. I stopped daydreaming. I tried to jam myself into
moulds that other people made. Soon, I began to shut out my own voice and
started to listen to the voices of others. No one called out my name, and
neither did I. My heart stopped and my eyes closed shut. So, like this, I, we,
all lost our names. We became like ghosts.
"I had one sanctuary, and that was music. There was a small voice in me that
said, ‘Wake up, man, and listen to yourself!” But it took me a long time to
hear music calling my name.
"Even after making the decision to join BTS, there were hurdles. Most people
thought we were hopeless. Sometimes, I just wanted to quit
"I think I was very lucky that I didn’t give it all up.
"I’m sure that I, and we, will keep stumbling and falling. We have become
artists performing in huge stadiums and selling millions of albums.
"But I am still an ordinary, twenty-four-year-old guy. If there’s anything that
I’ve achieved, it was only possible because I had my other BTS members by
my side, and because of the love and support of our ARMY fans.
"Maybe I made a mistake yesterday, but yesterday’s me is still me. I am who

I am today, with all my faults. Tomorrow I might be a tiny bit wiser, and
that’s me, too. These faults and mistakes are what I am, making up the
brightest stars in the constellation of my life. I have come to love myself for
who I was, who I am, and who I hope to become.
"I would like to say one last thing.
"After releasing the “Love Yourself” albums and launching the “Love
Myself” campaign, we started to hear remarkable stories from our fans all
over the world, how our message helped them overcome their hardships in
life and start loving themselves. These stories constantly remind us of our
responsibility.
"So, let’s all take one more step. We have learned to love ourselves, so now I
urge you to “speak yourself.”
"I would like to ask all of you. What is your name? What excites you and
makes your heart beat?
"Tell me your story. I want to hear your voice, and I want to hear your
conviction. No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin colour,
gender identity: speak yourself.
"Find your name, find your voice by speaking yourself.
"I’m Kim Nam Jun, RM of BTS.
"I’m a hip-hop idol and an artist from a small town in Korea.

"Like most people, I made many mistakes in my life.
"I have many faults and I have many fears, but I am going to embrace myself
as hard as I can, and I’m starting to love myself, little by little.
"What is your name? Speak Yourself!"

K-pop band and UNICEF supporters BTS deliver a video message at a high-
level side event at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, “Protraction
of the COVID-19 Crisis: Mitigating the Impact and Protecting Future
Generations.”
BTS LOVE MYSELF campaign supports UNICEF’s #ENDviolence

campaign.
RM.
My name is RM, the leader of the group BTS.
Two years ago here, I asked your name.
I urged you to let me hear your voice.
And I let myself be filled with imagination.
As a boy from the small city of Ilsan in Korea,
as a young man standing at the U.N. General Assembly,
as a global citizen of this world,
I imagined the limitless possibilities before all of us, my heart beating with
excitement.
But COVID-19 was beyond my imagination.
Our world tour was canceled, all our plans went awry,
and I became alone.

I looked up but couldn’t see the stars at night.
JIMIN.
I felt hopeless. Everything fell apart.
I could only look outside my window,
I could only go to my room.
Yesterday, I was singing and dancing with fans around the world,
and now my world had shrunk to a room.
And then, my friends took my hand.
We comforted each other and talked about what we could do together.
SUGA.
Life became simple, maybe for the first time.
It was a precious time, unwanted but welcome.
I’m used to an entire world shrinking in an instant.

When I’m on tour, I stand in bright lights and loud cheers,
but at night back in my room my world becomes only a few paces wide.
The room itself was small,
but my world and our world reached far and wide.
In this world we had our instruments, our phones and our fans.
V.
But this time it felt different. It felt lonelier and smaller.
Why? I thought for a long time.
I thought, maybe because it became harder to imagine.
I was frustrated and depressed,
but I took notes, wrote songs, and thought about who I was.
I thought,
“If I give up here, then I’m not the star of my life.”
“This is what an awesome person would do.”

