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HYBE Labels released a new video 'HYBE T&D Story (Training & Development Story)' featuring Kim Namjoon of BTS on December 19, 2023. The video shows the training structure of artists and idols in the making from the lens of the T&D team. Shin Seon-Jeong, who is the head of the T&D team at HYBE, was also featured.
Namjoon's particular remarks in which he expressed gratitude to Shin Seon-Jeong for keeping Jimin in the group throughout BTS's 2013 trainee year prior to their debut, touched the hearts of fans. The rapper-songwriter of Wild Flower goes on to say that having Jimin in the group really served to safeguard BTS because if he hadn't, things would have been devastating.
He said,
"She is one of the two guardian angels who kept Jimin in the group at the time. In a way getting Jimin to stay was basically protecting BTS. Without Jimin, it would have been a disaster."
"T&D and trainees are like Romeo and Juliet": BTS Namjoon shares insight about the equation between idols and the artist management teams
According to Shin Seon-Jeong, the HYBE Training & Development Team (T&D) was once known as the Artist Management Team. The BTS frontman emphasized the special bond between trainees and development teams in the "HYBE T&D Story" video.
BTS leader Namjoon, also known by his stage moniker as RM, explained that the relationship between the two parties is comparable to Romeo and Juliet. The rapper-songwriter of Wild Flower maintained his stance, saying that while both sides value and respect each other's presence, it takes the trainees' debut to truly grasp how much they cherish the T&D team. He said,
"T&D and trainees are like Romeo and Juliet. They love each other but they can't meet. Honestly, the trainees don't love the team. They only realize they do after they debut. They have to debut to realize it."
This is the first time that the BTS ARMY has come across the head of the T&D team who happened to be the guardian angel and retained Park Jimin in the BTS band before debut. Jimin, later went ahead to become one of the most revered musicians the world has ever seen and also released Billboard chart-topping track Like Crazy from his debut solo masterpiece FACE.
In addition, Namjoon also stated that the growth of an artist is comparable to the growth of a tree. The oldest and largest trees have the deepest roots and the widest branches. The BTS leader—who gave the music world an ephemeral album such as Indigo—added that for an artist to grow like a tree, his roots are nurtured from gratitude, love, and respect for the staff around them.
He said,
"If you compare the growth of an artist to a tree. Old trees have very wide and deep roots, and I think those roots grow from gratitude, love and respect for the staff around them."
The 'HYBE T&D Story (Training & Development Story)' video which was released on the official YouTube channel of HYBE LABELS showed snippets of the seven BTS members training hard before debuting. Fans were moved to tears to see those decade-old video clips when the BTS members were in their teens, working hard to debut and make a name for themselves.
"Leader, always right!": Fans got emotional as Namjoon mentioned that retaining Jimin in the team protected BTS
BTS Army cannot even imagine the group devoid of any single member. As unthinkable as it is to hear Namjoon in the video and to think that there was a chance that Jimin might not have cut, sent the fandom in utter shock.
The ARMYs flooded Twitter with various snippets from the 'HYBE T&D Story (Training & Development Story)', especially the one where Namjoon's words echo through the fandom and the music realm stating that owing to Shin Seon-Jeong, keeping Jimin in the band and debuting BTS was the best decision to protect and safeguard the group's future.
This also sheds light on the Suchwita episode of BTS' SUGA where Jimin was a guest on the show. SUGA had mentioned that before debuting, he was the only one from their group who used to communicate with the T&D team and mentioned telling them how good of a vocalist Jimin is. This further cements the undeniable importance of Park Jimin in establishing BTS along with his six members and long-time friends.
Meanwhile, on September 30, 2023, Jimin achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 3 billion Spotify plays across all credits. Jimin also made history by being the first Korean solo artist to do this in K-Pop and Spotify history. Riding high on his triumph, Jimin released his debut solo album FACE on March 24, 2023, and created huge waves throughout 2023.
Meanwhile, both Kim Namjoon and Park Jimin enlisted in the South Korean military on December 11 and 12 respectively. The artists are expected to return from their services in June 2025 and resume group activities in late 2025.
