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BTS' RM recently received praise from the BTS memoir’s official English translator, Anton Hur, for the impact he reportedly had on the reception of Korean literature. On February 2, the Emirates Literature Festival had a segment led by popular Korean content creator Deema Abu Nasser, where she interviewed the author about his literary work.
The author opened up about how the sales of the Korean books he had translated were greatly influenced by the BTS leader's recommendations. Anton Hur claimed the books did not do well on the Korean market. However, their sales apparently skyrocketed in the West, as many fans picked up the book after Kim Namjoon’s suggestion.
Hur expressed his gratitude towards the Persona singer for recommending the books he enjoys reading. He revealed how three prints of the books were sold out and credited Kim Namjoon and BTS' fans for their success.
“I am so grateful to RM for saving Korean Literature. Thank you RM. Thank you ARMY. You have saved Korean Literature. Thank you so much.”
Naturally, this garnered considerable attention from fans online, as they could not stop talking about the idol's influence. Fans took to X to share their thoughts on the BTS leader's impact on the literary world, with one user even noting how he has apparently "opened the door for the whole world" to see the beauty of Korean literature.
“He DOES belong to the whole world”: Fans are beyond proud as English translator Anton Hur praises BTS’ RM for his impact on Korean literature
Anton Hur, who helmed the English-translated version of Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record Of BTS was invited to the Emirates Literature Festival on February 2. During the interview, the author revealed reading Lee Seong-bok’s book called Indeterminate Inflorescence, which is based on his aphorisms and poetics.
“It's a very obscure topic, who even reads about poetics but I read this book, it's called indeterminate inflorescence and I loved it. I was like oh this is a life book. It contains all of my life ambitions in one book.”
He also spoke about how just a month before the book was published, Kim Namjoon posted about the aphorisms by Lee Seong-bok.
“When I saw that I thought like the angels were singing in heaven, the manna was raining down on me. I could not believe that this was happening.”
This footage from the interview went viral on the internet, as fans also shared their experience of reading the books suggested by the BTS member. Many netizens opened up about how they were introduced to Korean literature because of him and praised the artist for the impact he's had on the literary world as well.
Given the response that greeted him following his interview, Anton Hur further added about his love for the MONO singer on X. In a tweet, he said,
“It’s not just Korea that has Namjoon, he actually belongs to the whole world, but I guess me and Sandy Joosun Lee and Damion Searls are the only English translators to have realized that yet lol.”
BTS' leader Kim Namjoon enlisted last year on December 11 for his mandatory military service, along with team member V, and is currently serving in the military.