j-hope
I don’t know who was first.
We embraced all these emotions and the seven of us began to make music
together.
This is where the music came from, and this made us honest.
Our lives are unpredictable.
We don’t know all the answers.
I knew where I wanted to go, but not how I could get there.
All I did to get here was trust ourselves, and do my best, and love what I do.
JIN
I found again the people I love. The other members, my family, my friends.
I found the music I love, and I found myself.
Thinking about the future and trying hard are all important.
But cherishing yourself, encouraging yourself and keeping yourself happy is

the most important.
In a world of uncertainty,
we must cherish the importance of “me,” “you” and “us”.
That’s the message of “Love Myself” we talked about for three years,
It’s the message in the lyrics of our song Dynamite: “I’m diamond, you know
I glow up”.
JUNG KOOK
One night we were working together.
Namjoon said he couldn’t see the stars any more,
but I saw my face reflected in the window. I saw all of our faces.
Our songs became the stories we wanted to tell each other.
We live in uncertainty, but really, nothing’s changed.
If there’s something I can do, if our voices can give strength to people,
then that’s what we want and that’s what we’ll keep on doing.
RM
When I start feeling lost,
I remember my face in the window, like Jung Kook said.
I remember the words I spoke here two years ago.
“Love yourself, speak yourself”.
Now more than ever, we must try to remember who we are, and face who we
are.
We must try to love ourselves, and imagine the future.
BTS will be there with you.
Our tomorrow may be dark, painful, difficult. We might stumble or fall

down.
Stars shine brightest when the night is darkest.
If the stars are hidden, we’ll let moonlight guide us.
If even the moon is dark, let our faces be the light that helps us find our way.
Let’s Reimagine our world. We’re huddled together tired, but let’s dream
again.
Let’s dream about a future when our worlds can break out of our small rooms
again.
It might feel like it’s always night and we’ll always be alone,
But the night is always darkest before the first light of dawn.
ALL
Life goes on. Let’s live on.

BTS SPeech at UN General Assembly

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NEW YORK, 24 September 2018 - BTS joined United Nations Secretary-

General António Guterres; President of Rwanda Paul Kagame; World Bank

As prepared for delivery

"Thank you, Mr. Secretary General, UNICEF Executive Director,

"Maybe I made a mistake yesterday, but yesterday’s me is still me. I am who

"I would like to say one last thing.

"Find your name, find your voice by speaking yourself.

"I’m Kim Nam Jun, RM of BTS.

"I’m a hip-hop idol and an artist from a small town in Korea.

"What is your name? Speak Yourself!"

BTS LOVE MYSELF campaign supports UNICEF’s #ENDviolence

My name is RM, the leader of the group BTS.

Two years ago here, I asked your name.

I urged you to let me hear your voice.

And I let myself be filled with imagination.

As a boy from the small city of Ilsan in Korea,

as a young man standing at the U.N. General Assembly,

as a global citizen of this world,

But COVID-19 was beyond my imagination.

and I became alone.

I felt hopeless. Everything fell apart.

I could only look outside my window,

I could only go to my room.

and now my world had shrunk to a room.

And then, my friends took my hand.

We comforted each other and talked about what we could do together.

Life became simple, maybe for the first time.

It was a precious time, unwanted but welcome.

I’m used to an entire world shrinking in an instant.

The room itself was small,

but my world and our world reached far and wide.

But this time it felt different. It felt lonelier and smaller.

Why? I thought for a long time.

I thought, maybe because it became harder to imagine.

I was frustrated and depressed,

“If I give up here, then I’m not the star of my life.”

“This is what an awesome person would do.”

I don’t know who was first.

Our lives are unpredictable.

We don’t know all the answers.

I found the music I love, and I found myself.

But cherishing yourself, encouraging yourself and keeping yourself happy is

we must cherish the importance of “me,” “you” and “us”.

One night we were working together.

Namjoon said he couldn’t see the stars any more,

Our songs became the stories we wanted to tell each other.

We live in uncertainty, but really, nothing’s changed.

When I start feeling lost,

I remember my face in the window, like Jung Kook said.

I remember the words I spoke here two years ago.

“Love yourself, speak yourself”.

We must try to love ourselves, and imagine the future.

BTS will be there with you.

Our tomorrow may be dark, painful, difficult. We might stumble or fall

Stars shine brightest when the night is darkest.

If the stars are hidden, we’ll let moonlight guide us.

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