"So, this isn't K-pop?": BTS' RM talks about non-Korean K-pop idols, the genre's representation, and more, in a recently revealed ARCHIVE-K interview 

On December 21, ARCHIVE-K released a 2021 interview of the BTS members, where they were asked several questions regarding their then-recent track, Dynamite, their experience attending the Billboard Award ceremony, RM's UN speech, and more. One of the questions was also what the members thought about K-pop.

Their leader, RM, took the lead in answering the question.

In an effort to cover the various aspects of the wide genre of K-pop, the idol talked about things such as the increase of foreign members in the industry, the release of full-English songs, etc. He also discussed how these factors would affect K-pop as a genre and its representation to the world.

He also used the example of their song Dynamite and questioned whether it fails to stand as K-pop just because it's in English.

"But this was sung in English, so this isn't K-pop?"

However, without giving a conclusive answer, he stated that the genre is constantly evolving, and therefore gets redefined along the way.

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BTS' RM dishes about the stance of non-Korean K-pop idols in the industry

ARCHIVE-K, which is known for releasing clips, videos, and interviews, years after it was originally filmed, revealed a 2021 interview of BTS from their Dynamite era.

The nostalgic video had the members, except SUGA, who was on hiatus for his shoulder surgery, talk about various things that recently unfolded for the group during the time the interview was filmed.

While most of the questions were light and straightforward, the interview's last question intrigued many, including the members themselves.

"What does BTS think is K-pop?"

To this, BTS RM started by stating that it was a question that he was asked a lot. When he was asked about what he thinks is the reason behind K-pop's success, he simply answered that it's the several unique aspects that people haven't seen before make it interesting. However, he also stated that his idea of K-pop has grown a lot more complex.

"But now, K-pop in 2021 is, even we really don't know. Because I've talked about this in other interviews as well. Actually, as far as I know these days, there are many cases where foreigners are members. In fact, even if it's not Korea-China, there are chases where you become a member from a country that has no (K-pop) origins. In fact, in Western countries, the genre is set to K-pop."

BTS RM also spoke about the then-recent achievements BTS made with their full-English song Dynamite, and pondered upon where it fits within the classification of K-pop.

"We said we were a K-pop group. Now there are teams that are not all Korean, then we are Korean, all seven people. However, in the case of the song Dynamite, for example, it ranked frst on Billboard HOT 100, but this was sung in English, So this isn't K-pop? This also has choreography and a music video, some of out content is all attached. So, in my opinio, K-pop is still expanding. The horizon is expanding."

RM continued to state that both K-pop and its several aspects are constantly evolving, while also changing the world around it. Therefore a clear definition is hard to structure.

"Therefore, if you ask me to define K-pop, I think it will take a while, and the meaning keeps changing. As I said before, idols are essentially idols. But we are idols. But actually, I don' think we are idols. So the dictionary definition of idol is actually an idol, but when we hear the world idol now, the feeling people have is quite different. What is an idol? Being an idol."

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The idol ended by stating that, regardless of the changes, he was happy to see the evolution of K-pop, and hoped that more such discussions on the genre were encouraged.